As I plan for an upcoming author visit, I wanted to share suggestions for those who are thinking of inviting an author to your school. These suggestions are based on twenty-five years of experience being a visiting author in schools throughout the US, and internationally.
If you are considering bringing an author in, here are some questions to ask yourself:
“What’s my purpose?” In these days of high-stakes everything, it’s good to tie-in the visit to the writing curriculum of your school (It’s also an excellent way to get support and funding).
“What support do I have?” It’s possible to do all the planning and make all the arrangements yourself, but it’s advisable to solicit support from others. Ask your colleagues what type of program would be helpful to their students, share the academic connections with your administrators, involve the parent group in planning the event. The more you involve others, the more buy-in, which will translate into logistical help as well as funding support.
“Where will I get the money?” Explore options with your administrators (who you’ve already established the academic value of the program with) and your parent group. Brainstorm possibilities of raising money if you need more (don’t forget grants). Some visits can be funded through sales of books by the author. Consider everything.
“But wait, how will I know what it costs?” The best way to get a sense of this is to network with other schools who have had visiting authors. Not only can you find out costs, you can also learn about what the authors did and how effective it was. Other resources for getting author information include reading councils, publishers, on-line listings, and authors’ websites.
“What date works best for our school?” There are many good times to have authors visit. Some schools like the visit in the beginning of the year as a writing “kick-off.” Others prefer adding energy and writing challenges by having an author visit in the middle of the year. And then there are those who invite an author to help celebrate students’ writing at the end of the school year. Select the the time that works best for your school.
Coming up: Questions to ask prospective visiting authors
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