Being an author is more than writing words onto a page. It’s hoping that those words will find young readers and make a positive impact on their lives. Authors not only want to build an audience for their own books, they also aim to inspire improved reading and writing in children.

            Without a doubt, being able to make an in-person school visit amplifies this goal. What could be better than seeing an auditorium or classroom full of kids and engaging with them firsthand? It’s great for the author, great for the kids and wonderful for the school.

            The bottom line:  School becomes an exciting place to be when children have an enriched experience there. Author visits are an excellent pathway to inspire the imaginations of children.

            Here are five ways author visits can impact child development:

1)      Personalization:  The Author becomes a person. It’s one thing to see a writer’s name on the cover of a book, it’s another to meet that writer in person. When a child has access to the human behind the name, they can grasp that being a writer is a goal they can achieve for themselves.

2)      Positive Motivation:  For children who struggle with reading, it can be enthralling to hear a fun book being read out loud during an author visit. This can help motivate a child to explore books on their own, fostering improved literacy.

3)      Shared Experience:  During a school visit, authors share their personal journey on becoming a writer. It can help children see how being a writer with a varied background is a good thing. They learn that oftentimes good stories come from personal experiences.

4)      Confidence building:  Meeting an author can inspire children to write their own stories. It offers a way into a child’s personal creativity with language.

5)      Positive influence:  Author visits can have a lasting, positive impact on a child. Below are some facts that back this up:

Key Data on Author Visits from the UK

The National Literacy Trust in the UK found that:

• 1 in 4 (26.9%) children and young people said in 2019 that they had had a writer visit at school
• Twice as many children and young people who had a writer visit to their school read above the expected level for their age compared with their peers who didn’t have such a visit (30.8% vs 16.5%)
• Children who had an author visit to their school reported higher levels of reading enjoyment (68.2% vs 47.2%) and writing enjoyment (43.9% vs 32.4%) than their peers who didn’t receive a visit
• Children who had an author visit to their school were also more likely to have high levels of confidence in their reading (36.8% vs 25.1%) and writing (21.9% vs 16.9%) capabilities than their peers who didn’t receive a visit

Reference:

https://literacytrust.org.uk/research-services/research-reports/impact-writer-visits-children-and-young-peoples-literacy-engagement/