One of my most vivid memories from high school is the day an exotic woman hauling a massive file folder whisked into my sophomore English class. She was a poet, and she spent a week with us, throwing out poem after poem to read, savor, and discuss heatedly. And then we wrote. And wrote. I trace my lifelong love of writing back to that writer's visit, part of the state Poets in the Schools Program.

In the 30+ years since I was a student in that classroom, I've sponsored many visits by writers to schools and summer workshops. In most cases, my resources were limited, so I stuck with local authors. These have ranged from tiny events - just a few students chatting with a new children's book author, to the dinner for hundreds featuring Stephen King and Misery Chicken Fricassee (prepared with broken chicken thighs, naturally).

Along the way, I've had some wonderful and horrible experiences. Most authors couldn't be more gracious or accommodating, but the one who phoned at 2 in the morning requesting a grand piano for her 8 a.m. keynote gave me pause about ever sponsoring an author event again. Likewise the painfully shy writer who agreed to speak, then showed up late to the packed school auditorium with her husband in tow, an engineer who gave the talk for her because she was too terrified to speak. He spoke mostly about...rivets, leaving the audience just a little confused at the culmination of writer's week.

In both these instances, the failures were more mine than the authors. I didn't do my homework, and my lack of preparation and vetting of the authors made everyone suffer. I still find nothing turns kids on to writing more than learning from published authors - it just takes the right kind of behind the scenes work and communication to ensure a successful visit.

This week, we've got some terrific web resources for planning author visits. If an honorarium isn't in your budget, there are even opportunities to harness technology for "virtual visits." Plus more as always. Enjoy!

Brenda Power

Editor, Choice Literacy

www.choiceliteracy.com

Free for All

In "Inspiration from Author Visits, " Jennifer Jones reflects on the power of a recent local author visit in her school, and also provides some quick tips and weblinks for planning a visit:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/596.cfm

Scholastic offers a comprehensive planning guide for author visits, with everything from author contacts organized by geographic regions to checklists for coordinators. It's all free and available for download on the web at this link:

http://teacher.scholastic.com/products/tradebooks/inviteanauthor.htm

Join us in Oregon, Ohio, or Maine for this summer's Choice Literacy Workshops. Featured presenters include Aimee Buckner, Karen Szymusiak, "The Sisters," Franki Sibberson, Jennifer Allen, Ruth Shagoury, and Andie Cunningham. All participants receive DVDs to use in study groups or staff meetings back home:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/department22.cfm

For Members Only

A common problem with intermediate writers is the overuse of dialogue in writing - some young writers end up with far more conversation than narrative as they fall in love with the adding quotation marks and conversation to their writing. In this week's video, Aimee Bucker uses a mentor text to help a small group of 4th graders understand different ways to highlight dialogue in their writing:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/565.cfm

Two articles to inspire you during the sometimes discouraging march through the spring testing season in many schools -

Franki Sibberson's article this winter linking her learning from fitness bootcamp to working with struggling readers was one of our most popular features this year. This week, she provides a follow-up to share new lessons from bootcamp in a standards-based world:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/592.cfm

Mary Lee Hahn uses her experience as a swimmer to take another look at standards:

http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/591.cfm

From the Mailbag: We've received some queries recently from members asking about our summer publishing schedule. Other than our planned two-week break in early July, we will have a full publishing schedule all summer long, with new features weekly. We've found we have highest access by members during the summer months, because often this is when teachers and coaches have a little extra time for their own professional development. And remember, you can access the site with your membership from home or school - all you need is your username or password.

That's all for this week!