Oct 14, 2019 Posted by Simon Rose

Author Visits Part Four – Study Guides and Classroom Resources

Some authors offer study guides for teachers to download from their website or to purchase, for use either before a visit or just as an ongoing teaching resource. These guides often have exercises connected to certain chapters or episodes in the novel, worksheets about specific characters, or may describe potential projects related to the subject matter of the author’s books. There are study guides for... read more

Oct 5, 2019 Posted by Simon Rose

Author Visits Part Five – Virtual Author Visits

Children are almost always inspired when they meet a real author or illustrator, but it may not always be possible to have an author visit your school. However, why not put technology to work for you? Now you can arrange a virtual author visit via video using Skype. These can be conducted with large groups in a library or gym or with individual classes. You can get an idea of what a virtual visit looks... read more

Oct 2, 2019 Posted by Simon Rose

An interview with Judith Starkston

Please join me in welcoming Judith Starkston. In advance of the launch of her second book in her award-winning historical fantasy Tesha series, the first book, Priestess of Ishana, is available for FREE Oct 2-6 on Amazon. This seemed like the perfect time to ask her about her intriguing Tesha series. The second book, Sorcery in Alpara, will launch on Oct 14 (available on preorder). You based your fictional... read more

Sep 24, 2019 Posted by Simon Rose

Author Visits Part Three – Author in Residence

An Author in Residence program involves an author working at a school for a week or longer. This allows the students to cover certain topics in much more depth than would be possible during a regular author visit. The author can also work with the students on a specific project. A week in residence can be designed however you’d like, to best meet the needs of the students. You can see what such a... read more

Sep 21, 2019 Posted by Simon Rose

Author Visits Part Two – Types of Presentations

Many authors who conduct school visits on a long-term basis have a well organized set of presentations, workshops and other material. These might be related to their own books, but also to topics such as editing and revision, for example. Authors might talk about where they get their inspiration, character development or just how a book comes together, and whenever possible they leave time for questions... read more