 Tom
has an international reputation in reader development. He is a coordinator of
the Reading Partners consortium, works with The Reading Agency, Booktrust and
the National Literacy Trust, and has been the official writer for the Premier
League Reading Stars scheme for five years. He has travelled around the world
to train librarians and teachers in techniques to encourage boys to read.
Tom is highly experienced in running successful author visits and engaging audiences at children's events. To promote his latest series, he's doing a large UK tour, which will run from the
beginning of May until the end of Euro 2012 in July. His launch kicked off
in Newcastle on 3rd May with events in schools and libraries across the city
with Newcastle United footballer and advocate of the NLT Premier League Reading
Stars project, Mike Williamson. Tom's blog post 22 Ways to Promote a New Book offers plenty of ideas for authors trying to spread the word about their books. Discover more at www.tompalmer.co.uk and follow Tom on Twitter.
One
Well before the day of the event, encourage the teachers to talk about and read your books with the children. Produce an activity pack to familiarise children with your work.
Two Make sure that you have sorted out the number and timings of your sessions. Also other logistics, like if you are being collected from the station and who is selling books. Ask the school to help you if you need help.
Three Be nice to everyone you meet in the school. From the lollypop lady to the head teacher. But mostly, the kids.
Four When the children come in, start talking to them one-to-one as they settle down. Ask them a few questions. This helps in building up a rapport with the audience, especially if you are nervy.
Five If you can think of an event that involves interaction that relates to your book, then go for it. (It is really worth looking at other authors’ websites and on YouTube to see what others do.)
Six Ask the children what they like to read and if they like to write. Use their responses to spark of ideas about how you got into writing.
Seven Read aloud from your book, but not for too long. Practice the reading lots of times beforehand, so it is as animated as it can be and so that you can spend more time looking at your audience and not the page.
Eight When the children ask questions, be as open as you can be. If the questions are slow, ask them questions back to stimulate discussion.
Nine Sell books.
Ten Send the school a thank you letter, in the hope that they might read it out in assembly. |
Children's Event and Author Visit |
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