Wanna hear Crutcher speak? 
CLICK HERE
April 15, 2004
Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library

Want Chris Crutcher
as a keynote speaker or an author guest?

Contact Chris Crutcher directly: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
Contact his assistant Kelly here:  This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Tips on Author Visits:
1) HarperTeacher.com: Arranging an Author Visit to Your School
2) Author and Illustrator Appearance Kit: Random House

Tips on ordering books for author events:
All hardcover and paperbacks (HarperCollins, scroll down)

Tips on sharing expenses:
     It is standard practice for an experienced author/speaker to charge a speaking fee PLUS airline and hotel expenses, so please plan on paying all three. And remember, one day at your school or conference represents three days of Chris Crutcher's time, when you factor in traveling to and from the long distance, target destinations. He won't charge you for travel days, but it costs him in time.
     Because the honorarium and expenses can really add up, you might consider joining forces with other schools and libraries to share the fiscal burden. Chris will do up to four presentations a day, so up to four sponsors can share the cost equally. United, it will cost you much less.
     That said, most hosts sincerely believe having Chris to themselves for one full-day is more than worth the expense.  Scroll down to the letters of praise to see sample opinions for yourself. If you'd like to know what a day of presentations costs, email his assistant Kelly at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it . And remember, if you can't afford his honorarium, let him know what you can afford and he'll try to work something out. He can't make exceptions often, because like all of us, he has bills to pay.  But it's worth asking.

Speaker's Bureaus
    Chris is listed as an available speaker at some bureaus. But please remember, those bureau's charge an extra $700 to $1000 per day to his standard fee to pay their staffers. So it's always less expensive to work directly with Chris and his publicist and assistant.

Tips on what to expect from Chris Crutcher:
    When you hire Chris for a full day, you can schedule three daytime events  and one Q&A or evening presentation, upon request, for all adults and young people.  Events include:

     Keynote speeches -- 45 to 90 minutes
     School Assemblies -- 45 to 60 minutes
     Classroom presentations -- 30 to 50 minutes
     Breakout sessions or workshops -- 60 to 90 minutes
     Auditorium event -- 45 to 90 minutes
     Library presentation -- 45 to 90 minutes

     Book signings, casual breakfast, lunch or dinner get-togethers, and press interviews -- student or professional -- are not considered "events."  So feel free to add those special moments to your schedule, in addition to the official events. But keep in mind the human voice can only function so long, and be considerate of Crutcher's humanity.

Chris Crutcher's Preferences
     When you host a Chris Crutcher visit, he will require almost no special considerations -- no special meals, no special after hours entertainment, no audio video extras, other than a microphone for larger groups. But he would prefer...
     A non-smoking hotel room with Internet connections, and the name of the hotel in advance..
     Transportation (or reimbursement for a rental car) to his destinations, and an emergency contact number in case anything goes a little off center on route.
     An audience prepared for his visit -- people who have read Chris Crutcher's work get a great deal more out of his presentations than do those who have not read his work.  So please prepare your students by having them read at least one book or short story, if possible.  If not, at least have them review his website so they know who is coming and why.

Videoconferences
     One hour, live videoconferences are an inexpensive, interactive option Chris offers schools and libraries with the technological resources necessary to "connect." . If you can't fund a live visit, videoconferencing is the next best thing. Contact Chris at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it  if you'd like more information.
     When the technology was new, Chris was able to offer the one hour events without charge. Now that the demand is increasing, he must charge a fee of $100 per conference to cover the man hours required to coordinate his schedule, the studio and your schedule. But it's still a very low cost alternative.

Which way to the Chris Crutcher presentation?

By Crystal Beran

San Jose, CA

5/10/06

I thought I was going to hate his book.  Sports?  Why would I want to read about sports?  I don’t even like to watch sports.  But he tricked me, that Chris Crutcher.  I read Whale Talk as if someone had super glued the book into my hands.  Even after I’d finished it, I could not put it down.  I’ve never been to a Super Saturday, or any other English Department extracurricular activity, but there was no way I would miss Chris Crutcher’s presentation. 

