# data[].attributes.body
Visit Scholastic's Storyvoice to attend live virtual author visits with your students. A read-aloud event is held every single week!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Storyvoice | Live Author Events | Scholastic Book Fairs

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Bring your favorite author to the classroom in a video meetup hosted by Scholastic Book Fairs. Storyvoice live author visits deepen a love for books.

# data[].attributes.body
Looking for a pre-recorded read aloud? Look no further! Visit Dan Gutman's Facebook page for a collection of readings from his books.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
At 2pm, I'm going to do a read-aloud of my new My Weird School book "Miss Blake Is a Flake!"  These are weird times, so I thought a little fireside chat... | By Dan Gutman | Facebook

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
At 2pm, I'm going to do a read-aloud of my new My Weird School book "Miss Blake Is a Flake!"  These are weird times, so I thought a little fireside chat...

# data[].attributes.body
Visit BookTrust to explore a variety of literature resources including author read alouds, illustrator drawing tutorials, author interviews, and more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
BookTrust is the UK’s largest children’s reading charity. We are dedicated to getting children reading. Each year we reach 3.9 million children across the UK with books, resources and support to help develop a love of reading.

# data[].attributes.body
Interested in planning a virtual author visit? Learn how to do so using this page from Penguin book publishers.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Request an Author Visit - Penguin Classroom Portal

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Below is a step-by-step guide to planning your next event

# data[].attributes.headline
How to Coordinate Virtual Author Visits (Edutopia)

# data[].attributes.subject
How to Coordinate Virtual Author Visits (Edutopia)

# data[].attributes.body
New to the virtual author visit process? No problem! View this article from Edutopia to learn the in's and out's of planning a virtual visit.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Interacting with the author of a book they've read is a powerful way to engage students and gives them deep insight into the writing process.

As a young writer wannabe growing up in rural West Virginia, I never imagined the possibilities for connecting with authors that have been made possible by videoconferencing platforms. I never even imagined that authors would be interested in engaging with me-but I've seen firsthand the enthusiasm that writers have for school audiences. At this point, I've helped facilitate about 10 virtual visits for authors with K-6 students online, as well as an online author visit with one of my undergraduate classes.

Part of the inspiration for this post is a celebration of the work that teachers have done in creating connections and helping their students see themselves as writers, and part of this is inspired by the helpful work that authors have done in offering visits and read-alouds in online settings during the pandemic.

Author Visits Offer Helping Hands

In a recent interview, author Chris Crutcher talked with me about his work in online visits and their benefits: "In the early days of the pandemic, I recall heroic actions by teachers catching up with this new form of education, which created a distance between them and their students-a distance they didn't like. I saw tremendous creativity. I also noticed that in any given presentation, I was talking with far fewer students than when I was making in-person appearances. The good news was, more of those students were interested in talking about books and then discussing the writing process. I think they were also more willing to ask serious questions, questions they might not have asked in a crowded auditorium or classroom. It's easier to be yourself when you're going to school in your bedroom."

Inspiration and authorship don't occur in a vacuum, and there's great beauty in engaging with authors to establish a clear literacy community for my students. While author studies can give useful background, there's nothing like talking with an author about the unique inspiration and process they go through in creating. This sense of connection is part of why people tell stories and become authors in the first place-we need to know we aren't alone. While this connection continues to be true, the truth is a universal one.

How to Make Contact

A range of authors include contact information on their websites, and some also provide contact information specifically for author visits. A quick look online at the official sites for students' favorite authors may result in some interaction. Additionally, sites like The Author Village operate with the express purpose of connecting teachers and classrooms with authors.

The site includes information about visits from many notable authors, including Ellen Oh, Angela Dominguez, Lauren Castillo, and many more. Some authors may visit for free, while others might require a fee. If a fee is required, author visits can range from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. Authors like Jason Reynolds also include cost ranges in their online forms.

