Planning your author visit....

Authors often have busy diaries especially around World Book Day or National Poetry Day, and some are fully booked for World Book Days years in advance. Be prepared to book early to secure your preferred visitor and date during busy periods.

Scheduling a visit in a quiet period often gives you greater choice of authors, and some even offer discounted visits during quiet times!

Bear in mind other school events that may coincide with your visit such as SATS/GCSEs/trips and ensure any rooms or equipment are reserved well in advance.

Not all authors work with all ages, so check the author’s profile to see if they are suitable for your school and have the level of DBS clearance you require.

Most authors offer between 2-5 sessions per day. Some give assembly style talks to large groups of students, others do class-sized writing workshops with limited numbers, many do a mix of the two. Check the author’s profile to see whether they can meet your timetabling requirements and work with the students you have in mind.

We all want as many students as possible to benefit from the author visit, but please be aware for larger schools it may not always be possible to fit everyone in one day. Some authors also offer discounts for multi-day bookings so please speak to our team about this when planning your visit.

Authors typically charge a day rate plus travel costs. If they live more than two hours from your school you will need to cover the cost of a hotel or B&B the night before the visit in addition to any travel costs.

Some authors and poets offer a set price that is all-inclusive of travel and accommodation for UK visits - speak to our Bookings Team for details.

Book signings are an integral part of author visits and children relish the opportunity to get a signed book from a real life author!

We coordinate book supply for many authors and provide schools with book letters to send to parents before the visits, and we can take orders and payment through our website to support cashless schools.

Books are supplied in one of two ways. Either the author brings books with them on the day or we send books on a sale or return basis. Look out for the logos on author’s profiles for information on this.

We can also supply class sets and bulk orders of books for your school - speak to our Book Team for more information.

For more details and help or advice on planning your book sale and signing, see our Books FAQs or speak to our friendly Book Team.

Some of our authors and poets manage their own book supply, and will contact you shortly after the booking has been confirmed to make arrangements.

The earlier you start to promote the visit around school, the more buzz there will be when the author arrives!

Give children opportunities to borrow the author’s books from the school library, try and study some of their work in class or read it out loud in assembly, some schools even dedicate wall displays to authors and their books! The more students know about the author and their books before the visit, the more they will be able to engage with the author, ask appropriate questions and benefit from the day.

Double check that any rooms and equipment have been reserved and any staff affected by timetabling changes are aware, and that Reception knows you are expecting a visitor.

Liaise with the author to plan the finer details of the day. Check what (if any) equipment they will need, and some will send PPTs etc in advance to avoid any technical issues on the day. Remember to let them know about any ID/DBS or documentation required as a school visitor.

Get ready for a brilliant day! Take photos and encourage students to get as involved as possible!

Remember schools earn an extra 15 loyalty points for tagging us in a social media post about your visit so get posting!

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