…appealing to a wide variety of audiences…

Author visits are exciting for students, and have a demonstrated educational value. Meeting authors in person promotes an increased interest in reading. Understanding how professional authors work not only inspires students in their own writing but also demonstrates the necessity of constant revising and reworking to achieve superior results.

It can also provide inspiration for youngsters. Here’s what one mom had to say about me: “Jim visited my daughter Cate’s school a couple of weeks ago. She was really inspired and wrote a story for a competition at Eagle Harbor books and won!!! She has not stopped beaming! She has always loved to write and has always proclaimed that when she grows up she wants to be a writer. Kudos to Jim for giving her the boost she needed!”

The wide range of my experiences makes me an especially attractive candidate for an author visit.

My primary area of expertise is children’s non-fiction, which generally comprises the majority of titles in school and public libraries. I have written and edited well over 200 books. My subjects range from authors to zoologists and include classical musicians and contemporary pop icons, saints and scientists, emperors and explorers. For a complete list, please see books written.

And my diverse, distinguished background allows me to offer advice, assistance, encouragement and interesting anecdotes in other areas of writing. I even advised a national award-winning high school newspaper.

Sample Presentations

My presentations work well with any grade. Here are some sample topics. All include lots of illustrated examples. I welcome student participation, and there are always ample opportunities for questions and comments. By prior arrangement, I can also craft exciting presentations custom-tailored to your curriculum.

Off and Running – Grab immediate interest with strong first chapters. Includes discussion of The Worst Opening Sentence I’ve Ever Read.

Grammarodeo – Lively look at commas, colons, clauses, common nouns and other compositional critters and how writers rope’em in.

Printers’ Magic – A favorite among all grade levels, this presentation makes an ideal finale for presentations of any kind. Youngsters are fascinated to learn how a seemingly chaotic jumble of pages comes out in perfect order. They’re just as enchanted by a quick demonstration of color printing.

The Story Behind the Story – How an author uses actual experiences to create fiction, non-fiction, even poetry.

Not Quite Ready for Prime Time – How editing transforms dull, lifeless prose into exciting, engrossing accounts.

Author, Author! – Several true-life stories illustrate the diverse ways in which people become established writers.

Storytelling – History comes alive with interactive talks such as “The World’s Worst Explorer – and Maybe the Best” and “Horrified by Handel? Does Liszt make you listless? Take another look at classical music!”

Hey Buddy, Can You Spare a Word? – English is a shameless borrower from other languages. A brief look at its fascinating history and tips on painlessly increasing vocabulary by learning a few roots.

Rhyme Time – A lively exercise in which students write rhyming couplets, quatrains or even longer forms after a brief introduction and numerous samples.

Buzz Words – Provide students with a few words chosen at random, and they create a story that incorporates those words.

What Professionals Say

I am so glad that I found Jim Whiting’s website on the Internet! We were looking for a speaker for our WLMA regional meeting. He fit the bill of being an author of nonfiction books, which in our district we had been talking about the need for students to read more nonfiction material.

So when I wanted an intermediate author it was natural for me to ask him to come speak to our students at Manchester Elementary School. He did a great job talking about how he gets his ideas to write, what he does to make an assigned topic interesting, and the importance of rewriting. He used the overhead with examples from his own books as well as doing some reading of passages for them. Students were given an opportunity to ask questions, which were an endless supply. The 40-minutes’ assemblies zoomed by.

After he left, I had many requests and holds for his books, which the students wanted to check out at once. The “hook” had caught them. His books can be a biography of a historical event, but Jim keeps them reading. Jim Whiting is very generous by letting you use his speaking fee to a certain amount in the cost of some of his books for your library. What a delight! I highly recommend Jim Whiting for your next author. – Rebecca Pierce, Manchester Elementary School teacher-librarian/media specialist

Having Jim Whiting speak to my students has been both enjoyable and worthwhile. Not only does Jim provide a wealth of information about all aspects of writing, from the creative process to the business of publishing, but he does it in a way that is interesting, motivating, and appropriate to whatever age group he is facing. Jim once spent a day with my 3rd graders, and later, after I moved to middle school, he visited with my Honors level 8th graders. I was amazed at how effortlessly and naturally he adapted to the very different interests and needs of both age groups. Jim has the rare gift of being able to walk into a room full of squirrelly little kids or terminally bored teens, talk about some pretty esoteric subjects, and leave with kids both little and big, seeing him as a source of information, an inspiration, and most significantly, as a personal friend. — Marietta Gruner, teacher

Mr. Whiting has come into my sixth grade class numerous times over the past few years. Each time he provided a presentation that students found interesting and informative. Most importantly, Mr. Whiting was able to engage and involve the students, making the presentation a real learning experience. — Tom Leigh, teacher

Jim Whiting enthralled the young people who came to our library to hear him speak. The feats and foibles of early American explorers really came alive. — Sharon Snyder, librarian

The students in our middle school enjoyed having Jim Whiting as a visiting author. He met with students in a variety of settings including a one-on-one video interview by the VTV class which was later shown to the entire student body, a large discussion group (across grade levels) targeting aspiring writers who were interested in asking questions about the writing process, and an in-class working session with students involved in the editing of their own writing. Jim is knowledgeable, interesting and adept at addressing middle school students. — Susan Shira, middle school reading specialist

What Students Say

I loved to hear you talk about the things you do. It made me want to be a writer! — Hanna

Thanks for coming to our class and telling us about writing. It was very interesting. I hope you can come back. — Jesse

You are the best speaker I have ever seen. There wasn ‘ t one time where I ever got bored. Everything you said was fun and interesting. — Kyle

I loved how you made a boring story into an exciting one and draw the reader in! — Savannah

I really learned a lot during your presentation, especially about Franz Liszt. I can’t wait to read your biography about him. — Sam

It was fascinating to see all your books. It was a real learning experience. — Alex

You rock!! — Kaylee

Fees

Negotiable. Unlike most other authors, I will credit library purchase of my books toward my appearance fee.

Buying My Books

A proven method of enhancing an author’s visit is for students to purchase books in advance. I am delighted to sign them with a personal message.

I also bring copies of my books for purchase on the day of my visit and will autograph those as well.

Another way of adding to the excitement of my visit is to buy several books that will be awarded during random drawings.