Wondering what my presentations are like?  Check this out!

Where will I be next? 
(School visit fee & presentation info below.)

I would love to visit your school!

Fees

I was going to raise my rate to $750 a day plus expenses (flight and lodging), but I can't do it; not with the economy the way it is.  So I'm holding my current rate of $500 a day plus expenses for up to six presentations for the 2011/2012 school year -- longer if things don't bounce back.  I know it's less than most authors charge, but I'm willing to do my part to keep more money in your budgets. 

We're all in this together.  Hope it helps.  I am good.  Don't let the low price fool you.  Check my references to be sure.  : )
 
Transportation

If you talk with other schools in your district, and they're also interested in school visits, it can make the transportation costs a lot more affordable. Also, local public libraries will sometimes share the cost if you contact them to co-op a visit. I do need ground transportation while I'm in your area, because I get lost easily.  Renting a car?  Not a good idea for me.  Hopefully, saving the cost of a rental car will make it better for you, too.  Thanks for understanding. 
  
Two Choices

WONDERS OF WEIRD

I offer two choices when it comes to school visit presentations.  THE WONDERS OF WEIRD  is a very lively touch-and-learn presentation that's more of a "show" than a workshop, but it inspires kids to get excited about research and writing of their own.  It brings the work I do into focus, and invites them to someday take my place. 

I outline my research process, which is like a treasure hunt, I reveal how similar my editors are to their teachers—how writing is a team effort in school and in the real publishing world. After the presentation, kids are invited to line up and touch the artifacts I share during the presentation -- dinosaur fossils, cryptozoology evidence and other items drawn straight from the pages of my books. 

WEAVING FACTS INTO FICTION

The second choice is a series of writing workshops I call WEAVING FACTS INTO FICTION.  I acknowledge that while I write nonfiction, most kids prefer fiction. But great fiction, I explain, has realistic elements. We can BELIEVE it's real, even if it's not, because the writers have done their homework. I walk them through basic research on one of several age-appropriate topics based on my books. We "research" together via a PowerPoint presentations, then I ask them to begin a fictional story, INFORMED by the facts we just explored. 

They explode with ideas! It's amazing.  Even the kindergarten and first-grade students leave the room anxious to expand their stories, engaged by a series of discoveries we've made together. To participate in this workshop the kids have to bring paper and pencils, and they need a hard surface to write on, if possible. It’s a good experience, but it's also fun.  The most popular topics are "My Pet Dinosaur" for K-1 and "What Do We Know About Bigfoot?" for the older kids and "Show Me the Mummy," for even older students. 

A writing workshop for SAVING THE BAGHDAD ZOO is in development, also for older kids.