I walked into the library that day and proudly asked which way to the Chris Crutcher presentation.  “Who?” the work-study students asked.  “Chris Crutcher.  He’s an author and he’s presenting some stuff today in the library. Super Saturday.”  I asked everybody in the lobby of the library and everybody had the same response for me: “I have no idea what you’re saying to me.”  This is why I don’t like our library.

Eventually I wandered back outside and saw the tables set up with his books.  Relieved, I rushed upstairs and snuck in like a yak on roller-skates.  That was my first contact with Chris Crutcher, and I immediately knew I liked him.  He smiled at me as I walked past him, and I felt welcomed even though I was disruptively late.

The first presentation was on the writing process.  Crutcher went through one of his own short stories and discussed how he had adapted his own real life stories into fiction.  Being able to get into an author’s process like that was fantastic, and I’m sure offered invaluable information for the other writers in the audience that day.  He began by telling the us the real story behind “A Brief Moment in the Like of Angus Bethune” and then explained how he needed to adapt it for the story.  One of the biggest adaptations was that he wanted the story to have a happy ending.  The story is also a short story, so he has to get to the happy ending quickly.  As he read, he discussed his process.

For this story, Crutcher began with an incident from his past.  He took that incident and created a character around it.  The name of the character he again chose from his own life, though the similarity between the real Angus and the fictional Angus ends at the name.  Crutcher chose a few experiences from Angus’s early life to show the kind of person he has grown into in the present moment of the story as a high schooler.  As with most fiction, Angus has more problems than the average person.  He is overweight, unpopular, and has two sets of gay parents.  Fiction is not about the mundane, but about the extraordinary.  After reading a little from the beginning of the story, Crutcher broke off to explain why the parents were gay.

Crutcher wants to bring the hidden seams of bigotry in America to the forefront of young adult literature.  America tries to ignore its prejudice, but this does not make the prejudice go away; it only makes it more elusive and difficult to point out.  We can only solve our problems if we are aware of them, and it is this metacognition that books like Whale Talk and Athletic Shorts foster.  Crutcher wants to address prejudice, and he is right when he says you cannot go into a high school without hearing “That’s gay.”  When I have called students on it they have said, “I didn’t mean gay as in homosexual, I meant gay as in stupid.”  This is how deep the prejudice goes, and this is what “A Brief Moment in the Like of Angus Bethune”  attempts to surface.

The issue of homosexuality and the American discomfort with it is addressed in “A Brief Moment in the Life of Angus Bethune” by giving its main character two sets of gay parents.  And this issue is superimposed onto a story taken from Crutcher’s own life seamlessly.  Crutcher also spoke a lot about voice.  This struck me as particularly useful because it is something I play with almost subconsciously in my own writing, and now that I am playing with it consciously I feel much better about how my story is coming along.  The voice of the narrator is not the voice of the author.  I knew this of course; I have a degree in literature, but I also write a lot of this sort of thing and here the voice of the narrator is obviously my voice, but I hadn’t realized that my fiction was jumping between my voice and the voice of the narrator haphazardly until Crutcher actually said the words and talked about how he discovered the voice of his narrator.  It is of course a personal discovery, but it is one that is essential to good fiction.  I feel much stronger about my rewriting now, because I know who is telling my story, and it isn’t me.

Crutcher also discussed the inclusion of a moral, and how he had, in “A

Brief Moment in the Like of Angus Bethune,” given the moral to one of the characters.  By allowing the characters to deliver his message in dialogue, he takes away any hint of preachiness the story might otherwise contain.  This was one of the questions raised by the audience because he does write about difficult issues on which he has very strong opinions.  With that sort of writing there is always a risk of coming across in an Aesopian, didactic tone.  After the story was finished, Crutcher opened the floor to questions from the audience, and I am including, as per your request, in easy to read bullet form “Chris Crutcher’s Advice to Young or Otherwise Aspiring Authors.”

Writers write.  This is the last piece of advice because it bears repeating.

