“Across the story bridge” was the theme for the 2010 Australian Children’s Book Week. A bridge provides a solid and stable platform to connect two points, and stories certainly make connections ... they connect kids who read the same story and discuss it; they connect kids and their parents when they demand the latest title; they connect teachers and kids as they place the stories in their hands; they connect kids to ideas and insights and change what is to what if.
And behind all these links is the author whose gift starts the dominoes of the connections happening. So why not directly connect the author and the students by organising a visit by an author (or an illustrator) to your school?
Organising a visit does involves some preparation and planning but much can be delegated to the students themselves, providing invaluable in-context learning which is well worth the effort.
According to some Year 3 students, an author visit is “better than Santa Claus. Because Santa only comes once a year, but when you pick up a book by someone you have met you get a good feeling every time.”
Who?
Choosing a guest can be daunting – there are so many brilliant authors available, but often it becomes a process of elimination. If you are a classroom-based teacher, then your very first step is to collaborate with your teacher librarian and your students; if you are a teacher librarian then your very first step is to collaborate with your classroom-based teachers and the students.
Investigate who and what the children are reading by asking them for suggestions and using the circulation statistics as a starting point, Demonstrate how gathering data and evidence to support arguments can add strength to requests - in this case, it may help the decision making and perhaps attract extra funding. Even including the students' research in your application may sway an author's choices of whose invitation to accept.
Investigate
if the author/illustrator is based in Australia
if school visits are offered
how the author can be contacted - most use an agency
how visits are organised
the costs involved
Construct a chart so the information for each author is readily available for when the decision is made.
On an individual basis, have students prepare and present a campaign to persuade others that their favourite author should be the one invited next time.
Brainstorm the sorts of information they would need to provide so they mount the most persuasive argument
Consider the most effective presentation method
Consider the most effective and reliable voting option.
Imagine the arguments that those funding an author visit would have for and against the proposal. Have the students prepare the case for funding. Why is such an occasion beneficial and how will it benefit their learning?
Be prepared to introduce them to a new author or a new genre if the most obvious choice is not available but ensure you have sufficient resources so that students can be familiar with the author's work well ahead of time.
Ask for recommendations through networks such as OZTL_NET and contact your local Children’s Book Council of Australia branch, or SCWBI Australia as they may know of up-and-coming authors who are trying to establish themselves. Ensure the author is appropriate for the age group and has a range of presentations for K-2, 3-4 and so on. One size does not fit all and disengaged, restless kids are not the best impression.
Most authors and illustrators have agents to handle their bookings while others prefer to handle their bookings themselves so check their websites to find out personal preferences. If nothing is offered, send the person an email to find out. The Australian Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators has a speakers’ directory page and the following are agencies who handle bookings.
Nudge Productions (WA)
Explore the opportunities available through the PLCC Backpack Project - PLCC Backpacks are filled with books, engagement & promotional materials, information about the author or illustrator and a unique author or illustrator challenge for your students! They are FREE to book; you pay the cost of forwarding your backpack to the next school.
When?
Because of Children’s Book Week, August would be the peak time in Australia for having authors and illustrators visit schools. But many make themselves available throughout the year, so a timeslot outside that peak period may ensure that you are able to book just the person you want. Other suggestions could be National Literacy and Numeracy Week or Education Week.
Some authors restrict their speaking engagements to certain times of the year so the earlier you can start to make arrangements, the better. However, you do need to allow time to gather a collection of titles that can be studied and for preliminary work to be done. Authors naturally respond best to students who show they know their works.
When the choices have been narrowed and a timeframe identified have students compose an email that could be sent to the various authors or agencies. Discuss the information they would need to provide as well as the information they are seeking. When the responses have been received and a choice made, help the students compose an email which accepts the offer. If there is a contract to be signed, explain the purpose of this and any particular terms and conditions which have to be met so the students (and you) are aware of their responsibilities from the outset.
How much?
Authors generally charge for school visits – it is a way of supplementing their income – so cost may well be a factor. While charges may be negotiable through the author’s agent, the Australian Society of Children’s Book writers and Illustrators recommends its members to use the rates set by the Australian Publishers Association as a minimum.
The Australian Society of Authors has the current recommended rates are available but schools should work on about $1000/day (for a maximum of three hours) plus expenses such as travel, accommodation and meals. Be very clear of the expected expenses before signing the contract so you are not embarrassed at the end.
