Here is a list of Frequently Asked Questions. If you don’t see your answer here, please contact me.
Other than you large group assemblies, what workshops do you offer? I have done a wide variety of workshops in the past, but I’m trying to simplify and this year am offering the following: 1) An Idea Generation workshop, 2) A fiction-writing, multi-age workshop, 3) An Interactive Reading and Mentor-Writing workshop for kinders, 4) An Author Walk-About.
When I look at your “sample day” can I substitute any of these workshops for the ones shown? Yes, but please get the schedule to me early so that I can be prepared.
How many kids do you teach at a time? For assemblies I will work with any number of students, though I prefer to have them broken into grades k-2 and 3+ so that I can give leveled talks to these young writers. For workshops, I will work with up to 2 classrooms at a time–anything larger than that degrades the quality of the workshop.
How many sessions will you do in total in a day? I do up to 4 sessions per day.
How much time do you require between presentations? I need 10 minutes between workshops, and 15 between assemblies. I also require a 45 minute-1 hour lunch.
What are “expenses?” I charge the current IRS mileage rate for all my visits. If you are more than an hour from my home in Dublin, Ohio, I generally require an overnight stay in your area. I ask that you book and pay for that, and send me the confirmation number well in advance. I do not charge for meals the night before my visit, but do ask that you provide lunch for me the day of the visit, as well as bottled water. Please note that I am allergic to soy proteins (not soybean oil–I know…how confusing!), oranges, and tree nuts.
Do you require a book sale? Yes. I also require that all the students are familiar with at least one of my books prior to my visit. This is the single biggest thing a school can do to make an author visit a success.
Do you sign your books? Of course!
What do you need for your assemblies? I need an long table for my props, a projector and screen for my PowerPoint presentation, a microphone, and a bottle of water.
Do you bring live animals? No. The Columbus Zoo, however, has partnered with me to bring live animals as an option at a greatly discounted price. They will visit your school for only $200 if you are in Franklin or Delaware counties, or for $300 in any other county in the state. Depending on your location, they may send animals from The Wilds rather than from Columbus.