Praise for Crutcher's Public Speaking

First of all, even though it was a straight up Library Conference, they had YA King Chris Crutcher as the keynote. I'd never heard Chris Crutcher speak before and he was so amazing - just totally natural and straight forward and funny. And then I went and did my presentation on Sex and the Young Adult Novel, and TWO HUNDRED PEOPLE showed up, and I got to see Pamela Ross, and things went well. Then, after Kate (my "handler" and one of the coolest YA librarians I've ever met) and I had lunch - and bonded over watching MY SUPER SWEET 16 on MTV - she lead me directly to Chris Crutcher so I could meet him and get my books signed. HE WAS SO NICE. Part of what I admire about him is how fearless he is. I said this and he said, "It's because I'm old." He was joking, but in my head I'm thinking, "No, it's because you're a guy." But also: authors who hit it out of the park on their first or second book have an easier time later. People WORSHIP Chris Crutcher, so they'll put up with the profanity he uses. Whereas another author would have to work harder to get librarians on his or her side.

January 2006

"He was awesome and I thought he'd be really old and not fun but he was awesome and I liked him.  Chris was just as young and alive as a 16 year old which I thought was great because we could talk to him easily."

A student at North Country School
Lake Placid, NY 

October 2005

Chris Crutcher’s dynamic presentation at AASL’s Friday night Author Banquet brought the audience to tears–and then to their feet in a standing ovation. Crutcher recounted aspects of his creative process, based in part on his experiences as a family therapist, telling of his sources of inspiration for his novel Whale Talk. He praised his audience of librarians for their roles in fighting censorship and in matching up books and young readers, calling librarians “the true cowboys of America.”

Crutcher cited his experience of meeting a young woman whose life story was similar to that of his abused heroine in Chinese Handcuffs, and of the librarian who had introduced that young woman to his novel. He recounted his experiences with the family of a young man killed in a car accident in his senior year of high school, who had planned to perform a reading from Whale Talk, and how Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville, IL had opened a space for Crutcher and a group of teens to talk about their friend.

Crutcher entertained his audience, and had us laughing–but he addressed serious issues in his unique way. From Columbine to horrendously abused children, to stories from his own childhood, to his work as a therapist and child protection advocate, to the honoring of the stories of his characters in language true to those stories and the censorship he often faces as a result–Chris Crutcher showed us why his fiction has garnered so many awards.

Thanks, AASL conference planners, for this wonderful event.

~~AASL Blog, http://www.noodletools.com/aasl/archives/95

* * * * *

November 5, 2005

Miriam N. in Ocala said,  "I am interested in hearing from library media specialists who have hosted an author visit with Chris Crutcher.  Please include in your response information on his presentation....content, audience response, etc.

Thanks.
Miriam

Carole A. from Sackets Harbor responded:

If there ever was a man who will change lives of kids, it is Chris Crutcher. He visited our school in May and the kids are still talking about him and his books. He is truly interested in kids and will take all the time talking with them on a one-to-one basis. He even called the vice-president of our library club at home because she was sick and
couldn't make it to school that day.

He did 2 (gr. 7-9 & 10-12) presentations of an hour each during which you could hear a pin drop. He was engaging, passionate, prepared, yet candid. He talked about his books and tailored his presentations to the age of our students. He then spent an hour autographing and interacting with students in the library. The library club then had lunch with him before he left.

He had also spoken on censorship and the importance of making sure you have books for kids that speak to them at a librarian/administrative breakfast for our school library system the day before. He left the director and most in the audience speechless and with a tear or two on their cheeks.

I can guarantee that a visit with Chris Crutcher will be a wonderful experience for everyone involved. You can see some of his visit to our school here:
index.php?page=ny2005  Scroll down to Sackets
Harbor.

Carole A.

* * * * *

April 2005

Comments from students at Westhill High School in Syracuse, NY, courtesy of Karen Fenner, Librarian ( This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it ) 

"The book Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes was great and bringing Chris Cructcher was awesome. I liked when he talked about his writing styles and how he came up with people for the story and their problems."

