How To Organise a Writers in Schools Visit

This guide to Writers in Schools visits was prepared for the Book Council by Kate Camp.

Step-by-step Checklist

The points on this checklist are expanded further down this page.

• Check you are a current member of the Book Council.
• Choose a writer who you would like to visit, and choose an approximate date.
• Fax your request to us at 04 499 1424 or email it to education@bookcouncil.org.nz
• The visit is confirmed to you in writing.
• The Book Council handles ALL payment and transport details.
• Talk the writer about what is expected.
• Prepare your students for the visit.
• The visit takes place with teacher supervision.
• Take care of your writer.
• Send your visit report to the Book Council.
• Pay our invoice for any extra charges.
• Suggestions for after the visit.

Current Book Council Membership

Only current Book Council member schools can receive an author visit. To confirm you are a current member contact us, or follow this link to join the Book Council.

Choosing a Writer

Authors who are available for school visits are listed in the Writers in Schools booklet which is provided to all member schools.

The booklet gives details of their publications and what they can offer to your students, eg: storytelling, illustration workshops etc.

There is also a full list of the authors available for visits on the Writers in Schools page of this website.

Many of the authors on the list have author pages in the writer files section: you can follow the links from the Writers in Schools list to the writer's individual page.

Talk to us for guidance about which author would best meet your needs.

It is usually best to have a few different authors in mind for a visit in case your first choice is not available.

Where transport costs are above $80 per visit, the excess is invoiced to your school. Therefore, a visit from a writer near your area will be cheapest for your school.

Contact the Book Council

Arrange your visit early. The earlier you contact us, the better chance you have of getting the writer you want on the date you want.

Teachers are busy, and so are we. If you give us plenty of time we will do our very best to organise a great visit for you and your students.

Payment

The Book Council will pay the writer their appearance fee and transport costs. DO NOT pay the writer yourself under any circumstances.

If there are extra costs to your school for travel or accommodation, we will advise you of this before the visit is confirmed. After the visit, we will invoice you.

Talk to the Writer

The Book Council will give you the writer's contact details. Phone them and discuss exactly what you want them to do. See our page on How To Deal With a Visiting Writer.

Preparing Your Students

The visit will be most successful if your students are well prepared. It is particularly helpful if they have read the writer's work.

The kind of preparation will depend on the kind of visit you have planned. For example, if there is to be a question and answer session you may want to give students a chance to prepare some questions in advance.

Make sure your students know something about the writer. The Book Council website has information on most Writers in Schools authors, and there is information on all writers in the Writers in Schools handbook.

A good introduction makes the writer feel good and gets the students interested. Just a couple of lines from you about the writer's publications, awards and experience will work wonders.

Teacher Supervision

It is a legal requirement that a teacher be present for the duration of every Writers in Schools visit.

Writers are not teachers and are not responsible for disciplining students. This is the responsibility of the supervising teacher.

Visiting writers often comment on the importance of the teacher's attitude and input. This can make or break a visit.

An enthusiastic teacher who gives the writer a good introduction gets the visit off to a great start.

Take Care of Your Writer

Writers need to be looked after. Make sure they can buy lunch or arrange to provide something for them, and schedule in breaks for a cup of tea, a visit to the toilet, or a phone call home.

To be a good host, provide the basics for your writer:

• Meet and greet them when they arrive.
• Show them the way to the staffroom after class: it's easy to get lost in a school.
• Talk to them in the staff room at morning tea and lunchtime.
• Show them where the staff toilets are.

Many writers find their visit is made more difficult because these simple courtesies are not observed.

Visit Report

The Book Council is required to file a report from the participating school for every Writers in Schools visit.

When the visit is confirmed you will receive a report form. After the visit please complete and return it to us as soon as possible.

Invoice for Extra Charges

Each member school can receive one half-day writer visit a year, subject to availability. There is no charge for this visit, except where travel costs are greater than $80.

The Book Council can organise extra visits for your school. In this case, the full costs will be invoiced to your school.

After the Visit

There are lots of ways you can use the visit as the focus for your students' work. Students can read more of the writer's work, write stories or poems of their own, or illustrate a book cover.

If students want to write to authors, the letters should be put in a single envelope and sent to the Book Council: we will forward them to the writer.

Remember, writers get lots of letters so they may not be able to answer individual letters, but they are always delighted to receive fan mail.