Children's Authors in Schools

The Guardian sings the praises of authors visiting elementary schools inspiring kids to read.

From the post...

When I was at school, we rarely had interesting visitors to the classroom: the highlight was probably the local policeman, who popped by once a year to show off his panda car. I'm not that old, but in the 20 years since my days of learning times tables, it's clear this has changed, and for the better.

Author events are now, in many cases, a regular spot in the school calendar. Whether it's for World Book Day, This or That Book Week, it's tempting to say children's authors are in schools or libraries more often than they're writing. I'd even go so far as to suggest that participating in school visits is pretty much part of the publishing contract.

It's no surprise that the rise of the touring children's author has come hand in hand with the reduction in space for children's books in the press. Author events are now a key marketing strategy. But rather than seeing this additional task as a chore, there's a whole generation of children's authors and illustrators who embrace it as a core part of what they do. And in the push to compete with more flashy forms of entertainment, the school event is the best weapon in a children's author's arsenal.