"The assembly was fun. He had lots to say and was funny."

"He was a pretty cool guy. I liked his bathroom story. The book was okay (Staying Fat), but I loved the ending."

"It was worth having Chris Crutcher come to speak to us. The book (Staying Fat) was awesome (and getting us out of second period). The way he spoke made him seem very down to earth and like he has so much to say but not enough time in the day to say it. Reading his book has motivated me to read others and currently I am reading The DaVinci Code."

'I liked how he just talked to us and not lectured us. Idid enjoy having him, and I think he showed us that if you have a passion for it, anyone can write, and you don't have to be a perfect student to be an author."

"Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes was a great book and Chris Crutcher was an interesting speaker to listen to and it was good how he mixed serious stories with funny things."

* * * *

May 2004

November 21, 2003

Chris has a voice that speaks to both teens and adults, and Whale Talk was the perfect book to bring the two groups together in discussion.   After all, isn't the true acceptance that the Whale Talk characters were seeking what we all want, no matter our age?It's good for both groups to see that an author like Chris has something to say to everybody.  We've been hearing raves all week!


Best regards,

Mary Neuman
Youth Services Library
Asotin County Library
417 Sycamore
Clarkston, WA 99403

* * * * * 

November 14, 2003

It was an absolute joy working with you and look forward to working with you
again in the future. I would highly recommend your books and presentations
to anyone looking for an effective, highly qualified speaker (who just
happens to be a wonderful person!).

Thank you, Chris.

Sincerely,
Tony Tallent
Novello Festival of Reading
Charlotte, North Carolina

* * * * *

October 22, 2003

Our soon to be 50-year-old male PE teacher told me he was so moved he had to talk to the author. Mr. Crutcher was able to provide the teacher with suggestions and made a friend for life. "So if a teacher was touched," you may say, "what about the kids?"  Well, the teacher's response was nothing compared to the clamor we heard in the library for more Chris Crutcher books.

I would like to thank you and all the sponsors of Novello for providing us with the inspiration to read and write. Thank you for Chris Crutcher.

Anne Tope Edwards, Librarian
Charlotte Country Day School

* * * * *

November 4, 2003

Because he combines humor in both his books and his talks, he is very accessible to students/people of all ages. The students paid attention to his remarks, got the humor in his stories, and asked about various characters/incidents in several of his books. The other schools we went to were middle schools, and while the students were really excited about meeting Chris, I did think many of their questions really didn't hit the main points of his books. In my opinion, Chris' books are aimed at older students and their parents.

Susan Herzog
Manager, Information Services, Main Library
Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County
Charlotte, NC.

* * * * *

November 3, 2003

Chris Crutcher's easy, yet professional manner engaged all ages within the audience with his readings, his wit and his insights into the writing process. Because of his background as a family therapist, the subjects of his novels, and the passion he has for youth and their dilemmas, I am positive that his insights would be of great value as a speaker for adult audiences as we ponder, "what's with" the youth of our day.

Sincerely,
Judy Wilcox
Whitman County Library

* * * * *

November 2003

VEMA Conference Evalution Comments

Wonderfully entertaining and intriguing.
Thoroughly enjoyable!
He is the BEST!
Outstanding!
Wow!
BRING HIM BACK!!
Please have him come again!
Fantastic!  The world's greatest bargain!

Incredible. Wish the rest of us had the heart and soul to speak for those who don't have the voice to speak for themselves -- with such wit and humor. Than you!

Thank you! I hope I can remember his comments to take back to school. Everything he said was worthwhile.

* * * * *

October 21, 2003

Chris was wonderful. The kids and the adults just loved his programs.  Each
was a little different, very large audiences.

Columbus Metropolitan Library

* * * * *

April 29, 2003

“We were thrilled to have him speak with our students,” said S-GI library media specialist Kit Howard, who coordinated the event along with the G-I English department. “Kids really like his books. It was interesting to see how many kids were checking out and reading his books in the weeks leading up to his appearance.”

