What a buzz it was to be out there with you today and sharing BOOKS and your Literacy Day! There are some absolutely wonderful books that you are reading at your school and there were some really wonderful characters dressed up there - from the big and little kids!! Congratulations! I hope you liked my short little tales and me wandering throguh your assembly rather than standing at the front of the hall at the podium. It is much more fun getting really close to you all. And thanks for the BBQ sausage sandwich too ... I feasted on mine as soon as I jumped into the car.
is a wonderful initiative that enables underprivileged children to receive a bag of books - from titles
! In fact at the end of the year the kids have nine BRAND NEW BOOKS that they have chosen - they receive a pack three times a year. How awesome!
Three cheers to the corporate sponsors and government initiatives that provide the financial assistance to enable this to happen. We HAVE to have fluent and active readers and lovers of books!!
The Books in Homes Programme was originally inspired by Maori author Alan Duff who wrote the widely acclaimed book “Once Were Warriors”. It was founded 21 years ago in New Zealand after realising that failure in adult life often stems from childhoods spent in homes without books. <
Darcy Pattison and Science Specialist, Marilyn Johnson on Earth Day.
CONGRATS to the fabulous 2012
Authors for Earth Day Participants: Steve Swinburne, Dan Gutman, Jennifer Ward, Barb Rosenstock, Barbara Gowan, Conrad Storad, Michelle Worthington, Molly Idle and myself.
To date, the Authors for Earth Day coalition has given voice to young readers across the United States (FL, AZ, NY, PA, NJ, CA, CT, AR, IL & VT) and they even went international this year with an A4ED author visit in Queensland, Australia. In addition to inspiring thousands of students, contributions to conservation have grown to over $15,600! The organizations that benefitted from this year’s school visits were: National Park Foundation, World Wildlife Fund, Humane Society of the United States, Southwest Wildlife, Audubon Arkansas, Australian Koala Foundation, Watershed Nature Center, Phoenix Zoo Conservation Fund, and Kitts Sea Turtle Monitoring Network.
On the A4ED blog, this spring brought several new guest-bloggers—Joan Donaldson, Natasha Wing, Linda Crotta Brennan and Linda Bozzo—who shared personal insight into their writing with some valuable thoughts about living a little “greener.” Readers can enjoy those special written contributions at any time at www.authorsforearthday.org/blog.
SCBWI Summer Conferenc
AuthorsForEarthDay.org will have a table at the SCBWI summer conference, August 3-6. Stop by and talk to them about participating next year.
On 5/11/12, I spoke at Laurel Ridge Elementary in Fairfax, VA. More than a week prior, the school displayed this in the library:
It was a great school, and patient. I had a raspy voice after several days in bed and the kids did not exploit my weakness.
My last overnight-stay school visit of the 2011-12 school year was on 5/7/12 at Swainston Middle School, my third school Las Vegas over three years (2009, 2011, 2012).
Guest post by Ashlee Rowe.
A Wisconsin native, Ashlee Rowe was the public relations manager for a small children’s publisher before leaving for the freelance writing and publicity market. She currently lives in Charleston, SC. For your publicity needs contact her at [email protected]
You’ve probably been there. The local bookstore or festival signing shiny new copies of your books, reading to excited children, and answering questions. If you’re a children’s author, you’re usually lucky. Children are star-struck by the chance to meet a real live author, and most parents are eager to encourage any literary interest. The event is a success; you’ve managed to reach an audience—maybe as many as one hundred more people know about your book. But does it really help the bottom line? Is this the best use of your time? What other things could you be doing to help promote yourself and your books?
In my time working as public relations manager for a small children’s publisher there are two major and often overlooked types of events that authors, especially children’s authors can do to help their book sell: school visits and speaking at tradeshows.
Book Marketing at a Tradeshow
As an author, it is more essential than ever to market yourself, and to make your name recognizable to those in both the writing community and in your local region or state. There is no easier way to make your name recognizable to bookstores, gift shops, and distributors than by connecting with them at a trade show, especially if you are available to give a presentation. Speaking at these events gives you that rare opportunity to reach a large audience in a memorable way, especially if you have some background that makes you an expert in a literary or childcare field. By speaking, you are showing distributors and booksellers that you are serious about the industry that you are working in, that you are willing to market yourself, and that you believe in your product. As they say, it’s a small world and if you can impress that one right person, it matters a little less whether or not your book “fits” for their company, they’ll work to make it fit.
