COVER REVEAL!

Cover Release of my first book!  Expected release by the end of this month. Absolutely LOVE it and cannot wait to see the whole product. Enjoy!

Promoting Authors' Books and School Visits at ISLMA (including me!)

Working the SCBWI Booth with Author/Friend Alice McGinty

Are you interested in information on Illinois Authors and Illustrators? How to get them into your school or library for a visit? Want to know how to go about planning an author visit?  

Over the past weekend(while working the SCBWI-IL booth) I asked many, many school librarians those very questions over and over again at the Illinois School Library and Media Association Conference 2013 in Springfield, Illinois. The typical answers were YES! and ABSOLUTELY! 

Luckily, I had a wealth of information for them regarding Illinois children's book authors and how to find them, talk to them, etc.  I even, after all these years, got to talk about my own upcoming books and that I will be available for visits this spring. 

It's not that hard. If you are wanting to book someone for a visit a great place to start is www.scbwi.org. You can find speaker information by region, types of books, presentation fees, and more. There's even grant information out there for visits! :)  If you are looking for a local person you can always find the contact information for a Network Representative near you and I'm sure they'd be happy to let you know about the authors they work with and how to contact them.  

Remember, the closer an author lives to you the less it costs for travel. Plus, Skype is a great tool that many authors and schools are taking advantage of for classroom visits. 

All in all, one thing is certain, the librarians, authors, and teachers have a common goal. We want to get students involved with reading, writing and to love books just as much as we do! So, get an author visit for your school or library and see how it can inspire your students to read and write soon!