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Deborah Wiles
Here's a page about honorariums and working with you in schools and at conferences.
Conference honorarium: $3000/day plus hotel and airfare. I can deliver a keynote address and up to two breakout sessions, workshops, panel discussions, Q&A sessions, etc.,per day and will happily sign books as well. What I talk about: how I teach personal narrative writing in schools, creating a writing life, ways of finding and telling our stories, how my books came to be, and why each of us has stories to tell. I put your teachers/librarians/writers to work. I demonstrate teaching writing using children's literature. I hope I make you laugh. When you see photos of grinning ten-year-old me in my kitty-cat glasses and black Buster Browns, you *will* laugh. With affection, if not recognition. We can talk about specific needs and how I might address them. My home airport is Atlanta, GA, or ATL. School Honorariums: $2500/day plus transportation/lodging. If your school or conference is within a two-hour drive of Atlanta, I have a Metro Atlanta day rate as well as half-day rates. Email me for more information on this. inquiry@deborahwiles.com I also can do half-days (two sessions) in other locations if schools partner up. In this case, I do two schools in a day. Or you can bring two schools to me, etc. There are many ways to creatively put together a school visiting day and we can talk about what best suits your needs. If your school or conference is in the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area, I have home rates, as I lived there for over 25 years, still have family in the area, and visit frequently. Email me for particulars. inquiry@deborahwiles.com
Information for you to know and pass on to your funders/decision makers:
Budgets are tight. It can be hard to convey the importance and long-lasting effect of a meaningful author visit, so let me tell you what I do and why: 2. I believe in teaching. I have been teaching writing for over 20 years in various settings from elementary school through college. I have in-serviced teachers across the country. I taught "Writing Techniques for Teachers" (or ECED422) at Towson University and have taught in the MFA in Writing programs at Lesley University and Vermont College. When I visit schools, I structure the hours I spend with your students and teachers as instructional time. . 3. I believe in teachers. I support and partner with your teachers and your writing goals, to help your students improve their personal narrative writing skills -- skills that are tested all during their academic careers, with accompanying scores that are used as school evaluation tools as well. All teachers attend assemblies with their students and bring notebooks, as I in-service teachers while I work with their students. I offer an after-school workshop with teachers as well, to delve deeper into the concepts I present in assembly. 4. I believe in student writers. Students in grades four and up bring their notebooks to assembly. Students in grades K-3 do finger writing with me. I use my published books and many others to show how personal stories find their way into writing for personal expression, including fiction. Everyone leaves assembly with stories to tell, and ways to tell them.... all those text-to-self and -world connections. In addition, teachers leave with tools they can immediately use to augment their writing toolboxes. We tell stories across the curriculum, and in all genres. It's a writing intensive, and it's fun at the same time -- laughter, hard work, and learning. 5. I believe in being well-prepared. It is imperative that students and teachers are familiar with my books, as they are the backbone of the assembly. The better students know the books, the more they will take from assembly and the more teachers will be able to work with these ideas. I will supply you with a list of which books are best for each grade grouping or, if you prefer, you can assign particular books to each grade that suit your curriculum goals, and I can work from there. 6. I can work with very intimate gatherings or very large groups provided I have excellent sound, attentive and participating teachers, and students who are able to sit comfortably. I tailor each assembly for each grade, age, and number of students, and we have lots of fun while doing very good work. For students in middle and high schools, I take a different approach that is geared for them specifically. 7. I can do up to four 45-60 minute assembly programs in a day. I can eat lunch with students and/or teachers. I can sign books. I can meet with book club -- there are many ways to mix up a day. This is a fabulously intense day of standing and talking and teaching. It's work I love. However, after four assembly programs I begin to lose my voice. I am often coming to you from another school/conference, or going to another school/conference. I want to be my best, every day I am on the road. I'm happy to talk with you about how to structure the day so that you meet your goals for an author visit and I meet my voice the next morning. 8. I use PowerPoint (lots of photographs), books, props, music, and a chalk board, SmartBoard, easel, chart paper -- whatever is handy, to model for students. I will send you a list of equipment needs and will bring backups with me. 9. I also do writing residencies, working with a select grade or grades for extended periods -- a week, three days, two. We work these out in advance, working closely together. If you are interested in residency work, email me and let's talk. I do very few residencies now, as I have begun to limit my time in schools in order to meet writing deadlines, but I still do author visits, and here is why: 10. As human beings we find out who we are by telling our stories and by listening to others tell theirs. It is one of our most fundamental human needs -- to tell our stories. It's how we structure knowledge and experience. It's how we understand character. It's the most important work we do. I share my stories with your students and teachers. I show them where I come from and how my stories take shape from that, and I challenge them to do the same. I encourage them to find the magic in their lives -- it is often held in the smallest moments -- and to write about that. It's very good work. You do this work as well. I am honored to be invited into your classroom. I always learn as much as I teach. * ** For more information on how I teach, visit my blog: www.deborahwiles1.blogspot.com and click on my interview with Michele Norris at All Things Considered. There is a YouTube video of me visiting a school in Frederick, MD under that link. If you subscribe to the blog, you will learn more about my teaching and writing. If you want to go forward with scheduling an author visit, let me know, and we'll talk about particulars. Thanks very much. Deborah Wiles |
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