Erin Soderberg Downing


School & Library Visits



I would love to visit your school to talk about my writing process,
the behind-the-scenes life of an author, revising,
and the importance of reading in my life!

Please read through this section carefully to learn more about my In-person and Virtual school visits, and then use the contact button to schedule our time together!


CONTACT

Thinking about having an author visit your school? Great!



I love spending time with kids, talking about reading and writing - it's the best part of my job!



During my author visits, I show kids—step by step—how I put a book together, where I get my story ideas, and we talk about where they can get ideas and spark inspiration for their own writing. I also share stories about my path to becoming an author—from my childhood as a reader to my years as a children’s book editor in New York City. Students will get an inside-peek at the life of a writer, including the truth about revisions!


Each session includes time for Q&A, into which I pack lots of writing tips and techniques that kids can apply to their own writing. Please get in touch with me to discuss the specific needs of your school, then let’s customize a visit—teachers and parents tell me their students walk away from our time together feeling energized about reading and writing!


Read on to learn about all of the author visit options, get tips for hosting a successful visit, and more!



Author Visit Options





I offer a variety of author visit options - In-person, virtual visits, and evening programs. Please take a look at the details and pricing below, then reach out with your specific request, and we can schedule our time together!



In-Person Author Visits



Full-Day Visit

Up to 3 group presentations or writing workshops (or a combination of the two), time for book signing, and lunch with a small group of students and/or teachers.

Honorarium: $1,000/day, plus travel and lodging reimbursement for schools outside Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area.

Note: If your school requires 4 group presentations (due to size or scheduling constraints) the cost will be $1,200.


Half-Day Visit

Only available in Minneapolis/St. Paul area. 1-2 group presentations and a book signing.

Honorarium: $600



Virtual Author Visits



Book Club/Classroom Q&A

When your class or book club has finished reading one of my books, I would be happy to join you via Skype for a question and answer session. Feel free to ask me anything!

Availability: Tuesday/Thursday, 10:45-2:00 CST (other times can be arranged)

Time: 20 minutes Q&A

Cost: Free


Virtual Author Visit: Beyond Q&A

This is a 35-45-minute Skype version of my in-person author presentation (includes in-depth information on my writing process, revision, as well as plenty of time for Q&A)

Cost: $200



Evening/Keynote Presentations



Evening Programs and/or Keynote Speech: These programs include anything that falls outside the typical school day, such as:

  • Presentations for students and/or teachers/famiilies at book clubs or book fairs
  • Writing conferences
  • Professional Development events
  • Family Reading Nights

Honorarium: Varies, depending on the needs of the organization.



Writing Workshops



Writing Workshops/Young Writer Programs: I would be delighted to join your young writers for a writing workshop, to help inspire them to start building a few fun stories of their own.


If you'd like to incorporate writing workshops into your author visit program, just let me know and we can discuss ways for me to help build on your curriculum and goals!



How to Host a great visit



Best PRactices & Tips for making the most of our time together!



Planning for an author visit



When you reach out to discuss our visit, I will send you a planning document with some suggestions for how to make the most of our time together. I am happy to speak to groups of any size (however many kids you want to fit in the space provided!), but it often works best to break kids up by age level (K/1, 2/3, 4/5). I require a microphone and access to a projector/screen for my talk.


The most important thing to remember: School visits are most successful when students have read at least one of my books prior to the visit. Several of my series—Puppy Pirates and The Quirks—work really well as read-alouds in K-5 classrooms, and kids who have read some of my books especially love seeing behind-the-scenes “secrets” from the publication process.


CLICK HERE for a full Planning Document!


Book Sales



If you are interested in offering families the opportunity to purchase signed copies of my books (this is highly recommended for all visits), I can help put you in touch with a bookstore that will facilitate pre-sales of my books that I will personalize and sign on the day of my visit.


Book sales are not required as a part of my author visits, but certainly add to the experience for kids. Many stores also offer a discount on school book purchases, which can either be passed on to families, or used as a fundraiser for the school to help pay my honorarium.


Click here for more information about book sales!


Getting Kids Excited



You don't need to greet me with a costume character school mascot (ha ha - that's only happened once!), but getting kids and teachers excited about my visit (in whatever way works for you!) will help everyone make the most of the experience.


Read my books ahead of time, discuss questions you want to ask me, do art or writing activities that tie into my books...all of these things will show kids how important reading and writing are to everyone at your school, and will help make the visit more meaningful for the entire school community! See below for some things other schools have done to prepare and get the whole school involved.


Check out the slideshow below to see how other schools have prepped for my visit!



Artwork decorating the walls of the library



Kids Welcoming the Author



Classroom Door Displays



Classroom Door Displays



Puppy Pirates Artwork



Bookmark Design competitions



Quirks Brainstorming



Working together to design Puppy Pirate Treasure Maps



Feedback from Past Visits



"All day long, teachers told me that your presentation was fantastic, engaging, just-right for the audience, and inspiring. This morning a Kindergarten teacher told me her students are choosing to write books during free play time so they can be just like you. It is rare that a speaker is equally appealing to all grades K-5, but you most certainly were!"


"I absolutely loved how you were so honest and kept the students engaged. They loved hearing about the work that goes into being an author!" 


