I love school visits — connecting with kid readers is magical!
I also do creative writing workshops for students from middle grade to master class.
Seventh grade students who just begged for five more minutes at the end of a five-minute free write. The most creative silence you’ll ever hear.
School Visit Options
Free Virtual Visits!
I do free 10-15 minute virtual visits with classes or clubs who are reading one of my books. There’s no presentation, so I’m counting on the teacher or moderator to run a short, informal conversation or a Q&A.
Audience: Any small group
Timing: 10 to 15 minutes
Rate: Slots for free visits are limited, so get in touch and let’s book it early! $50 once free visits are booked.
For upper elementary and middle schools: Sort of Simon
Simon Sort of Says is my newest middle grade book.
This presentation takes your readers behind the scenes of writing this book — and creativity generally — starting from “where do your get your ideas” and covering everything from an ordinary writing day to the big phone call day where something amazing happens.
This presentation works for both classes who have read or are reading Simon, and for classes who are just curious about books, writing, and creativity.
Content note: there is a school shooting in the backstory — not on the page — of Simon Sort of Says. That comes up in the backstory — not at the heart — of this presentation.
Audience: Targetted at grades 5 - 9. Single classes or whole-school gatherings.
Timing: Adaptable to your timetable, but generally 30-40 minutes plus a Q&A, for a total of 45-60 minutes.
Rate: $250 virtual visit or $400 in-person, plus travel. $700 for a day with two visits or $900 for a day with three visits (schools can share).
For upper elementary and middle schools: How to Fail
A funny presentation on how I became an author by failing every step of the way. (Step one: don’t have a dream.)
I’ll give your students a peek behind the scenes of my creative process — research, writing, editing, and more — but the heart of the presentation is grit, growth, and being a little easier on yourself.
Audience: Targetted at grades 5 - 9. Single classes or whole-school gatherings.
Timing: Adaptable to your timetable, but generally 30-40 minutes plus a Q&A, for a total of 45-60 minutes.
Rate: $250 virtual visit or $400 in-person, plus travel. $700 for a day with two visits or $900 for a day with three visits (schools can share).
For middle schools, high schools: How to Fall off a Roof
Neuroscientists have a question: when you’re falling to your death, does time really slow down? Being scientists, they’ve tested this by dropping volunteers from a great height. Any guesses on what they learned?
This presentation uses that answer — and other insights from modern neuroscience — to introduce new ways to think about how details and pacing change the emotional intensity of a scene.
Audience: Targetted at grades 7 - 12, writers’ craft classes, university classes, writers’ master classes. Works as a workshop for single classes, but can also be run as a presentation for a gym-ful.
Timing: Adaptable to your timetable, but generally 45-60 minutes plus a Q&A, for a total of 60-90 minutes.
Rate: $250 virtual visit or $400 in-person, plus travel. $700 for a day with two visits or $900 for a day with three visits (schools can share).
Workshop Options
Writing Workshop: How to Walk Across a Room
This highly interactive, on-your-feet workshop draws on improv exercises and group brainstorming to help students make characters come to life on the page.
This workshop is at its absolute best as a series of short workshops and writing exercises that build on each other over the course of several writing days. Some of these can be teacher-run — I have sharable lesson plans. Contact me if you’re interested.
Audience: Targeted at grades 7 - 12, writers’ craft classes, university classes, writers’ master classes. Best for single classes.
Timing: Adaptable to your timetable, but generally 45-60 minutes plus a Q&A, for a total of 60-90 minutes.
Rate: $250 virtual visit or $400 in-person, plus travel. $700 for a day with two visits or $900 for a day with three visits (schools can share). This workshop involves improv and movement and cannot be done virtually
Writing Workshop: How to Fall off a Roof
Neuroscientists have a question: when you’re falling to your death, does time really slow down? Being scientists, they’ve tested this by dropping volunteers from a great height. Any guesses on what they learned?
This workshop uses that answer — and other insights from modern neuroscience — to introduce new ways to think about how details and pacing change the emotional intensity of a scene.
Jam-packed with weird science and fun examples, this workshop is the least interactive one I do, and can also be a presentation to a gym-ful.
Audience: Targetted at grades 7 - 12, writers’ craft classes, university classes, writers’ master classes. Works as a workshop for single classes, but can also be run as a presentation for a gym-ful.
Timing: Adaptable to your timetable, but generally 45-60 minutes plus a Q&A, for a total of 60-90 minutes.
Rate: $250 virtual visit or $400 in-person, plus travel. $700 for a day with two visits or $900 for a day with three visits (schools can share).
Writing Workshop: Choose Your Own Disaster
I put on my science fiction/fantasy hat for this interactive world-building class, on how settings suggest stories, and stories create settings.
We’ll talk about the kinds of scale and the details that make imaginary worlds fell real as we try to generate some story/setting pairs on the fly. Yes, there are dice.
Though focused on SF/F, this class is useful to fiction writers of all stripes.
Audience: Targetted at grades 9 - 12, writers’ craft classes, university classes, writers’ master classes. Works as a workshop for single classes.
Timing: Adaptable to your timetable, but generally 45-60 minutes plus a Q&A, for a total of 60-90 minutes.
Rate: Rate: $250 virtual visit or $400 in-person, plus travel. $700 for a day with two visits or $900 for a day with three visits (schools can share).