Promote Creativity in a Virtual Space

So, why spend the time contacting authors and potentially securing funds through grants and partnerships for this kind of work? For one, having the chance to engage with authors online saves the additional cost that may be involved in travel. Additionally, these visits can open up creative opportunities, depending on the visit details that you work out. Author visits can be a celebration of their work in a virtual setting. They can include moments when authors connect with the original stories that students share, comment on the work that students create, and engage in reading work aloud. Students can show off their drawings and co-write with the author. Some author-illustrators come ready to flip the camera onto their desks and engage in drawing activities.

During online meetings, students can engage and be seen in ways that may be more difficult, intimidating, or even impossible in a face-to-face setting. You can work with your students to have compositions ready to share (if authors want to engage this way) or have questions prepared. Students can also offer questions unmuted or through the chat features, which allow those who aren't comfortable speaking up to have an opportunity to engage-even across languages.

In terms of coauthoring, you can have students prepare writing in advance or work with them to share their compositions in community with authors online either by unmuting or typing in the chat. Because of the access that online visits can create with chatting and unmuting, you can guide students in practicing on-the-spot composing.

For instance, try using the screen-sharing feature to display an example starter sentence or topic, which leads into a shared writing exercise with the author as reader/commentor or, depending on their comfort level, a participant. If you feel that additional preparation would be involved for students to be comfortable composing, which may well be the case, pieces can be prepared beforehand to share with the author.

Managing an online meeting can depend on the features available on the web conferencing platform. You can explore options for unmuting, asking students to raise their digital hands, or providing an open engagement style with chat. Some of this depends on the size of the group of students and also depends on what authors may or may not typically plan for.

I recommend communicating ideas to authors about read-alouds, coauthoring, and any other steps so that they know what to expect, as well as meeting with authors a few minutes early before the students join the meeting. Some authors have particular ways they engage online, while others have a more flexible approach, and it's best to know that in advance. A thoughtful approach outweighs on-the-spot improvisation.

Virtual Visits Make the Unreachable Attainable

While many of the practices that we've engaged in during the pandemic have been the result of the necessity of the moment, I hope to continue conducting virtual author visits and see great purpose in this approach. As I mentioned at the outset of this post, I never imagined that I would one day be in touch with authors I love, facilitating online visits and interactions with my students. Students of all ages can see and talk to the person behind their favorite stories, hear details about what inspired particular aspects of work, and even engage with authors and creators, sharing compositions from the classroom and developing a comfort and familiarity with the seemingly distant or unreachable world of professional authoring.

The experience of having an author notice a student, say their name, and listen to their experiences around common themes is beautiful. Sometimes one of the best ways to help students make connections to and appreciate literacy is, indeed, to see an author firsthand and talk with them about the reachable, yet sometimes mysterious, world of writing.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Interacting with the author of a book they've read is a powerful way to engage students and gives them deep insight into the writing process.

# data[].attributes.body
Visit the Author Village to connect your library or class with a virtual visit from an author or illustrator.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Author Village is a community of forward-thinking and award-winning children's book authors and illustrators available for school visits, library visits, festivals, conferences, panels, workshops, and special events.

# data[].attributes.headline
Virtual Author Visits: Avoid These 9 Mistakes

# data[].attributes.subject
Virtual Author Visits: Avoid These 9 Mistakes

# data[].attributes.body
Worried about planning a virtual author visit? Check out this page from Library Learners to see nine common mistakes to avoid.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Hi, friends! Have you hosted any virtual author visits? Do you have any on your schedule? Let me share a few tips that I learned the hard way. I hope you'll avoid my mistakes and make an amazing connection between your students and an author!

Teach Audience Behavior

The word "assume" will play a key role in the mistakes I made before our first author visit. First of all, I assumed that our students knew how to listen respectfully to a virtual speaker. Wrong!

After our first virtual author visit, I talked to our music teacher because I know that audience behavior is one of our state standards in elementary music. She shared that because students are learning from screens more than ever this year, they are accustomed to getting relaxed and comfortable when they are watching a screen. Yep! That's exactly what it looked like in our library!

