Tips for Teachers: Author Visits Part Three – Booking an Author
There are a variety of ways to book an author for a school visit. Personally, I deal with all the school bookings myself and all inquiries come to me either directly via email or through my website and other places online, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other sites.
Most authors have websites with their contact details, even if the authors don’t administer the sites themselves. With other authors, you may have to contact the publisher, or if they aren’t able to help, the author may have an agent or even a publicist who looks after all their personal appearances, including signing events, school and library visits.
If you still have trouble locating contact information for the author of your choice, you can look into writer’s organizations that the author might belong to or is affiliated with. Perhaps your chosen author or illustrator is a member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators or SCBWI, which you can contact via the national office or the relevant chapter either in your own area or in the area where you know your selected author resides. SCBWI can be reached at www.scbwi.org and you can usually easily locate other writing groups online.
Depending on the author, do be prepared to not receive an immediate response. If you’re contacting an agent or publicist, they may be dealing with a number of different clients and their schedules. They may simply be very busy, so be sure to give yourself plenty of lead time when planning for a visit or event.
