Author and illustrator visits are such important and exciting events to host and organise. Not only do they support our incredible local and national book creators and promote their works, they demonstrate to students that there is a real person behind those works (important in this age of AI) and that it is a rewarding carer path. Authors and illustrators bring literature to life through engaging presentations, detail-driven writing sessions, or hands-on workshops. Author and illustrator visits help support a love of and engagement with reading. Loans of books by those authors soar before and especially after visits and it can drive interest in writing groups and book clubs.
But, scheduling an author visit can be daunting. There is a financial cost to budget for (as there should be, we should be supporting these authors and illustrators financially for their time, never ask them do to it without payment) and I want to make it a smooth and problem-free event for our staff, students and most especially our special guest author or illustrator.
I am sad to say that since our multiple library moves and renovations and builds in the past few years, author and illustrator visits have been few and far between at my school in the secondary library. Thank goodness for the organisation and work of our junior school teacher librarian who keeps a wonderful schedule of guest authors coming, but in the secondary library, I was already overwhelmed with my moving to-do lists and constant changes to take on the pressure of an author visit. This year, I was determined to change that, and so I wrote for myself a list of things to get organised and ensure a smooth visit.
I can say, that having author/illustrator Sophie Beer visit the school for two days to work with Year 6, 7 and 8 students, as well as run a digital illustration workshop for secondary students and staff, was amazing. Sophie was phenomenal. The work she put into her presentations, the ability to bring so much energy (even with a tough crowd of 120 Year 8 students), and the way she engaged with students who were so keen to share their own writing and illustrating with her, was so wonderful.
My goal next year is to increase the number of visits we host in the secondary library each year to two or three.
If you, like me, need to plan all the details to make it happen, I hope sharing this list with you makes you more likely to try hosting an author/illustrator visit.
How to find an author/illustrator:
To find an author or illustrator to visit your school, you’ll most likely need to book through a speakers agency. Most creators prefer to be booked through a speakers agency, and this helps with the process of streamlining invoicing and scheduling the days and times of the visit. Each agency and author will have a requirement for how many sessions they will run in a day, maximum number of students in each session, and some suggested workshop and presentation descriptions. These are likely to be listed on the speaker agency website.
If I have a particular timeframe in mind, I ask the agency for recommendations of speakers due to availability. Asking for recommendations based on location can help if funds are tight and you’d like a local speaker to keep down the costs involved with paying for travel and accomodation.
You can also ask for recommendations from local school libraries who might have booked that author or illustrator before.
Another fantastic way I’ve discovered authors and illustrators to host is to attend local or state literary conferences, CBCA events and Romancing the Stars events. These allow you to meet and see authors and illustrators present and you can get a feel for their style.
Finding the right fit
It’s a tricky job, being an author or an illustrator, and then being able to present and perform, often to large audiences. Many authors and illustrators do a phenomenal job of bringing high energy and engaging presentations. Think about what you are looking for. Some authors and illustrators will be better with smaller groups of students, working on the details of writing or illustration, where high energy isn’t needed. Others can master the stage and seemly amaze and entrance even the most disengaged of students. That’s why seeing an author or illustrator at a festival or event first can help you match them to the right fit of audience and purpose of visit.
Before the event
Once I’ve found the author or illustrator and confirmed the booking, I prepare a schedule for the day. I create a schedule of the day with locations, who they will be presenting to, how many students, and for how long. This might be done in collaboration with the author or illustrator or with the booking agency and might be determined by your timetable and allowances and their presentation styles and minimum schedule.
I contact the author (directly or via the speaker agency) with the outline for the day and top tips around technology access, parking. I like to send through the schedule for the day, along with a school map, my mobile number, things they’ll need to know about the location, technology available, wifi availability, rest breaks, access to food, and information about getting to the school and onsite parking. I organise to have a parking space reserved for them on the school grounds.