She said that when her classes are watching a video performance in her music class, she requires them to behave like a live audience. She explains to her students that the person who made the video went to a lot of effort to make this video and help them learn, and they owe him or her their respect.

So, if you are planning for a virtual author visit in the future, start setting your expectations for audience behavior now!

Read the Book Before the Virtual Author Visit

Read the book that the author wrote yourself before you schedule the author visit. Think about connections that you can make to other books you've shared with your students and think about connections to your school community. For example, we are visiting next week with Silvia Lopez, author of a picture book biography of Selena. At our dual language school, I believe that our students will connect with the challenges Selena had in learning to speak a new language.

Read all of the book (if it's a picture book) or part of the book (if it's a chapter book) with your students. You want them to have a solid understanding of what an author's job is and some background knowledge of this author that they're going to meet. Your students should feel like they know the author even before the virtual meeting.

Collect Author Questions Before the Visit

After you read the author's book with your students, ask them what questions they would ask the author. Record those questions in a document, and forward the questions in an email to the author. I made the mistake of allowing spur of the moment questions during our virtual author visit. Some of the students learning from home had such S-L-O-W internet connections that we could not understand a single word they were saying. It was a frustrating waste of our limited time with the author.

How Many Participants?

My Zoom account at school has a limit of 100 participants, and we are currently in hybrid learning. We had more than 100 students in our first virtual author visit. I asked every classroom teacher to send the link home to her virtual students so they could participate individually. I asked our teachers to log in themselves to our call, so that the in-person students could watch the author on the large projection screen in the classroom. That way, a class of 10 or 12 or 20 in-person students only counted as one "participant" in the Zoom call.

If you have too many virtual students for this strategy to work, check to see if your principal or lead librarian or someone in your school district can share their Zoom account that allows more participants.

Schedule a Time Buffer

I recommend allowing at least 15 minutes for the previous class to leave and the class viewing the virtual author visit to be seated. You will want time to review the audience expectations and to make sure all of your technology is set up and working.

I assumed incorrectly that 10 minutes would be enough transition time. When the previous class was picked up 5 minutes late, it took a while for the students to get seated for the virtual author visit. I didn't have time to review our expectations for being a respectful audience. I didn't have time to check all the Zoom settings before we got started, so I was clicking all over the Zoom screen at the same time that I was introducing the author.

Test Your Tech

I know, I know. This is virtual teaching 101, right? Always test the technology! I had tested the video, but not the sound, before our visit started. I had to scramble to find the right audio output for the laptop I was using for our Zoom.

You probably already know this, but be sure to check the video AND audio before your virtual author visit begins!

Disable Chat

During your virtual meeting, disable the chat feature. You have no way to predict what students (or someone else in the room with them) will type in the chat until it's too late and everyone can see it. In our case, we had all of the first graders typing, "hi!" every two seconds. I realized that the distracting chat could have been worse, but I did not have the ability to monitor the live author presentation AND the chat at the same time. I wished that I had disabled chat from the start.

Don't Allow Participants to Unmute

If you are using Zoom AND you are the one who set up the call, you can mute all participants AND change a security setting so that none of the participants can unmute themselves.

You can learn more about managing participants in a ZOOM call in this article. Check out these settings BEFORE your virtual author visit so that you are comfortable with where they are located and can access them quickly during the meeting.

Pin the Author

When you are in a Zoom meeting, you can click on the 3 dots in the top right corner of any participant's video square, and choose "pin" from the drop-down menu. After you pin a speaker, that person will remain in the spotlight (the larger size square in the center of the screen) until you undo the pin or the call ends. You should not have to pin a speaker if everyone else is muted. But if many people are speaking, pinning the author means that everyone can still see the author on screen, even while someone else is speaking.

What Can You Add?

What have you learned from your virtual author visits at your school? Please share in a comment!

Overall, our virtual author visit was a great experience for our students. I know that the next one will be even better!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Virtual Author Visits: Avoid These 9 Mistakes - Library Learners

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Read this blog post to learn 10 tips to make your virtual author visits successful! Plan ahead to make the most of your time together!