However, authors and illustrators can charge what they choose and there is valuable information here which shows that the most common rate is $1000 per day.
Some schools combine to share costs but be aware that the ASA guidelines state “A group should comprise no more than 60 students per session. A single session can be 60 mins but where there are multiple sessions each should be no longer than 45 mins.” Also know that an author or illustrator is not a qualified teacher and therefore should bot be expected to supervise students without the appropriate number of accredited teachers present.
Investigate if a video link is an alternative enabling cheaper costs particularly if the desired guest is interstate or international. Expect to pay for the guest's time for these sessions.
Decide how the author will be deployed within the school – whether it will be sessions with different class groups or whether it will be more practical to invite students from neighbouring schools. If the latter, then tee this up with the other schools, including how to share costs, but also have your students send invitations to those students to share this occasion with them. Also ensure travel between the two schools is arranged and there is time for this without pressure.
Whatever the division of costs, if any, have students discuss and decide how these might be met. If they are to fundraise then let them take the responsibility for doing this so that any deposit and balance can be made on time.
Check with your local public library to investigate if they would like to be involved, or if they have author sessions booked to which you could take your students.
Some authors will come for free providing they can sell their books while they are there but check to see if your school policies allow this. If so, investigate what the author needs and have this ready in advance. ensure that students know whether they are allowed to ask for their purchase to be autographed.
Be clear about how the author is to be paid – whether this is directly to the presenter or to their agency. Know if the cost of the incidentals is paid to the provider, or if the author needs to offer receipts for reimbursement. If the author drives to your school, the cost of travel can be calculated using the ATO standards, but this needs to be clarified beforehand. If the presenter is paid directly, have this ready and be discreet. If a tax invoice or receipt is required, please advise the author of this before the visit.
Payment is part of the deal and it is better to have everything sorted up front so the memory of the visit is not soured by an unexpected expense.
There is some debate about whether a gift is required if the author is paid so this is discretionary. General consensus is that if a gift is given, then local produce is acceptable. A thank you card made by the students is always appropriate.
What?
Discuss what you want the students to know, do, understand, appreciate and value as a result of this visit so your conversations with the author can be informed and specific.
Some authors have a set program they offer so you may need to tailor your expectations to meet this. Remember they are not teachers and may well find security and comfort in the familiar.
Ensure that you and the students have a thorough knowledge of the author’s works so the conversations can be informed and informative. Develop a program that not only focuses on the purpose of the visit but which generates excitement and anticipation. Have the students create posters, book trailers, quizzes, almost anything apart from ‘read-and-review’ so they begin to feel a real sense of occasion. Have them create a display of both these and the author’s works in the library or wherever the visit is to be held so there is a sense of expectation and familiarity.
Most authors allow time for a Q&A session so have students prepare some questions in advance. Have them imagine they are allowed to interview the author but they can only ask three questions, so they have to be questions that have never been asked before.
Suggestions include
Where and when were you born?Has the time or the place of your birth had any influence on your writing?What are your favourite childhood memories?Do you weave these into your stories?Has your childhood had any influence on your writing?Did you enjoy school?Did you like to write when you were at school or did you discover your talent later?When you were a child did you see yourself as a writer?How/ Why did you become a writer?Was there anyone or anything that was the motivation for you to be a writer?When did you start writing professionally?Was a book the first thing you wrote?Have you tried writing other things like poetry or newspaper articles?Is writing your first career? Were you always going to be a writer?What motivates you to keep writing?Why did you choose to write for children, not adults?Have any of your family members been writers?How does your family influence your writing?Have you been inspired by other authors?If you had another job apart from writing, what would it be?If you went back in time, would you still choose to be a writer?Do you find writing hard? Do you enjoy it?How does it feel to be famous and recognised by children everywhere?What advice would you give to a child interested in a writing career?Would you like your children to be authors?Where do you see yourself in ten years?How many books have you written?Which was the first?Which is your favourite? Why?Which has been the most successful?Which has been the most satisfying to write?Why did you choose to write the sort of books that you do?Have you a favourite genre?Do you read this genre in adult fiction?How does your personal reading influence your writing?Do you regret having written any of your books?What is the best part about writing?Are you going to continue writing?What is the inspiration