Not sure what to speak about? Pick from any number of topics related to your books or your professional background and become an expert. Are you a former teacher? Then speak about the importance of picture books for early readers. Does your latest book have science or math themes? Then give a presentation about how picture books with these themes can enhance and strengthen understanding of these concepts for visual learners in the classroom. If you’re creative, you can find a way to incorporate your book into any type of presentation for any show.
School Visits Connect You with Audience
I’ve been surprised at how many authors and illustrators I’ve worked with that are afraid of speaking in front of a group of children. You write for children right? By declining or refusing to do school visits, you not only miss out on a major sales opportunity for your books, but you also miss out on a potentially lucrative opportunity for yourself. If you have a part-time job or are fortunate enough to make writing your full-time career, school visits are a perfect way to supplement your income while boosting boo
...as in Neenah, WI, where I spoke at Horace Mann Middle School and Neenah High School on 4/30/12.
Several weeks earlier, I was warned that the Horace Mann gym has many skylights, making it difficult to make it dim enough for PowerPoint. But the school offered a generous solution—cover some of the skylights from above.
It worked fine. And the large audience was attentive and participatory.
At the high school, it was a treat to see several original newspaper front pages about the moon landing framed and on display. Here is one:
The auditorium in which I presented:
It has been a thoroughly busy time since arriving back home from the latest trip away working on new manuscripts and proofing ones to come out as well as doing a few school holiday things like going to the movies. Then of course there is the task of catching up on emails and other business from being away! But now, we are nearly on top of it all.
I do though want to drop in this image that is rather special.
While I was in Hong Kong I visited
Po Leung Kok 1984 College as part of my festival schedule. At the end of my presentation, which was on all the different sorts of writing that I do (I also had the students rocking and grooving and waving hands to a few pieces of music too) I was presented with this framed piece of calligraphy. This was crafted by the students for me and is such a beautiful piece of work. The characters say
Great Love from Generation to Generation. Getting goosebumps? I do!
My knowledge of Chinese script is next to nothing (alas) so thankfully they also attached this wording on the back:
This is so wonderfully special. Each time I look at it - and it sits very prominently in our loungeroom for the moment - I am just thrilled. This is exactly what the books were about ... giving a voice to the Chinese immigrants who came to Australia and did so much to make this such a glorious country. I am so delighted that the students were able to hear this voice as they read my books and that they feel closely attached to what I wrote. What a privilege.
I told them that I would have this on display in my house ... and it is! It will eventually make it into my office! Thank you to the students of Class 3E - you made this author feel so very special!
On 10/20/11, Guam held the Great Guam ShakeOut, the largest earthquake drill in U.S. history. I just so happened to be on the island at the time, and just so happened to film it, and just so happened to get permission to post it here:
It called to mind one of my all-time favorite magazine covers, from 1995, though the location it references is far from Guam:
On 3/26/12, I spoke in Roswell, but not because of this book:
See, the Roswell I was in is the one in Georgia, not New Mexico. (Though a movie theater there is cleverly called "Area 51.")
While I didn’t encounter any UFOs in the Georgia Roswell, I did encounter something else rare and noteworthy: Susan Grigsby, my kind host, was the 2011 Georgia Library Media Specialist of the Year. Another congrats, Susan!
I spoke three times at Elkins Pointe and was more than humbled when Susan told me that some of the students who attended the first presentation asked if they could go again to my second or third (which was the same presentation).
And I was heartened that the school/teachers allowed that. To me, such a decision exemplifies the best of effective education: spontaneous support of a student who shows interest in something beneficial, even if it means deviating from the schedule. Thanks again for having me, Elkins Pointe.
I just thought it was cool the way the PowerPoint projected
before the screen was set up.
This, I believe, was the first school to include my not-yet-released
Batman book in a welcome display.
