You’ve Booked an Author Visit—Now What?

Congratulations! You’ve successfully booked an author to visit your school. Cue the confetti! Or at least a celebratory high five in the faculty lounge.

Now you’re wondering, “What exactly happens during a school author visit?” Don’t worry—I’ve got you covered with my handy dandy school author visit tips. This post is your go-to survival kit for hosting an author at school: full of writing workshops, student Q&A gold, sticky notes, and yes… possibly snacks.

And hey—if this is your first time planning one of these visits, don’t panic. No one expects perfection. Unless your principal used to run Broadway. But honestly, all it takes is a little prep, a little patience, and a whole lot of student excitement to turn “author visit” into “best day ever.”

📌 TL;DR – Quick Highlights

This post is packed with author visit tips to help you prepare for a smooth and educational experience.

Before the Visit: Get students pumped by reading the author’s books and discussing themes.

During the Visit: Expect storytelling, writing workshops, and surprisingly deep questions about sandwiches.

After the Visit: Follow up with student thank-you notes and creative projects to keep the magic alive.

Bookmark this post now. It’s your cheat sheet to making sure the author visit feels like a well-planned parade and not a last-minute pop quiz.

📝 Before the Visit: The Calm Before the Creative Storm

Hosting an author at school works best when kids are fired up like it’s a field trip where no one leaves campus. Use these author visit tips to get students excited and ensure they know what to expect.:

• Read the author’s books as a class or during library time.
• Create a bulletin board of student artwork inspired by the author’s stories.
• Prepare a list of student questions—everything from “Where do you get your ideas?” to “Do you like cats?” (Yes, probably. Especially on the internets.)
• Talk about what a classroom author visit looks like so students know what to expect.

Think of this as the pregame. Hype it up! Build curiosity. Drop hints. If students walk into that author presentation already feeling connected, you’re halfway to magic. Plus, having their questions ready means fewer last-minute panics and more “I asked something that made the author smile” moments.

🎤 During the Visit: This Is Not a TED Talk (But It’s Close)

This isn’t your average ‘guest speaker for schools.’ It’s a one-person improv show packed with storytelling, creativity, and laughter. Some basic author visit tips include having a microphone ready and a backup plan in case of tech hiccups. But we want to talk about the good stuff. Here’s some of the better things to prepare for.

• If your author is anything like me, expect a school author presentation that’s part storytime, part motivational speaker, part comedy act.
• Student Q&A sessions are where the real magic happens—kids get to connect with the author and ask their burning questions.
• Some authors offer to lead an in-school writing workshop where kids can stretch their storytelling muscles beyond the daily journal.
• Book signings may be involved, and are often encouraged. Sticky notes on the books help avoid “Is that Emily with a Y or an IE?” drama.

No two author visits are exactly alike, but here’s the guarantee: you’ll laugh, you’ll learn, and you’ll probably hear the phrase “Wait, you wrote that?!” at least ten times. We bring the energy. You bring the projector, the mic (if you’ve got one), and group of eager readers. We’ll do the rest.

📬 After the Visit: Keep the Creativity Cooking

Just because the author hops on a plane (or logs off Zoom) doesn’t mean the learning ends. Extend the author visit experience with some creative flair:

• Have students write thank-you notes (great literacy practice AND warm fuzzies).
• Showcase photos and post-visit projects on a hallway display or school website.
• Encourage kids to write their own stories based on what they learned during the author visit.

This is where the long-term value kicks in. When students see their work displayed—or better yet, mailed to the author—they feel like real writers. And guess what? They are. Plus, it gives you something heartwarming to mention at your next staff meeting. (You’re welcome.)

🛠️ Free Resources to Save the Day

To help make your classroom author visit go off without a hitch, here are some tools:

Subscribe to my newsletter to get The Complete Guide to Hosting Author Visits

Creative Writing & Drawing Prompts Pack (yep, mine!)

Download them, print them, laminate them if you’re feeling wild.

Or don’t. No pressure. But these free resources will take you from “panicked googling at midnight” to “prepared legend” status in five clicks or less. Think of them as the literary equivalent of duct tape—there when you need them, and always surprisingly effective.

❓FAQ: School Author Visit Questions You Were Too Polite to Ask

Wondering how long an author visit lasts or if it fits your budget? This FAQ has some author visit tips that can help you make the most of your time.

Spoiler alert: most authors have been through it all. Forgotten mics, frozen screens, clickers that refuse to click. The show still goes on—and sometimes the chaos makes the visit even more memorable. If in doubt, ask ahead of time. We’ve usually got backup plans for our backup plans.

🔗 Recommended Links & Resources

• Looking to level up your planning game? My site is full of author visit tips and tricks. Start with my post on how to plan an unforgettable author visit. Then, make sure you subscribe to my newsletter to get the complete guide to planning author visits, packed with checklists, timelines, and insider tips that make you look like an event-planning superhero.
• Want classroom-ready materials that keep kids writing long after the author packs up their bookmarks? Check out my free classroom and writing resources, including writing prompts, drawing activities, and follow-up story starters for all grade levels.
• Need trusted expert perspectives to back up your author visit dreams? Reading Rockets offers an in-depth article on the value of author and illustrator visits, including advice straight from librarians and educators.
• Curious how author visits can be more than just fun? Edutopia explores how school author events boost student engagement, support curriculum goals, and inspire creativity across subjects.
• And if you’re a writer or event planner looking to better understand the author’s side of the experience, Writers & Artists breaks down how to ace school visits from preparation to post-visit follow-up.

Pro tip: bookmark these now. They’ll come in handy when you’re asked to lead the next author visit planning committee or win over your administrator with research-backed reasons why this was totally worth it.

I hope you can use all these author visit tips to turn your event into an unforgettable, inspiring experience for both students and educators.