I work with the school’s technology department to organise school guest wifi logins, or a guest presenter laptop. I communicate clearly with the author about if they have slides if they are bringing them on their own device or usb or emailing them prior.
We offer the presenter food and drink, purchased through the school tuck shop, on the day, so I make sure to ask for their dietary requirements.
I also ask if the students will need any writing equipment or devices.
I put up a display about the author or illustrator’s work, including a poster and their works.
I work with students in our library lessons to introduce the author and their visit, discuss the purpose of the visit, introduce their works, encourage students to read a copy ( if number of copies allow, most are reserved or placed on hold for the visit and students are able to borrow these afterwards).
Make sure you have a copy of their works, if not all of them, at least some. Students will be clamouring to borrow these. I introduce the visiting author in library sessions, emails, newsletters and assembly before they come. And I try to prompt students to prepare questions before the session.
I am fortunate to have access to a print room at our school, so I design bookmarks and have them printed. They are great if students want to get an autograph from the special guest and to promote the event and the author or illustrators’ works.
I prepare a written introduction to read before each presentation. On the day, I usually don’t need it, but it helps to write it, using the author or illustrator’s website, bio and presentation overview.
I organise the school photographer to come and take photos or to have a school device on hand to take photos.
The day or two before
Just before the event, I make sure to send a reminder email to teachers about where and when the sessions are. I usually have already emailed them with calendar reminders and have done lead-in sessions with classes. I make sure to share your expectations of the session with your teaching staff, so they can attend the session (great PD for them), promote it with students in the lead-in and be available to supervise student behaviour.
I touch base with the author to confirm details and if they need anything else.
I pull together a trolley of resources for the day, including spare pencils and paper (because there is always a student who has forgotten or they are on hand if your guest needs to pivot). I add the bookmarks, copies of books, whiteboard markers, spare laptop charger or battery pack, wifi details and printed schedule of the day. I add a water glass (water jug to be added on the day) and write myself a few reminder notes for things to do on the day.
On the day
The first things I make sure to do after welcoming the author or illustrator to the school is show them where the bathrooms are and provide water and offer them tea or coffee (a simple thing that can be forgotten in the rush of the day and they’ve often had a bit of a journey to get to the school). Then it’s time to get set-up in the location, get the tech working and ensure the author or illustrator has everything they need.
I make sure to never leave our guest alone. We have a library team, so I either am with them for the day or we take turns being in the session with the author and ensuring there is someone from the library team to do the introductions to the session and be on hand to assist if anything goes awry.
In the schedule for the day, I make sure there are scheduled break times for the author or illustrator to catch their breath, visit the bathroom or have something to eat. This is when we offer them morning tea, lunch or afternoon tea, depending on how long they are with us. We provide this from the school tuckshop or cafe. In a tight scheduled day, we preorder and have the food on hand but if time allows, we allow the author to select what they want to eat.
I introduce the author or illustrator using my prepared intro at the start of each session and quickly remind students of the behaviour I expect of them. I remain on hand, supervising student behaviour, assisting with technology as needed. I find that the best presenters pivot, depending on their audience, so it’s good to be prepared in case they suddenly need a speaker, whiteboard makers, poster paper or other resources.
Throughout the day, I check in with our visiting author to make sure if they need to visit the bathrooms, need anything else or need more support within the sessions. I also try to remember to get some photos of the visit.
After the day
Ensure payment for the visit is paid promptly. I like to write an email thanking the author or illustrator for their time and wonderful presentation.
I create a write-up for our school library website, newsletter and assembly, so it’s handy to have photos or student feedback from these.
Downloadable checklist:
To help me get organised and remember everything, I’ve created a checklist for before, during and after the event. You can download it here.
More tips:
Megan and Alison on the Your Kids Next Read podcast recently shared an episode called Preparing for Author Visits. It’s more about how authors prepare (I’m sure they’ve done one from the perspective of library staff, but I can’t find it at the moment), but I thought it was helpful in understanding what an author needs to know and expects and what to look for in an author.