# data[].attributes.headline
How to Get the Most Out of a Virtual Author Visit

# data[].attributes.subject
How to Get the Most Out of a Virtual Author Visit

# data[].attributes.body
Learn how to get the most out of a virtual author visit by reading this article from CCIRA, an educational organization for the promotion of literacy. Read about selecting an author, preparing for a visit, and what to do the day of the event.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In the time of coronavirus, there is a lot of uncertainty about how to preserve the educational traditions that we cherish. Recess. Team sports. Clubs. Library visits. Maker spaces. Read-Alouds. Some of these activities are difficult if not impossible to re-imagine as a virtual activity in a distance learning setting, but technology has made great strides, and when it comes to author visits, there are options!

Author visits are a unique opportunity for students to interact with creators and gain insight into writing. Typically, an author visit involves an author attending your school in person for a portion of the day, during which the author gives various presentations, speeches, or writing workshops. I've been fortunate to visit many schools across the country. Young scholars have the best questions, the most enthusiasm, and an almost tangible energy for learning that is inspiring.

Now that it's no longer possible (or wise) to visit schools in person, I've spent a good bit more time doing virtual author visits. Virtual visits have always been part of my work as an author, but now there is a key difference: the students on my screen are no longer in the same place. They are joining from different locations and environments. This can make a virtual visit a bit more challenging, but there are ways to ensure that you get the most out of your time with an author. Here are my tips for having a successful virtual author visit as part of your distance-learning school year.
Finding an Author for a Virtual Visit
One of the questions I hear regularly is: how do you find authors for an author visit? I think this really means how do I connect with authors or find authors who are local to me , but first I'll address the larger question of how to find authors to invite for a school or library visit.

Start by tracking your reading and classroom reading. I use Goodreads, but you can also use Library Thing or Reader Tracker . This way you have a handy list of authors you would like to connect with. Tracking your reading can also help you identify areas where you are under-read to broaden and diversify your reading life.

Find authors who live in your area by contacting local bookstores or book festivals. There are many booking agencies such as The Booking Biz , Provato Events , and Phil Bidner's Author Village . Author Kate Messner also maintains a list of authors who Skype for free .

Social media is perhaps the easiest way to find and contact an author. If you read an author's book, tag them in a tweet or Instagram or FB post. Then, when you reach out to inquire about an virtual author visit, you can introduce yourself by mentioning that you recently tagged them about loving their book.

Most authors provide email or a contact form on their website. It's okay to write with questions or rate inquiries. Your questions are not a burden. Just remember to be respectful of the author's time by replying to their communications. No one likes to be left hanging!

Include scheduling details in your message. When reaching out to schedule a virtual visit, be sure to include your time zone, the days and hours that are best for you (several options is good), and any honorarium you may be able to provide. Many authors will provide a short virtual visit for free (15-20mins). Longer visits warrant an honorarium.

Preparing for a Virtual Visit

Once you've scheduled your virtual visit, it's time to prepare. Like everything in school, success depends heavily on the work done in advance.

Be sure to introduce the author and their work to your classroom. This can be done by sharing virtual read-alouds, Youtube videos, and electronic previews. Include information about the virtual visit with parent communications so they can support the connection at home. Direct parents to your local independent bookstore for copies of the author's books, and be sure to let the bookstore know. They will be thrilled to coordinate, and might even be able to get signed books!

Prepare questions for the author in advance. This can be a fun activity for the classroom. Students can submit questions and even vote on which ones to ask. Author visits have a limited timeframe, so a realistic number of questions is important (around 10 questions in a twenty minute visit). Developing questions as a team can help all students feel included.

Use a pre-visit activity to allow all students to interact with the author. Many authors have printables, writing prompts, or educator guides on their websites. Share a printable activity with students so they can hold them up to share with the author during the virtual visit. This interactivity is key! Even if we can't read all of their writing, we can cheer them all on!

Test your technology. Whether you are using Skype, Zoom, Google Hangouts, or another platform to host your virtual visit, make sure you have practiced ahead of time. It's a shame to lose time in a virtual visit due to technical issues, and familiarity can help with trouble-shooting. Some authors will do a quick technical check, too.