Author Day is a popular annual event for G-I students, and Mr. Crutcher’s appearance drew high marks. He is also a gifted storyteller who held the attention of over 250 students during his presentations at the library.

Every student who attended the Author Day event had read at least one of Chris Crutcher’s books, such as Whale Talk and Chinese Handcuffs.

Many students had enthusiastic questions for Mr. Crutcher, all of which he answered with a directness much apppreciated by the young people. Several stayed after school to ask further questions and to have their books autographed.

“This Author Day was perhaps the most exciting of all,” said Mrs. Howard.

Written by: Mr. Skip Tillinghast

Jennie Garner (left) with Crutcher and North Liberty teens.

Have Crutcher's books been challenged in your town?

Read what Iowa media specialist Jennie Garner had to say about hosting Crutcher on the heels of controversy.

North Liberty, IA
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Planning Successful Author Visits

     When I first heard about the field trip, I just thought it was

    going to be like any other. I imagined sitting in an uncomfortable

    chair bored and annoyed, wearily listening to a nagging author

    telling us about stuff we already knew. But of course, I was

    fortunately mistaken. It was really quite interesting. I really

    enjoyed the poetry writing contest (NOT because my partner

    and I won 2^nd place!) but it helps! I was wondering if there

    were any conventions held for high school students.

                                                                                                                Sincerely,

                Camisha (8^th grader)

            Preferring to talk on the phone, play video games and simply “hang out,” Camisha was a nonreader until she met Will Hobbs. When her teacher developed a unit around Will Hobbs’ work and informed the class they would have an opportunity to meet Mr. Hobbs and participate in a number of activities and competitive games based on his books, Camisha’s attitude changed.

            As English/language arts teachers and parents, we continually search for motivational strategies that will foster a love of reading in nonreaders like Camisha. In today’s world, reading competes with other forms of entertainment, as well as with other literacy acts: television, movies, the Internet, email and instant messaging, cell phones and text messaging, etc. How, we often conjecture, can we help students prioritize and value reading when their lives are filled with other stimulating, often “addictive” activities?  Like Camisha’s teacher, many teachers are finding answers in author visits that engage students in meaningful activities, reflection and interaction. While author visits are certainly no panacea, well-organized events — like the one Camisha attended — can ignite and invigorate a group of nonreaders.

            Organizing a first-rate experience, however, takes advanced, detailed planning and a tremendous amount of collaboration. Numerous schedules and conflicts have to be considered and resolved, students have to be prepared, books purchased, space allocated, activities organized, authors must be secured and travel plans arranged. To aid in creating a smooth, inspiring event, ideas that encourage meaningful interactions between students and authors and that improve the overall quality of the author’s stay follow.

Students and Questions

            Ask authors for advice on preparing for an author visit and most will say students need to have read their books. While teachers may be excited that students have a chance to meet a “real” writer, authors, though generally courteous, have little to offer students unfamiliar with their stories — authors talk about their writing; they are not teachers of writing. If students have not read their stories, conversations are one sided. Teachers become frustrated and/or embarrassed because students have little interest in what the speaker has to say, or they ask silly, meaningless questions. Such visits do little, if anything, to encourage students to read and write. With this said, authors should not be invited into classrooms where students have not read their work.           

                In addition, the kinds of questions students ask are indicative of how prepared they are. Students who are not well prepared may ask irrelevant and/or inappropriate personal questions: “How much money do you make?” “Are you married?” “What kind of car do you drive?” “Do you know J.K. Rowling?” Most kids know these questions irritate and embarrass adults, so if teachers address the inappropriateness of personal questions first, they can clear the way for authors to respond to better questions. Some inappropriate questions, incidentally, can be worded in an acceptable manner. “How much money do you make?” can be rephrased as “Can I make a living as a writer?” Well-phrased questions lead to better exchanges between students and authors.

