Cynthia Leitich Smith has been a featured virtual speaker to schools around the world and for such groups as:
- Salisbury University Children’s Literature Conference
- Maine Library Association
- New Hampshire Library Association
- New England Library Association
- Turtle Mountain Teacher’s Association
- Southwest Texas State University
- Westlake (Texas) High School
Bring her virtually to your audience! Here’s why and how:
Virtual Visits
Bring author Cynthia Leitich Smith to your audience via a virtual chat. She’s open to speaking to kids, college students, children’s-YA book creators, and youth literature educators and professionals of all stripes.
Cynthia is a great fit for such events because of her extensive online presence in support of not only her own books but children’s-YA literature as a whole.
Cost & Duration
The cost is $300 for a half hour to anhour. Please consider the attention span of the target audience. Very young readers may not be able to focus as long as older ones.
Goodies
Cynthia will send signed copies of at least two of her children’s-YA books for study prior to the visit, to be added to a classroom / school / public library, to be offered as giveaways or any other use that appeals to the event planner.
Cynthia will also send up to 100 signed bookmarks to be distributed to attendees.
Invite Cynthia For A Virtual Visit
Contact Cynthia with: your name, the name and type of your organization; your snail and e-mail addresses and your phone number; the dates you’re considering; the length of your proposed visit; and any other pertinent details (including Skype name).
Preparation & A Virtual Chat
- Schedule the Chat (see immediately above).
- Schedule a Practice Session.
- Order books for sale or audience use (optional).
- Prepare your audience. Hearing an author speak may have intrinsic appeal, but a presentation has more resonance when the audience is familiar with that author’s work. Coordinators should plan to book talk Cynthia’s titles in advance and read selections from them to the audience. Or, of course, the audience can read her books in advance on their own. Teachers seeking curriculum tie in ideas may want to consider the materials outlined below. It is also recommended that the audience be encouraged to surf this Web site in advance.
In addition, some coordinators prefer that their classrooms prepare questions for the author in advance of the event, sometimes working in groups. - Download and Practice with Skype for an Instant Chat.
CYN NOTE: Especially if you have an easy-to-use bulletin board/chat, Cynthia has been known to adapt. - Pay the Author $150.
- Host the chat!
- Keep in touch. Audience members are invited to write Cynthia directly online. Some school classroom groups may want to send snail-mail letters.