for your stories?Are any based on your life?Are any based on true stories?Do you concentrate on the spelling and punctuation and stuff, or do you just get the story down?Does the editor fix these things for you afterwards, or do you have to do it yourself?Do you have a break before you start your next book?Do you only have one book on the go at a time?Do you have any input into the design of your books?How does the publisher influence or change your writing?Do you use the same illustrator for your books? Why?Do you choose the illustrator?Do you have a favourite illustrator?Are you a good illustrator?Are you good at acting or singing or other creative things?Would you like your books to be dramatised on television or the movies?What sorts of things do you like to read or watch?Do these influence your writing?What is your favourite book that you have read?Are your characters based on anyone you know?How do you make up the characters and what they are like?Who is your favourite character that you have developed? Why?Have you ever created a character that you wished was real?Have you ever created a character that you didn't like, but they had to be in the story?How do you choose the names for the characters?Are they names you like, children you know or made up to help us understand the character's personality?Do whole stories just pop into your head or does the story work itself out as you write?Do you start at the start and write to the end?Do you know what's going to happen in the end before you start?Does the story ever turn out in a different way than you planned?Do you start with the title?How long does it take for you to write a book?Have you ever started writing a book but not finished it because it doesn't work out?Do you have to do lots of revisions?Are you organised with a set writing time each day?Are you a morning or an evening person?What do you do if it is your "writing time" but you can't think of something to write about?Do you like to work in silence or do you prefer to have some music or the television in the background?What have you learned from other authors?What was the best advice you have been given?What one piece of advice would you give someone wanting to become an author?If you had to sum up your beliefs in a few words, what would they be?What should be written in your obituary or on your epitaph?What else?
As well as preparing the students for this visit, there are some practical considerations that need to be addressed and include simple things such as
confirming dates, addresses and contact details
identifying and understanding the content of the author’s presentation
clarifying amount of and responsibility for expenses
providing maps and parking details or pick-up arrangements
identifying needs such as an interactive whiteboard, internet access , microphone and so forth and ensure these are provided and working efficiently before the presentation
ensuring that your network runs the software the author may use and that any websites they may visit are unblocked
providing a table, a jug of water and a clean glass
having hosts to greet the guest and introduce him/her to the principal and the TL
ensuring your guests knows where the bathroom is and has time to use it
taking them to the staffroom, introducing them to the staff and ensuring they get a cup of tea/coffee
having hosts to show the media and other guests to the venue
having students prepare a thank-you speech and present an appropriate gift
writing a formal letter of thanks within a day or two of the visit
Visiting guests are entitled to expect that
key people will be aware of the visit
schools will be welcoming
students will be prepared
author's publications will be available
programs and itineraries are unchanged once negotiated
payment will be made as previously arranged
communications and conversations with organisers so the presenter is aware of what is required/
(from Authors in Schools)
Find out in advance if the author is prepared to autograph copies of their books and ensure the students know that scrap pieces of paper are not acceptable. Provide a table and a pen for doing this and allow time for it to happen.
If there has been an agreement for book sales to be made, consult with your school's business manager to determine how this is done so it is efficient and compliant with requirements. let students and their parents know in advance. For simplicity, insist on cash (preferably the exact amount) but if cheques are accepted, find out who these are to be made out to, and let parents know. If EFTPOS is available have this sorted before the visit so transactions are made smoothly and transfers to the author are immediate. Ensure there is someone available to handle money and receipts so the author can chat to the students and sign their purchases.
Look for ways to make this an occasion such as having the students organising and hosting a Literary Luncheon. Have students design and send invitations to the principals of the schools involved as well as other local dignitaries. Invite the media or prepare your own media reports for the school newsletter, website and local outlets. Set up the space so students can eat while they listen but remind them it is rude to get up while someone is speaking, or ask questions with their mouths full. Display the author’s works and decorate with the children’s responses.
Handing over as much of the responsibility to the students as practical gives them ownership, engagement and teaches them a wide range of social skills
Have the students reflect on the visit through blog or journal entries, displays, reviews, artworks and so forth and send samples of these to the author. They value the feedback as much as you value their visit.
Ensure that your guest takes away the best impression of your school and looks forward to coming again.
Barbara Braxton
(All links correct March 2019)