Cautioning students not to ask personal questions and helping them word questions appropriately are measures that will improve question/answer sessions. However, students need opportunities to discuss, research, and explore their thoughts about an author’s work prior to the author’s appearance in order to develop thoughtful questions. If not given this time and encouraged to delve deeper into the literature and into their own reflections about the author’s work, students will most likely ask ordinary questions that authors have answered repeatedly — ones that appear on web sites, in biographies and research sources, and so forth. Well-prepared students will already be familiar with answers to basic questions and will have spent time reflecting on more unique and challenging ones. Authors repeatedly respond to questions like “Where do you get your ideas?” A student expecting a complete answer to that question is in for a long day. A better question would be “How much of that story is real?” This latter question is more focused and suggests the student is more involved in the author’s work and has a legitimate reason for posing the question.

When authors encounter students who have developed insightful questions about their writing, they enjoy the verbal exchange and find the experience invigorating. In these situations, authors leave sessions with new writing ideas, added reasons to write, and more than willing to return again.

Setting

            The old saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink” need not be true when preparing students for author visits. Experiences have shown me environment plays an important role in students’ attitudes and behaviors. Cafeterias are perhaps the worst place because of acoustics; classrooms are generally too “familiar.” Off-campus locations tend to work best. Interestingly, students who pay a small fee to ride a charter bus as opposed to regular buses seem more psyched. The charter bus elevates the experience —makes it a big deal, something to brag about. When students participate in an author visit on a college/university campus, for example, they seem to take the event more seriously. Moreover, when they know they are not the only school participating, they feel an obligation or challenge to “perform” or “show up” the other schools. For this reason, teachers and librarians can do well by developing partnerships throughout their district and region. (Partnerships can pay off financially as well.) 

Writing the Author

            One piece of advice I give teachers is never require a student or class to write an author (whether the author is visiting or not) or send individual thank you notes for a visit. When teachers require students to correspond with authors, they burden authors and misuse their time: imagine the time it takes to open every envelope and respond to each in separate letters; imagine the number of students authors visit each year and/or talk with on the Internet or via snail mail; imagine getting up each day to write, only to find a stack of required letters, many of which begin something like “My teacher says we have to write an author. I chose you….”; finally, imagine responding to thirty or more “form” letters from the same class (even if they are sent in one envelope) in which each student asks the author to recommend a book or asks the author to name his/her favorite book. When teachers require classes to write authors, they lessen the likelihood that students will receive meaningful responses; the best students can hope for is a stock answer. While an author may be a “real” audience, using an author for a writing assignment is an unproductive, unfair demand.

            Moreover, students who are required to correspond are not engaged in the writing and can find answers to common questions from web sites and other research sources. Students who choose to write an author on their own, however, generally have more to say. Most have found a meaningful connection with the author’s work and want to tell the author how the story affected them. Many identify closely with a character and want the author to know the story is about them, the story “saved their lives,” or the story helped them understand they were not alone and so on.

            When students feel this engaged and have personal desires to write authors, they should be encouraged to do so. They should use email when possible; for email is faster and cheaper. (Many fans do not provide SASEs.) Many authors give their email addresses freely and often post them on their web sites, hoping email will lessen the paper deluge. However, if email is not possible, students should be encouraged to include a SASE with their letter, which saves the author time and expense.

            I am not suggesting authors do not enjoy hearing from students. They do, that is, when kids choose to write. Kids are why they write. Authors have connections with them that many adults have lost. As teachers, however, we can help authors hear “real” questions by encouraging students to write authors only when they have legitimate questions or ideas they wish to share. We can also improve the likelihood that students will receive responses if we help eliminate meaningless correspondence, for authors will have more time to respond to serious inquiries. Serious letters can shape a writer’s thinking for future stories; likewise, when students receive answers from carefully thought-out questions, authors sometimes provide information that helps students better understand their lives and world. 

