For a child, meeting an author in person can be a transformational moment. For the first time, they can see that there’s a real person behind all the words typed into a book. They will fully grasp that stories don’t just appear in books, they are crafted by the writer and make their way onto the page in a variety of ways. The author’s explanation about how a story came to be can serve as inspiration for a child and a school.

                  According to the 2019 findings of a study conducted by the UK’s National Literacy Trust, “an independent charity that empowers children, young people, and adults with the literacy skills they need to succeed,” children who experience an author visit had significant improvements in literacy rates and better engagement with reading materials:

Key Findings on Author Visits (National Literacy Trusty study from 2019):

• Reading Frequency: 1 in 3 children who had a writer visit read daily, compared to 1 in 4 overall.
• Reading Ability: Children with author visits were twice as likely to read above the expected level for their age.
• Confidence: 36.8% of students with a visit felt confident in reading, compared to 25.1% without one.
• Attitude: Visits were associated with higher enjoyment of reading and writing. 

The fact that children will experience improved literacy after an author visit truly shows that It’s worth the effort to book an author for a school visit.

There are other benefits to an author presentation, as well. For instance, children who have the opportunity to interact with an author can ask questions and get informed, real-time answers about the writing process. Authors are always happy to share how reading and writing stories can enrich your life. This revelation can be inspiring for young minds.

Because children will be able to see the link between writing skills and books, interacting with an author may even help them apply themselves more thoroughly to learning how to be a good writer themselves. After all, the opportunity to publish your own books on Amazon these days opens the field to whomever is dedicated to the process.

Turning books into sources of inspiration via a personal visit from an author, sparking imaginations, and creating better readers and writers in the process. You will never know what the full impact of an author visit, but children will hold these visits in their hearts and memories for years to come.