Hello teachers, librarians, and parents!

I love visiting schools and talking to kids (and adults) about writing.  I’ve spoken to groups as small as ten, or as large as 275 kids at once.  Depending on the size of the audience and what facilities are available, I can use Power Point slides to display illustrations as I talk, or just hold up 11 x 17" paper enlargements.  My preferred method of presentation is to hook my laptop to the school's projector for a Power Point presentation, but I try to be adaptable to circumstances in order to reach the students as best I can.

In my talks I discuss where I get my ideas from and how my own ideas combine with suggestions from my editor and with illustrator Doug Holgate's own creative vision to result in the book that ultimately appears on the shelves.  Part of this message is that we each have a different set of experiences that make each of us unique when it comes to ideas for making up characters and stories.  I show the evolution of some of the ideas in Zack Proton and reveal some of the hidden jokes in the books.  I talk about the importance of rewriting, and give some tips from my own writing process to help students approach rewriting their own work.  I usually do eight or ten rewrites on the Zack Proton manuscripts before they reach my editor, and I'll usually do another three or four more after that as the books begin to take on their final form, but even after all that I still find things in the published book that I wish I had changed.  Every aspect of my presentation is intended to help make the writing process more accessible to students and to show them that what I do when I write is not so different from what they do when they write.

Because fourth graders in Texas take the TAKS writing test, I try to incorporate a writing exercise into my talks with fourth graders if time and the venue allow. The writing exercise takes about 10 minutes and is intended to help them write using all their senses and to add humor or other dimensions to their writing by using similies.

The Zack Proton books are best suited to ages 7 – 10, but my I have spoken to audiences ranging from pre-school to college.  With younger kids I briefly describe what the Zack Proton books are about, and then use some props as I act out a picture book story that I have just finished writing.  The introduction to this is interactive, and I pick kids out of the audience to try on a variety of hats, including a firefighter's helmet, a coonskin cap, an army helmet, and an Arab headdress (bring your camera!)  For older kids I discuss the writing and publishing processes at a higher level and in greater detail.  My talks are typically 30 minutes for the younger kids (pre-K - 1st or 2nd grade), longer for the older ones (2nd or 3rd grade on up), including question and answer periods, but I'm flexible.

I am available for either morning or afternoon sessions (two talks each) for $300, or all day (up to four talks) for $500, plus travel expenses if necessary.  For travel I charge 58 cents per mile round trip using Google's city-to-city mileage from Austin, TX, and if an overnight stay is involved, the school pays for that also.  The Zack Proton books are available to schools directly from the publisher at a 40% discount by calling Simon & Schuster's school and library customer service number at 1-800-976-1726.  Some schools order in bulk through Barnes & Noble or another local bookstore instead, usually at a 20% discount.

Librarians who have familiarized their students Zack Proton in advance have seen strong pre-sales of the books.  Students have enjoyed visiting the Zack Proton and Pinata Boy web sites, and this also helps get the kids more excited about the visit.  As an author, I have found that the more exposure the kids have had to my books, the more attentive and responsive they are during the presentations.  I also send the school librarian an advance set of three 11 x 17 Zack Proton posters to help promote the visit to the students, and I bring Zack Proton bookmarks for the kids and extra posters for the teachers or librarian to give out as prizes.

To see where I have visited in the past along with my current schedule, please visit the Where's Brian page of this web site.  During the fall semester I am usually available Wednesdays through Fridays.  During the spring semester I am typically available on Thursdays and Fridays, and on Wednesdays for local visits only (because I teach a class at UT at 4:pm). In January and May 2008 I am available for school visits on almost any day of the week.

And yes, all three Zack Proton books are Accelerated Reader books!

If you’re interested in arranging a visit to your school, please feel free to e-mail me.

Thanks, and I hope I'll have the opportunity to visit your school!