Book me for an author visit
Having worked in education for over ten years, I’m experienced in delivering content and creating resources for workshops and small groups.
I’m passionate about reading and writing, and I know the impact that reading books has on children and young people of all ages. I’m also extremely passionate about helping young people make the right decisions about friendship groups, life choices, and the way they behave towards each other, and I’m excited to use my books and writing to communicate this.
On this page you’ll find all you need to know about how to book me for a school visit, and testimonials from those who have used my services, materials or books in education.
Signed Author Copies
An author school visit is a great opportunity for students to get a signed copy of their book. I offer a special price for children buying them as part of a school visit:
- Out of the Smoke:
£7.99£5.00 - Through Water and Fire:
£8.99£6.00
Just let me know if you’d like to take up this offer when you contact me, and we’ll work out the most convenient method of payment for your school.
Even if it’s a virtual visit, my publisher is happy to send signed copies direct to the school. I can take a list of names and write personal messages to the students to give them a memento of the day!
Content
Assemblies
Content of assemblies varies according to size and length, but typically consists of:
- A short reading
- A brief inspirational presentation about myself and my journey as an author
- An opportunity for Q&A
- Depending on length and size of the audience, some audience participation may be possible
Workshops
A typical workshop with me lasts around 1-1.5 hours, with around 30 children, and consists of:
- An interactive reading session
- Topics for discussion
- Pre-planned activities eg. role playing, art & design, large format projects
- Structured writing activities with worksheets provided
- An opportunity for Q&A
I always ensure my content is delivered in line with the school’s learning aims, and takes into account specific outcomes desired by teachers and SLT. I like to work closely with teachers to make content as accessible and enjoyable as possible for classes.
What kinds of workshops do I offer?
- ‘Bringing a Victorian street to life’ – an interactive drama session to encourage children to think about sensory language, with associated writing task.
- ‘Select for Effect’ – Using historical sources and embellishing with sensory language to create vivid descriptions.
- ‘Create your own adventure’ – Build a branching narrative with multiple endings, to help students to think about choices and consequences.
- ‘Creating a character’ – What makes an effective character? Students build their own fictional characters using archetypes as building blocks, and thinking about core motivations.
- ‘Cat and mouse’ – An interactive team-building game based on the cat-and-mouse between Billy and Archie Miller!
- And many more … Let me know what your requirements are and I’ll create a bespoke workshop to meet your needs.
Smaller Study Groups
I love to use my writing as a launchpad for all kinds of extra-curricular work, and I’m happy to work with smaller groups of up to 10 children for a focused outcome:
- Encouraging reluctant readers
- Group writing projects
- PSHE – Friendships, good decision making, leadership
- Curriculum-tailored activities eg. history, mathematics, geography, art & design
Virtual Visits
Virtual visits are a great way to set up a quick author visit to tie in with topic work or a particular curriculum focus. I’m happy working on any platform and with any size group, from year group assemblies to smaller reading groups. Activities we can do will depend on technology and the size of the group – contact me for more details.
- 20 minute sessions are free.
- 1-hour sessions can be booked as a virtual visit for a 25% discount.
Study Materials
I also have a range of free-to-use study materials available on this webite, including:
- Word analysis tasks
- Inference tasks
- Group and individual activities
- A full-colour resource sheet
This workbook is free to download, copy and print.
Fees
(All fees are in line with the recommendations made by the Society of Authors. More information for schools can be found here.)
(20 minutes)
- Book reading
- Meet-the-author opporutunity
- Prepared Q&A
(1 hour)
- Assembly OR
- 1 workshop OR
- 1 smaller study group
- Book reading
- Book signing
- Meet-the-author opportunity
(3 hours)
- Assembly
- Book reading
- 1 workshop OR
- 1 smaller study group
- Book signing
- Meet-the-author opportunity
(6 hours)
- Assembly
- Book reading
- 2-3 workshops
- Smaller study groups
- Book signing
- Meet-the-author opportunity
(I may have to charge travel costs for in-person visits. Please contact me to find out more.)
Testimonials
“The worksheets are amazing! The game of guessing your character was so engaging and really made the visit memorable. It was such a great experience and the virtual visit concept really does work well. I will be spreading the word in the Manchester! Thanks so much for making world book day special!”
“The children particularly loved the interactive reading part of the workshop. They loved bringing the story to life. It was wonderful seeing all children (from Year 3 to Year 6) so engaged and enthused about reading.”
“You had the children hooked from the first word. Fantastic story telling voice, made the book really come to life.”
“Very engaging workshops, the children were really engaged and enthusiastic. We would recommend highly!”
“The children enjoyed creating the Victorian street scene. The children that attended the Greater Depth writing workshop were really enthusiastic about the depth of character description.”
“These are all skills that some students at Broadway Academy have trouble engaging with, so it was encouraging to see groups from Years 7, 8 and 9 being active participants in these sessions – especially those students with SEN and EAL requirements … The visit was a roaring success with all involved and hopefully the start of regular events to encourage literacy and raise reading levels across Broadway Academy.”
“Thank you so much for visiting our book group today. As you saw, there has been loads of enthusiasm for your book and a group of people who are excited about the next one.”
“I am an experienced history teacher currently working in a Christian school in Bradford- I can definitely use and recommend this [book] at KS3.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and as an English tutor, have found the resources on Matt’s website useful, too.”
Enquiries
If you’re interested in a visit, or you’d like to talk about how I might be able to get involved with your school, please do get in touch. I’m always happy to hear from teachers who have read my books, and I’m always more than happy to just chat about books and writing!
Matthew Wainwright, Children's Author 