Inviting an author to visit can be an exciting and inspiring event for your school, church or home-school group. Not only can a visiting author promote and encourage children to engage in books and literacy (authors LOVE talking about writing!) they can be positive role models of using gifts and talents, following dreams, striving towards a goal and, in the case of a Christian author, doing all of these things through faith in Jesus.

But how exactly can you book an author to come visit? What does it involve? And how do you know what type of visit, or which author, to invite?

The first step is to decide what you’d like a visiting author to do, and consider the needs of your group. Different authors offer different things. Some love to conduct writing workshops for young people. Others prefer short story-times. Some are comfortable at MOPS or playgroups, while others prefer to interact with older children.
So, think first about your group and what you’d like an author to contribute. Which of the following would best suit your group’s needs?
* an author talk about books
* writing workshops
* a fun story-time
* an inspiring talk for parents about the importance of literacy
* a presentation about a particular topic (eg. many authors are passionate advocates for issues, just browse this blog for examples)
* an author talk about how to be a writer
* etc

Once you have decided what you need, visit author websites or ask other people who have had an author visit, to see which particular author might be the best match. Some authors are willing to travel for author visits (especially if travel costs are reimbursed), others may be able to do a Skype visit if they are too far away. If one author cannot do a particualr visit, they may know of other local writers who could be suitable too.

And remember, it is always reasonable to expect to pay for an author to visit your group, even if it is a ministry (1 Timothy 5:18). Any time an author spends preparing for, travelling to or presenting a visit is time away from their desk and the next book you might like to buy! Some authors will have discounted rates for ministry related visits, others may offer occasional free visits, but this is entirely up to the individual author. When inviting an author to visit your group it is always polite to ask about fees, never expect a free visit unless the author has agreed to one ahead of time. It’s also important to consider the possibility of allowing an author to sell their books during a visit. This is especially true of authors whose work is not readily available at general bookstores. Not only does having the books available for sale make it easy for your group to access good quality books, it is an encouragement and support of the author you have invited.

Having an author visit is a teriffic way to get kids (and adults!) excited about books, stories and more. With a little research you’ll be able to find just the right author for your group. If you’d like to invite one of the authors from this blog to your group (or even a Skype visit) click on the authors link above for links to their websites and more information.

Penny