Day of the Virtual Visit

The logistics of a virtual visit are just as important as the logistics of an in-person visit. You want to get the most out of your limited time with the author, so be prepared to start on time and have a clear plan in hand.

Many authors will log in a few minutes early to get set for the visit. This gives you time to confirm any last-minute details and troubleshoot any sound or image quality issues.

Have an arrivals strategy in place. When dozens of students join a video chat from different locations, it can be even harder to wrangle them than in person! Make sure you know how to control volume and mute voices. Give students a Right-Now type of activity to engage in when they arrive to the visit. That can be as simple as holding up a drawing that is related to the author's work, or showing off their pet, or dancing in their seat to show how excited they are. You can also utilize the comments section as an interaction tool, though it requires moderation to maintain a safe space for all.

Ask questions equitably and clearly. Some authors wish to call on students to ask questions, but that can be tough when only twenty faces fit on your zoom screen! Plan ahead so that all students feel included and utilize your mute button as needed.

Look for opportunities to interact. Some authors are well versed at virtual visits and will get your students engaged easily. Others may be new to this platform, so allow students to interact during the visit by raising their hands to indicate their choice, waving or wiggling fingers to show applause, or holding up pre-prepared signs or pictures.

After a Virtual Visit

Time flies during a virtual author visit, and your students may feel they did not get to interact as much as they would have liked. Give students an opportunity to communicate after the visit via written messages. These don't have to be delivered on paper. You can collect photos of handwritten letters or compile typed thank-you messages into a follow up email to the author.

The way we connect may have changed during the age of COVID-19, but authors still want to visit schools and libraries. We share a common goal: literacy engagement. If you follow these tips, by the time the author visit arrives, the whole class will be buzzing in anticipation, and afterward the enthusiasm will last for weeks. That is the value of an author visit.

Happy planning to all!

, published with Little, Brown in May, 2020. When she's not writing, Melanie spends her time doodling and dreaming up new ways to be creative. She lives in New Jersey with her family. Connect with her on twitter Melanie Conklin grew up in North Carolina and worked as a product designer for ten years before she began her writing career. Her debut middle grade novel, Counting Thyme, is a Bank Street Best Children's Book, winner of the International Literacy Association Teacher's Choice Award, and nominated to four state reading lists. Her second novel for young readers, Every Missing Piece @MLConklin.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Get the Most Out of a Virtual Author Visit

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
By Melanie Conklin, 2021 CCIRA Conference Author and Presenter In the time of coronavirus, there is a lot of uncertainty about how to preserve the educational traditions that we cherish. Recess. Team sports. Clubs. Library visits. Maker spaces. Read-Alouds. Some of these activities are difficult if not impossible to re-imagine as a virtual activity in...

# data[].attributes.body
Wondering how to go about planning a virtual author visit? Take a look! Read about funding, how to prepare for the visit, and what to do afterwards.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Virtual author visits can be a memorable activity for students. Learn how find an author and prepare for their virtual visit!

# data[].attributes.headline
How to Plan a Virtual Visit With an Author (Colorful Apple)

# data[].attributes.subject
How to Plan a Virtual Visit With an Author (Colorful Apple)

# data[].attributes.body
Visit this article from the Colorful Apple to read about various aspects you should consider when planning a virtual author visit. Remember, a virtual visit is cheaper than an in-person visit!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Plan a Virtual Visit with an Author - The Colorful Apple

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Last week, I posted about inviting an author to come visit your school. It is an inspiring way to gt your students engaged in both reading and writing. However, that can often be expensive and a lot of work to put together. Luckily, technology offers us another option that is more cost and time-effective.