"Such a fabulous speaker. I have never seen anyone relate so well to the kids."


"A wonderful presentation. Erin did a great job keeping the kids engaged and explaining the book writing process...my class was really inspired by the things she shared."


"By far the best author Skype we have had in the last four years! The students loved you... Never before have they taken notes! Today was a first."


"You shared so many great tips with the students about being writers and readers. Everyone enjoyed it, and the students walked away with a renewed energy and lots of excitement!"


"This was an amazing opportunity for the class...my kids are still talking about it!"


"I had so much fun learning about being a good writer!"


"I loved that so much I give it two thumbs up, my toes are up, & even my taste buds are up!"




Schools I've visited



I've had the opportunity to speak to thousands of kids across the country during in-person school visits.



Minnesota: Burroughs Elementary, Homecroft, Vadnais Heights, Dayton's Bluff, Oneka Elementary, Brimhall, Prairie View, St. Thomas More School, Richardson Elementary, Visitation School, Seven Hills Preparatory, DaVinci Academy, Becker Intermediate, Holy Spirit Catholic School, Falcon Heights, Parkview Elementary, Armatage Montessori, Highlands Edina, Cornelia Elementary, Rosemount Elementary, Our Lady of Peace, Countryside Elementary, St. Stan's Catholic Schools, Northeast Range Elementary, Tower-Soudan Elementary, Ely Elementary, Peter Hobart Elementary, Oak Point Intermediate, Rahn Elementary, Meadow Ridge Elementary, Oakwood Elementary, St. Francis Elementary, Eagle View Elementary, Hassan Elementary, Greenwood Elementary, Shirley Hills Primary, Kenny Community School

California: Pacific Elementary, The Canyon School, Upland Elementary, various Oakland-area public schools

Illinois: Meadowview School, Woodview School

Maine: Oxford Elementary School

Massachusetts: Tyngsborough Elementary School

Michigan: East Oakview Elementary, North Oakview Elementary, Authors in April Author (2019) - fifteen schools in total!, Featured author at Nerd Camp Jr. in Parma, MI (2015, 2017, & 2018)!

Utah: Various public schools around Salt Lake City

Washington: Adams Elementary (Spokane)

Wisconsin: Osceola Elementary & Intermediate Schools, Summit Elementary, Dousman Elementary, Lake View Elementary, Hawthorne Elementary, Westside Elementary, Greenwood Elementary, Amery Intermediate, St. Mary School

Skype Visits: Thousands of kids, worldwide!



Select Past events & Presentations





April 2019: Featured 2nd/3rd grade author during Authors In April week-long school visit event in Rochester, MI


April 2018: The Quirks was featured as an All-School Read (OES Reads) at Oxford Elementary School in Maine!


November 2017: U of MN Honors Lecture Series - "From Shakespeare to Sweet Valley High: Finding Success Without Taking Life Too Seriously" 


February 2017: Family Night Presentation at Peter Hobart Elementary (St. Louis Park, MN)


November 2016: Author roundtable discussion about transitional chapter books at NCTE annual conference (Atlanta, GA).


June 2016: Panelist at Friends of Washburn Library Event (Minneapolis, MN)


May 2016: Presenter at the Children's and Young Adult Literature Conference at the LOFT Literary Center


April 2016:Guest Speaker at Twin Cities Catholic Librarian Conference


April 2016: Puppy Pirates Book Signing at LA Times Festival of Books (Los Angeles, CA) 


January 2016: Writers' Workshop at Marshall Young Writers Conference (Marshall, MN)


September 2015: Puppy Pirates featured in the Alphabet Forest at the Minnesota State Fair!


May 2015: "Turning Your Life into Stories" Presentation at Girl Scouts of Northern Pines Annual Conference


February 2015: "Keep them Laughing, Keep them Reading" Presentation - Hubbs Conference at University of St. Thomas (St. Paul, MN) 


December 2014: Second Story Reading Series at The Loft Literary Center (Minneapolis) 


November 2014: Presentation at the Stillwater Correctional Facility Reading is Fundamental Event (Stillwater, MN)


October 2014: The Quirks in Circus Quirkus presentation at the Twin Cities Book Festival (with a special guest fiddling unicyclist!) 


September 2014: Circus Quirkus celebration at Madison Public Library Anniversary Event (Madison, WI)


September 2014: Author Presentation at the Annual Celebration of Children's Book Authors and Illustrators at The Anderson Center (Red Wing, MN)


July 2014: St. Paul Saints: Story Time author before the game!


May 2014: Winona, MN Young Writers Conference (3rd-8th grade): Writing Workshop 


April 2014: Panel Discussion at Texas Library Association Annual Conference (San Antonio, TX)


March 2014: Mankato, MN Young Writers Conference: Writing Workshop


November 2013: National Council of Teachers of English (Boston, MA): Keep Them Laughing, Keep Them Reading: Using Humor to Engage Young Readers


ART CREDITS:
Great Peach Experiment Design/Art: Michelle Cunningham
Quirks Illustrations Kelly Light & Colin Jack
Puppy Pirates Covers: Luz Tapia
Puppy Pirates Interiors: Russ Cox
Daring Dreamers Club: Anoosha Syed
Close This Book Tight: Lesley Vamos
Moon Shadow: Julia Blattman