The Speaker’s Itinerary

            I once heard a librarian say she always gets “the most out of an author” when she plans an author appearance. While hosts may want to share authors with as many as possible and are excited about opportunities to spend time with favorite authors, being center stage takes tremendous physical and emotional energy. Like everyone, authors need breathing space; therefore, itineraries should be planned so authors have adequate down time to return to their rooms or elsewhere where they are not smothered. Authors who have breakfast with a group, then spend an entire day in a school, followed by dinner and a reading session have heavy agendas. While some authors will contract for the number of sessions per day (three should be the maximum), others do not and can be overused by the overly enthusiastic, well-intentioned host.

            It is a good idea to consider all scheduling issues and space allocation problems well ahead of the author’s visit. Careful planning can ensure that more students are able to hear and interact with an author and that any last minute glitches are ironed out.  (When making decisions about how many students will hear the author, less is sometimes more.) Authors can be placed in uncomfortable positions if they are asked after arrival, or shortly before their arrival, if they mind speaking again because the auditorium is not large enough, the room is being used for another event, etc. While most authors are gracious and accommodating, scheduling and space issues should be carefully considered prior to the author’s visit and alternative solutions found. Jam-packed scheduling is inconsiderate and suggests careless planning on the host’s/school’s part.

            In addition, it is important to share a detailed itinerary not just with the author, but also with administration and everyone involved in the event well in advance. Administrators and all personnel concerned should be made aware of the schedule and the importance of adhering to it. Closer to the date of the event, the host should touch base with everyone — doing so prevents confusion and ensures that everyone clearly understands what to expect. It is helpful, too, to have one individual contacting the author. Authors do numerous engagements; the more people involved, the greater the chance of miscommunication.

While it is important to consider the author’s time, it is equally important to pay close attention to transportation and transitions between events. I’ve always feared leaving an author hanging somewhere — in airports, hotels, schools, conference centers, in traffic jams, and so forth — and not having enough time to get him/her from one event to the next. Likewise, I have been apprehensive about providing the author with complete contact information. I always write out a detailed itinerary, one that explains clearly who is responsible for seeing that the speaker gets from one event to the next then follow up with emails to make sure everyone involved remembers his/her role.

While authors can resolve some of their own transportation and itinerary issues, they have little, if any, control over who spends time with them. Deciding who will transport authors from one event to the next and who will have meals with authors can be difficult. Usually, a host has an abundance of help — fans are eager for individual time with favorite writers and will readily volunteer. Regrettably, not everyone has good social skills: some are star-struck, others are overly confident and want to impress the writer with their knowledge of literature; some talk excessively and are too dominating; others are too quiet, and so forth. Two intolerable personalities are those who declare author “ownership”— who claim to have discovered the author, know his/her work better than anyone else, and know him/her personally as a friend (unbeknownst to the author). There are those, too, who are infatuated and can embarrass the author, host and school. While coordinators should not exclude individuals with poor social skills from engaging with authors, coordinators should plan itineraries keeping these personalities in mind.

Clear and concise program information can also help visits run smoothly. A follow-up shortly before events to make sure authors received everything they need or have not misplaced or forgotten any necessary details is crucial. Following up with all information in one email, or regular letter, is essential since programs are prepared piecemeal — making it likely that the author receives information bit by bit. Also, if a coordinator does not follow up, authors can mistakenly double book themselves or forget the event. It pays to remember that while authors may personally commit themselves to an engagement, agents, publicists and others book them as well.

            While arranging accommodations may seem easy, most everyone who travels has encountered at one time or the other problems with reservations and rooms. While it might be “cool” to have an author as a personal guest under such circumstances, authors might consider such arrangements uncomfortable. Many authors, too, travel with laptops so they can write and check email while on the road. While some authors may specifically request rooms with Internet access, most do not. Accommodations suited for business travelers (rooms with faxes, large desks and Internet access) are better bets than luxury bed and breakfasts and resorts, which usually lack these capabilities. Accommodations located near restaurants and shopping areas are also better than isolated acommodations because authors can easily find food when they are alone or walk to a store if they need an extra shirt, socks, etc. Since many authors are either coming from a previous event or headed toward another one, they sometimes need to pick up personal items. While most hosts will arrange for respectable lodging, these additional considerations can improve an author’s stay.