# data[].attributes.headline
How to Host a Successful Virtual Author Visit

# data[].attributes.subject
How to Host a Successful Virtual Author Visit

# data[].attributes.body
View this article from Lee and Low Books to read about considerations when planning a virtual author visit for your school.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The number of kid lit creators who do virtual visits are increasing all the time. A virtual visit is a visit by an author or illustrator to a school, classroom, or library via electronic means like Zoom or Skype. These kinds of meaningful interactions with storytellers inspire student participation and reading motivation, with the key to the success of the visit held in the hand of the host - be it teacher, librarian, counselor, or other*. The process is very similar to scheduling an in-person visit to the school, however there are some distinct differences and challenges.

If you are considering a virtual author visit for your school, library, or bookstore, watch our webinar discussion on best practices! The panel of experts includes author Traci Sorell ( Indian No More, Lee and Low Books, c2019), Dr. Christina Dorr (Media Specialist, Weaver Middle School, Hilliard, OH) and educator Stephanie Bange:

Read on for tips and guidance on how to set up a Virtual Author Event from our Events Coordinator, Stephanie:

Setting your budget

While a few authors are willing to do a limited number of free virtual visits, most authors depend on supplementing their pay by doing author visits. Hosting a virtual visit to your class is an economical way to bring in an author to speak, as you pay only for their prep and visit time. Many authors will give a quote for a range of prices based on the length of time spent with the class - usually between 20-60 minutes. Virtual visit fees can range from $20 to $200 and up, depending on many factors.

This cost need not come out of your pocket. Be sure to explore places for funding: Is there money available from the school principal's discretionary funds? Are PTA funds available? Are there any grants available to the school system/library? Is there a local foundation or service organization willing to sponsor this? Ask around. You may be surprised to find funding in unexpected places.

Finding the right author to invite

Like traditional author visits, it all begins with the selection of the author. First and foremost, authors are great reading motivators. Make a short, prioritized list of authors you would like to have speak to your group, with the reason why you want to invite each author. Do you want an author who can work with a certain age range? Speak multiple languages? If you aren't sure where to start, contact authorvisits@leeandlow.com and we can suggest authors who might be a good fit.

Be sure to make the visit relevant to the group. It is a bonus if it is integrated into the curriculum. Books published by Lee & Low have a free downloadable curriculum guide available on our website to help you integrate our books into your lesson plans.

Reach out and invite the author

Contact your first-choice author via the author's website or through the publisher of their most recent title. As some authors have multiple publishers, if you should send your query to one of the others it will most likely be forwarded to the author for you. You don't need to send a query to all of them.

First ask if the author does virtual visits; if so, then ask for their pricing. The quote should give you an idea of how much the author charges for a virtual visit, with a breakdown for time periods of less than an hour - for example, 20, 30, 45, or 60 minutes. Is there a price point that matches your budget? In some cases, authors may be willing to negotiate pricing - but don't be surprised if they won't. You may find the need to send out multiple queries to find a match for timing on the school's calendar, author availability, purpose, and budget.

Schedule and plan out the visit

Once you have identified an author who fits your budget, look at your lesson plans and list several dates and times when you would like to schedule the virtual visit. Leave plenty of time before the visit for you to prep your students for it and for the author to prepare the presentation. This can be as short a time as a week or several months or years, depending on the demand for an author, as many must schedule well in advance. Send your list of requested dates and times to the author to match the best time for them to schedule the visit.

You will also want to discuss a preference for the platform to be used, whether Skype, Zoom, Google Hangout, or another tool. While some authors prefer the school to initiate the call, other authors will want to initiate it. If you need to record the visit for your students' use, you will need to alert the author at this time with the reason for your need to record. Be advised that many authors do not allow recording a virtual visit, but they might make an exception during COVID as asynchronous viewing may be required. If you receive approval to record it, be sure that a date is set for you in the future to delete this recording.

Finally, you will want to settle on the format of the visit. This will largely be determined by the length of the visit. Many authors have a set outline or format for virtual visits; they know how the flow of these type of visits works best for them. Others are open for teacher input for the format. Keep in mind that typical visits of 20 minutes allow enough time for a Q&A with the author, but not much more. Visits of 30 minutes allow for a short reading or presentation by the author and a short Q&A. Visits of 45-60 minutes allow for a longer presentation by the author and Q&A time (with potential for a longer, deeper Q&A offered during 60 minute visits).

