Details

  • I typically make in-person author visits to around 100 campuses per year, engaging, informing, and inspiring students of all ages while supporting and reinforcing the work of their teachers.

  • I offer virtual visits, too, as well as customized video presentations that will work whether your students are together in physical classrooms or learning from home on their own schedules.

  • My fees can depend on number of days booked, presentations per day, and distance traveled. For details about programs, costs, and benefits, please fill out the contact form on this page, and Sarah DeVore at How Now Booking will be in touch!

  • Need More? If your event or school district needs multiple authors, you can make your budget go further by booking both me and my wife, Jennifer Ziegler. She teaches writing at Vermont College of Fine Arts and is the author of novels for tweens (Worser; the Brewster Triplets series) and teens (How Not to Be Popular).

Watch videos of me in action here, here, and here.

Feedback from my recent hosts

He was very engaging. I liked that he talked about never giving up.

Chris took special care to really interact with the students.

The communication was easy and stress-free.

Kids were excited to meet him in person

Chris was very clear as to what he needed to make the visit run smoothly.

I loved the way both the writing process and the love of books were emphasized.

My teachers thought it was an amazing use of time!

My students loved it and are all dying to read every book.

My administration said she heard great things and was pleased.

I always received immediate responses and the pre-planning was great!

Loved the discussion about how each child has a talent to develop.

The students loved hearing him read his own book.

Inquire about a visit

Texas schools, libraries, and nonprofits, learn about grant opportunities for my author visits.

Have a question or want to check my availability? Please fill out the form below, and Sarah DeVore at How Now Booking will follow up with you.

Thank you!

    My current offerings include

    'Write What You'd Love to Learn'

    “Write what you know,” the saying goes. But based on my experiences with both playful picture books and rigorously researched nonfiction, I encourage audiences to improve their own writing — or their students’ writing — by giving the not-yet-known a try.

    I’ve shared this presentation with first graders in just 30 minutes, I’ve delivered a full-day version to educators and librarians, and I’ve adapted it for many ages and lengths in between.

    It can include an emphasis on (and many examples of) the importance of research, revision, or collaboration.

    Keynote addresses for adult audiences

    My presentations for conferences and professional development events include “The Ozzie Brothers, Superfudge, And Me: Solitary Acts And Community Activities Throughout My Literary Life,” in which I emphasize the importance of both individual creative time and being a part of something bigger.

    “Giving Voice to a Legend” explores ways we can inspire students’ interest in literacy and motivate them to make the most of it in their everyday pursuit of greatness.

    “It Can Take Only One” demonstrates the power that one single moment of connection can have when combined with our patience, our persistence, and our presence.

    Writing workshops...

    …and research workshops, and revision workshops!

    Available as single-day and two-day offerings, these fun workshops give students an opportunity to work with an author to improve their own writing — and to inspire lots more down the road.

    I offer prepared workshops based on my books Whoosh! and Mighty Truck, but I’m also happy to customize workshops in order to meet my hosts’ needs, zeroing in on techniques that students can continue to use long after I’ve left the school.

    Tips for better author visits

    In my experience, there are three things schools can do that generally make author visits better experiences for their students:

    • Prepare the kids — and their teachers. When faculty members are present — in every respect — during my sessions, it underscores for students the value of having me there. And the more that students know ahead of time about me and about my books, the more they’ll anticipate my visit, the more attentive they’ll be during my presentation, and the more substantial their questions for me will be.
    • Allow plenty of time. Trust me — I won’t expect pre-K students to sit still for a full hour. But the more time we have together — after the kids are seated and before they stand up to leave — the more I can truly engage with your students without having to rush through my presentation.
    • Have books available for me to sign. This is not a requirement. But I do find that adults who have lots of books in their lives sometimes overlook how special — inspiring, even — it can be to a child to own one particular book signed by a real-life author (or “arthur”) who they actually met at their actual school.

    Looking for more tips? Have a look at “Make It Happen: Awesome Author and Illustrator Visits” from Education World and “Educational Grants for Books, Author Visits, & School Programs” from author Donna Janell Bowman.