In-person visits

---

Best suited for: Grades 3-8

Integrating a variety of my titles, both fiction and non-fiction, this presentation shares a little bit about my journey as a writer, what inspires my work, and explores the acronym CAPABLE to help students see themselves as the capable and creative writers they are.  

Some of the topics addressed include: C for characters, A for asking for help from experts and peers, and P for playing around and wondering "What if?"

This program includes time for the students to ask questions about  writing or publishing or just about anything else they'd like to know. (Believe me, over the years, I've been asked a LOT of strange things. :-) ) 

Best suited for: Grade K-3 (But can be adapted for older grades as well.) 

Kathy Sullivan and Elijah Pierce are people you might not have heard of before. But they’re both everyday folks who did historic and inspiring things. And that’s what biographies are all about – meeting really cool people.  

Along with introducing students to the two subjects of my co-authored biographies, this presentation will inspire kids to think about how they, too, can write about someone we “all gotta meet!” 

Presentation will include time for questions. 

Please note: The presentation does not include Dr. Sullivan.  See description below for a presentation that includes Chiquita Mullins Lee. 

Best suited for: All ages

Whether it's with paint, markers, paper, voices or bodies, wood, clay, words, or with another medium,  we are all born to tell our stories.  And we can help other - just like how Elijah Pierce helped other artists. In addition to shining a light on Elijah's life and art,  Chiquita and I will share ways students can collaborate in their own writing. 

Presentation will include time for questions. 

Please note:  Availability is based on both authors' schedules. Please contact me if you're interested in hosting us both and for the honorarium.  (Illustrator's availability may allow for all three of us visiting. Please contact me for more information.) 

Photo from left to right: Jennifer Mack-Watkins, Carmella Van Vleet, Chiquita Mullins Lee

Best suited for: Grade K-2

Do you have any aspiring space travelers in your class? Sharing photos of Kathy Sullivan’s historic mission, this presentation gives younger readers insight to space travel - like astronauts season their food, and how heavy space suits are. We’ll talk about the future of space travel as well. 

The presentations includes time for students to ask questions. 

Please note: The presentation does not include Dr. Sullivan.

Best suited for: Grades 3 and up

(May combine one to two classrooms for workshop.)
 

In this in-class workshop, students will learn some tips on how to find a subject to write about, locate and recognize good resources, organize ideas, notes, and think about "voice." (Yes, non-fiction has "voice" too!) A great way to reinforce skills learned in the classroom. 

Best suited for: All ages 

Writing a book is more than just telling a story. And there are many people who work behind the scenes to bring books into libraries and bookstores. In this interactive workshop, I'll introduce kids to how a book is made – from idea to publication.

If you're putting together a literary event or SCBWI conference, I'm available to do a variety of workshops.  Contact me to discuss details. 

Best suited for: All ages

I’ve teamed up with fellow Junior Library Guild and Choose to Read Ohio author Nancy Roe Pimm to offer schools a special opportunity that supports Core Curriculum standards in writing, science, math, and fine arts. Nancy is the author of numerous non-fiction books as well as the new release THE JERRIE MOCK STORY -The First Woman to Fly Solo Around the World. In addition to large presentations, Nancy and I offer fiction and non-fiction workshops for smaller groups. Our Soar Into Books programs and presentations are hands-on and interactive, and will ignite your students' interest is reading and writing and history. With fiction and non-fiction titles geared toward grades K-8, we feel we really do have something for everyone.  Please contact for honorarium. 

I offer a free 25-minute Skype (or similar format) author visit to classrooms who’ve read one of my books.  I am happy to read, talk a little about writing, and answer kids' questions. 

I also offer 45-minute  programs for classrooms or groups of up to 50 kids. (If you’d like a presentation for a larger group, please contact me or see below for information on full day visits.) All presentations include time for Q & A and an opportunity for getting books signed.

VIRTUAL VISITS  

The honorarium for each 45-minute virtual visit is $150. (If things run long for some reason, I’m happy to visit up to another 10 minutes at no extra charge.) I find that visits work best when there are no more than 50 kids at a time, but I'm flexible with this. Please contact me so we can discuss it. 

If you’d like me to reach more students, please consider a full day virtual visit. For full days, I will do up to four 45-minute sessions. The honorarium for a full day virtual visit  is $600.

I prefer to use Zoom, but I’m open to other meeting platforms. 

Honorariums are due the day of presentation/s. 

Book signing is available for virtual visits. What seems to work best is to have parents order books from a local, independent bookstore or to order books online. Then I can send autographed bookplates  to teachers/librarians to hand out. 

IN-PERSON VISITS

I will do up to four 45-minute presentations or combination of presentations/writing workshops a day. I prefer speaking to groups divided by grades as opposed to speaking to the whole school, but I'm flexible. 

I'm happy to sign books before or after the program and will do my very best to sign all books before leaving so that children can get their books returned by the end of the school day. I try to provide bookmarks for students unable to purchase book but who would still like a signature. 

I am open to doing a Lunch With The Author workshop for a group of 12-15 students. This is an opportunity for especially interested students to share their work and ask more direct questions about the writing life or process. There is no extra fee for this and it up to schools to decide which students attend (for example, by contest or random drawing).   

Please note: for all school visits, I request that children read at least one of my books. Visits are more meaningful for students when they are familiar with an author's work beforehand. 

For schools within a 1.5 hour drive from Columbus, Ohio:

$600 for half-day (Includes one-to-two 45 minute presentations and Lunch With The Author if desired.)

$1000 for full-day (Includes three-to-four 45 minutes presentations or combination of presentations/workshops and Lunch With The Author if desired.)

For schools more than a 1.5 hour drive from Columbus, Ohio: 

Full-day only: $1400 (price includes travel expenses)

Out of state:

Full-day only: $1600 plus expenses  (Expenses include: travel, hotel, food.) Multiple schools may work together to schedule visits and share cost. 

Local Schools (For this purpose, local means any school or library within a 40-minute drive of Columbus, Ohio.) 

For a 1 hour visit or workshop (for example, for a Literary Night, Enrichment Day, or other school or library event) cost is $150.

Please note: I support equality and inclusivity in the world of books and beyond. I'm not available for any book events or organizations that discriminate against marginalized or underrepresented people.  

​