0 Comments on Elkins Pointe Middle School as of 1/1/1900
On occasion, a host at one of my school visits gets a panicked look when s/he sees what I bring for my presentation. Rather than come right out with what that is, I’ll trace the evolution, for fuller effect:
2004
- portable whiteboard to draw on, plus the marker and eraser
- slide projector (you read that right; more below)
- the slides
- small drawing to tape to the bottom of one of the students’ chairs before they enter the room; at the end of the presentation, I ask them to check for it to determine which student will randomly win a copy of one of my books
- the book to randomly give out
- tape
- my presentation outline
- handouts:
- feedback form to be copied and distributed to students
- feedback form to be copied and distributed to teachers
- referral form (to fax to other schools; probably no one ever used it)
- list of publications that publish work by young people (to be distributed to students)
notes:I don’t know why I thought the schools wouldn’t have a whiteboard, and a much bigger one at that.Well past the ubiquity of PowerPoint, I really did buy a used slide projector on eBay. Though I expected to spend no more than $5 on one, the one I chose cost $68. I carried it in one of those familiar cavernous IKEA bags:
It was especially annoying to lug in when it was raining. Once I left it in the car overnight before a visit and it was so cold out that once inside the school it took 20 minutes for it to “thaw.”The slides were more expensive than the projector.If the kids sat on the floor instead of chairs, I’d tape the small drawing to one of their rears. Do not believe that.2007I finally began using PowerPoint, reselling my slide projector on eBay (for a loss at $44) and adopting the infinitely more portable flash drive. I had been postponing making this switch because I was worried that it would be complicated to make my first PowerPoint; I ended up throwing the first one together during the hourlong nap of my infant daughter.2008I stopped distributing forms and instead e-mailed versions of them. Soon I would stop doing this as well, hoping word of mouth would ignite even without the thrill of paperwork.
Several weeks ago I visited the Elizabeth Cady Stanton Elementary School in Seneca Falls. Guess what day it was? Right, Silly Hat Day! Later some of the teachers sent me reviews of the "Silly Sottile Poetry Show."
Here are the reviews:
“You [Joe]have a very nice rapport with the children. My fourth graders really enjoyedyour stories and poems.” Fourth grade teacher, Michele Marconi, Elizabeth CadyStanton Elementary School
“Mr. Sottilewas very well prepared, considerate and understanding to the age level [of thestudents at the assembly].” Michael Pucino, teacher, Elizabeth Cady StantonElementary School
“I liked theinteractive parts of the program where students were responsive when poems wereread. It kept them engaged.” Miss Kate Smithler, Elizabeth Cady Stanton
One author. Hundreds of kids. Remote locations. Computer equipment. Slippery cafeteria floors.
What could go wrong?
A few of the possible mishaps (beyond the obvious, such as a worked-up audience) an author might encounter on the circuit:
- PowerPoint equipment not set up upon arrival
- PowerPoint equipment set up but not working
- PowerPoint equipment not present at all
- PowerPoint equipment set up in middle of sea of students sitting on floor, but no remote (meaning you must meander through the kids to change each slide)
- No microphone with a big group
- No microphone with a small group
- Microphone battery conks out mid-presentation
- Principal not told there would be a presentation
- Teachers not told there would be a presentation
- Classroom teachers don’t remain with students during presentation
- Presentation scheduled during students’ usual lunch period
- Presentation in room next to a loud activity (such as band practice)
- People regularly coming in and out of the room during the presentation—and letting door slam each time
- School changes audience make-up in an impractical way without giving you warning (such as grouping kindergartners with sixth graders)
- No available parking space in school lot
- Forgetting flash drive in school computer
- Accidentally saying a word you shouldn’t in front of the kids (this happened only once to me and the word wasn’t so bad that I felt wildly inappropriate when it slipped out)
- Leaving the same time the buses are so you get trapped behind them for 30 minutes
Authors—please add to the list in the comments.All of this is said with affection. None of this—even all of this—is enough to deter me from continuing to do as many school visits as possible. Everything worthwhile involves a challenge at some point.
By: Kathy Temean,
on 1/28/2012
Blog:
Writing and Illustrating
(
Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags:
Melissa Azarian,
Mike Rex,
Author,
Interview,
Graphic Novels,
Book,
networking,
School Visit,
Goodnight Goon,
Add a tag
This is another article we had planned for Sprouts Magazine. I thought it would show you how getting out there, talking to people, and doing school visits can lead to more buzz about you and your books. Melissa is the co-chair of the PTO’s Visiting Authors Committee in Long Hill Township.
Last March, she hosted a visit to the Gillette School from Mike Rex. He received rave reviews, including one from a child who said, “He is SO awesome.” Melissa agreed, and thought it would be SO awesome to interview Mike and find out more about his creative journey.
