Cynthia Leitich Smith enjoys sharing the stories behind her own books, her knowledge of children’s/young adult literature, and her enthusiasm for reading and writing.
She has been a featured author/speaker at the Native American Authors Conference, Reading the World, Texas Teen Book Festival, Texas Book Festival, and National Book Festival as well as at bookstores, schools, public libraries, museums, universities, and at conferences of such groups as: the Texas Library Association, the American Library Association, the International Reading Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, etc.
Though Cynthia often speaks alone, she also frequently presents with her husband, author Greg Leitich Smith.
Cynthia often books events one-to-two years in advance.
She also travels frequently to Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Oklahoma, Kansas City/Lawrence, Chicago, and the San Francisco Bay area. Planners in these areas may want to query about pre-scheduled trips.
Cynthia will speak to no more than 50 students per session, no more than three sessions a day, at a rate of $3000/day, plus travel, lodging and related expenses. The rate is the same if Cynthia and Greg speak together.
It is required that the students in the audience be familiar with the author’s works in advance. They are to have already read the book(s) most appropriate to their age level prior to the event (reading JINGLE DANCER to high school students doesn’t count). Experience strongly suggests that well-prepared students get more out of the presentation, and the goal is to connect with audiences who have an interest in the specific work.
If a school planner is instead looking for an author to discuss writing generally or lead a writing workshop or talk about writing as a career, please see the listing of authors and illustrators and/or the listing of Texas authors and illustrators.
See also information on planning a successful school visit.
Cynthia will offer a keynote and panel/breakout session or up to three breakout sessions for up to 30 students per session at a rate of $1500/day, plus travel, lodging and related expenses. The rate is the same if Cynthia and Greg speak together.
These events are distinct from school visits in that they are usually on Saturdays and the young writers are participating by choice.
Cynthia will be glad to put planners in touch with the appropriate publisher marketing contact to facilitate the event.
ALL publisher-sponsored conference invitations must FIRST be directed to Anne Irza-Leggat at Candlewick Press.
Note: at the moment, I don't have publisher sponsorship for sessions or events specific to Native American youth literature. If you are east of the Mississippi, you might try Joseph Bruchac (Abenaki). If you are west, you might try Tim Tingle (Choctaw).
Cynthia will provide a keynote speech and one breakout session/panel at a rate of $2000 day, plus travel, lodging and related expenses. The rate is the same if Cynthia and Greg speak together. The rate is negotiable during prime speaking season (September-November; March-May); other months of the year are non-negotiable and reserved to the extent practical for writing time.
Bookstore appearances: no charge, schedule permitting.
Public library appearances: no charge, schedule permitting.
University classroom visits: no charge, schedule permitting.
see related information.
Cynthia's fee varies depending on the size of the audience/number of participants and whether she's asked to offer a keynote, manuscript critiques, etc.
Cynthia and Greg do not sell their own books, but the titles may be obtained from the publishers at a discount. Money from a book-sale is a good source for financing author events. Some planners may also want to coordinate a sale through their local bookstore.
Book sales should be promoted in advance. They are most successful when the students are given order forms to take home. Autographing sessions should be broken out into a scheduled timeslot. Or, in the alternative, a quiet hour should be provided to the author(s) to personalize and autograph books. In either case, each name for personalization should be clearly printed on a Post-It note attached to the autograph page before it is presented to the author(s).
Other than books, Cynthia will autograph only bookmarks (if prior arrangements are made) or, say, a cover art poster for library display.
Author Name Pronunciation Guide from Teaching
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