Confirm the visit

Once the parameters for the visit are set, you should get all details surrounding the visit in writing - the date, time, length of visit, size of the class (some authors will work with larger size groups, though it is difficult to personalize groups larger than 30), what is expected of the author, what your goal for the visit is, how it will be conducted, and who will initiate the visit. This can be documented by the author or the host. Some authors have set contracts they use. Remember that the confirmation must be approved by the other party before it is considered confirmed. We will be delighted to help you through this process with our authors.

Prepare your students for the visit

Read the author's book(s) and look closely at the illustrator's artwork (if applicable), discussing them with the class before the visit. If possible, have the author's book(s) available for students to browse by themselves before the visit - either in print or electronically. Be sure to include biographical information about the author in your preparation plans. Develop games and activities based on the authors and their books. You want the group to feel like this author is a celebrity or a rock star. Students should know enough about the visitor that they are not asking questions like "When were you born?"

Include some money in the budget to buy books to use as giveaways to students. Lee & Low, alongside many other publishers, offers a significant discount for book orders for author events. Books can be purchased directly from the publisher: contact Jalissa Corrie at jcorrie[at]leeandlow.com for more information about discounts available. If students or the school is able to purchase multiple copies of books, many authors will send signed bookplates for them after the visit is over - one for each book purchased.

Finally, Lee and Low eBooks can be found on several electronic platforms used by schools, such as Baker and Taylor, and Mackin. Check for availability.

Questions in advance

A virtual visit goes more smoothly if the students have submitted questions they have to the host before the visit. The teacher can then vet them, select key questions to read aloud, and forward these to the author in advance. This will help the author know what the group is interested in and be able to respond to them quickly. More questions can be answered, as time is more effectively used.

Depending on the length of time of the visit, the host and author can decide on how to proceed with the Q&A format. A shorter 20- to 30-minute visit might go faster if the author reads the question (attributing it to the student who submitted it) and responds; longer visits (45- to 60-minutes) might allow time for students to ask/read their questions live and the author respond during the Q&A portion of the visit.

When the appointed time comes, be ready to either initiate or receive the call (as agreed upon prior to the day). Remember it is up to the host to maintain order among the students, as the author is at a disadvantage in not knowing student names. The host must also be proactive about making sure students do not interrupt with racist or hurtful comments. During a longer visit with the class, the host also serves as "director," guiding students when it is appropriate to ask the author a question. While the author will probably have an eye on the clock, it is helpful for the host to do likewise. Be sure to leave plenty of time for the author to wrap-up the visit and for you and the class to thank the author and say goodbyes.

Follow-up on the Visit

If you are paying the author for this visit, give your finance office (or whoever is responsible for paying for the visit) a call to verify that the check has been cut and mailed to the author. Be sure to write a thank you note or email to the author. You can include some student work with your note. Authors love to hear from groups that they visit, often posting how schools respond to a visit on social media. Other ideas include:

Students can write a short thank you letter (either as a group, small group, or individually) to the author, turning it in to the teacher who can send it with the thank you note.

Anecdotes about student responses and comments after the visit are also welcomed. Authors like to learn the impact of their visit and get feedback.

Hold follow-up discussions and continue reading the author's books after the visit.

Finally, take the time to write a thank you note/email to your principal and the source of your funding. Be sure to share follow-up student work with your school principal and your curriculum supervisor at the school board office to demonstrate the value and impact of the visit. This will make it easier to make your case for another author visit in the future.

Author visits create lasting memories. Remember that for many students, it may be a once-in-a-lifetime event that can inspire them to read, write, and inquire. The excitement from a visit can carry on for years.
Ready to begin? Browse this list of available creators, or reach out to us at authorvisits@leeandlow.com.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Host a Successful Virtual Author Visit

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The number of kid lit creators who do virtual visits are increasing all the time. A virtual visit is a visit by an author or illustrator to a school, classroom, or library via electronic means like...