So, if you network and get a school visit, make sure you are awsome. Always be prepared to inspire, entertain, and provide the children a valuable experience. If you do, you will find yourself in articles that other people will read. Some of those people maybe teachers or on the PTO Visiting Authors Committee and contact you; helping you keep the buzz going.
Melissa Eisen Azarian is a freelance writer and co-chair of her PTO’s Visiting Authors Committee. Her first children’s book, The Amistad Mutiny: From the Court Case to the Movie, was released by Enslow Publishers in 2009. [email protected]
Michael Rex is the author/illustrator of Goodnight Goon, which reached #1 on the New York Times Best Sellers List. He has written and illustrated over twenty books. He grew up in Chatham, New Jersey and is a graduate of the School of Visual Arts. Recently, he moved to Leonia, New Jersey, where he is busy working on Fangbone! Third Grade Barbarian! In January, Putnam released the first two books in this new graphic novel series for elementary readers.
Here is the Interview:
Your mom is the Administrative Director at a library. How much did her working at a library influence your career choice?
I was there often as a kid and she brought home lots of books for me. However, I remember more art books than novels. Collections of cartoons, “How To” books and books on movie making.
She could buy books at a good discount, so she bought me “How To Draw Comics The Marvel Way” when it first came out. I was never a big superhero guy, but I did learn many basic drawing techniques from that book.
What other factors influenced your decision to become an author/illustrator for children?
After graduating from SVA, I was interested in cartooning, and I was working as a video editor and I was always drawing. My work was getting silly, and kind of cute. It dawned on me that children’s illustration might work for me. I began to spend time at libraries in Manhattan and in bookstores. What grabbed me was that there was no one style that was popular. Every book looked different. Each book had its own feel. It seemed to be a genre, or format, that let an artist use their visual style to support, and add to a story.
What were your biggest obstacles, either academically or professionally?
Biggest hurdle academically? That’s easy. I hated school. Hated it every day from fifth grade to eleventh. In twelfth grade I went to Morris County Vo-Tech half a day to study commercial art. I loved it.
I hated school because I was very unorganized a
Finding out that Edward Ormondroyd, author of the 1957 YA novel David and the Phoenix, was still with us (at age 86) was a highlight of my summer.
Contacting him and convincing him to let me interview him for my blog was as well.
Yet in terms of moving experiences, both turned out to be mere prologue to the Edward-related event that unfolded in Trumansburg, NY, on 12/2/11. I believe it is unprecedented in the known history of author visits at schools.
Like the fabled Phoenix of his book, Edward (as author) has risen again, and it didn’t require a pyre or fire of any kind.
In the interview, Edward said that, but for two “unofficial” (my term) exceptions, he never spoke in schools, as many children’s authors do today.
A humble and happy man, he didn’t say this with any discernible hint of regret or longing, but I saw an opportunity just the same.
By pure, freakish chance, at the same time I had been tracking down Edward, I was also booking an author visit at Trumansburg Elementary in Trumansburg, NY…which, I would soon learn, happens to be the town in which Edward lives.
Yet apparently, the fact that he is a published author is largely unknown among the townsfolk.
More broadly, David and the Phoenix remains beloved by certain adult readers yet largely unknown among the current generation.
I believed kids and Trumansburgians alike would be most interested in Edward’s books and in Edward himself.
So I asked Purple House Press, the exclusive publisher of David and the Phoenix, if they would discreetly donate copies of it to the school so the kids could take turns reading it in the
A lovely time of year to visit the Lowcountry. On 11/17/11 and 11/18/11, I spoke seven times at four Charleston area schools. It was so tight because I had to book my flight before knowing how many bookings I would get, and when more came in afterward, I had to ask each school for their understanding with regard to the juggling act that ensued.
At both of the 11/17/11 schools, I happened to know the mom of one of the students, and got to see both. At one of the 11/17/11 schools, I also got to see this:
At the other, I happened upon this cheeky way to recycle an old card catalog:
This took one person two full days!
On 11/18/11, my schedule was so tight that I had to cut short the last presentation to have ample time to refuel and return the rental car and make my flight. Of course, this was the first time in forever where a school's laptop froze during my PowerPoint...meaning we lost even more time while they retrieved and booted up a replacement. Luckily, the kids and staff were most patient and I felt I still fit in most of the material.
View Next 25 Posts
.jpeg?picon=3282)
3 Comments on Wild West: twice in one month, last added: 3/21/2012
very good post