GUIDELINES FOR AUTHOR VISITS
BOOKING VISITS TO OVERSEAS SCHOOLS
1. Begin correspondence at least four months ahead for overseas schools to book a visit. Please suggest three different times for the author to choose from.
2. The school will be responsible for all the author’s travel expenses, room and board. Schools close to each other (within the same country or even geographical region, like Europe or Asia) that book at the same time can share the travel expenses.
3. The fee for three sessions per day, with no more than 100 students in a session, is US$850. Four sessions will be US$1,100. Each session will last a class period (45-50 minutes). The author will not do two sessions in one school and two in another school on the same day for a one day fee. The author will not do two different presentations in one session.
4. Please no audio, video or cell phone recording. Pictures are permitted.
5. Both parties must sign an agreement immediately.
6. The author's e-mail: chingyrussell@gmail.com
BOOKING VISITS IN THE UNITED STATES
1. Book at least two to three months in advance. Please suggest three different times for the author to choose from.
2. Excluding her home community, the school will be responsible for all travel expenses, room and board (if required to travel more the one hour). Several schools in the same town that book on successive days can share the travel expenses.
3. The fee is $850 for three sessions or $1,100 for four sessions (45-50 minutes each) in one day. No more than 100 students in one session. (One session can’t be divided into two separate presentations.) The author will not do two sessions in one school and two in another school on the same day for a one day fee. If the school which initially invites her finds other schools nearby for another author’s visit, that school will get a $100 reduction of the total fee. The school librarian can apply for funds through Title 1, PTA, school districts or local businesses.
4. For a special event lasting up to an hour within the community or out of town, the fee is $500. For out-of-town events, traveling expenses, room and board must also be provided.
5. Please no audio, video or cell phone recording. Pictures are permitted.
6. Both parties must sign an agreement immediately.
7. If you have any questions, please contact the author by e-mail: chingyrussell@gmail.com
PUBLIC LIBRARY VISITS
The author can do public library visits. The fee is $500 for one session (45 minutes to one hour.) Out-of-town libraries are responsible for travel expenses, room and board. Please no audio, video or cell phone recording. Pictures are permitted.
BEFORE THE AUTHOR’S SCHOOL VISIT
1. The author expects teachers or librarians to read the whole book to the students before she arrives or have them read it themselves. A school may order a few copies for each class that is participating ahead of time so that teachers will have enough time to read the book to the students.
2. The author and her publishers strongly request that the school order books for the students to purchase before her visit. The librarian should send off flyers to parents about one or two weeks before the author’s visit. (The students might lose the flyer if it is given to them too early.) The author is happy to provide the information for the flyer.
3. The librarian contacts the publisher’s marketing person or lets a local book store handle book ordering. Please contact the marketing person or book store coordinator right after signing the agreement, in case the book requested is not in stock.
4. The author uses PowerPoint for her presentations so a computer/ projector needs to be available. For a presentation about Moon Festival, First Apple, Water Ghost, Lichee Tree or Child Bride, she will need a long table and a cassette player. Please make sure all equipment is in good working order before the scheduled visit.
THE BOOKS I WILL SHARE WITH STUDENTS:
House Without Walls
1. About myself.
2. The reason I wanted to be a writer.
3. I was a freelance writer in Chinese
4. Why I have changed from writing in Chinese to English
5. My discouragement regarding writing in English
6. My triumph after more than a decade of trying
7. How I wrote this story.
a. Interviewed my friends
b. First-hand seeing the refugee camp in Hong Kong
c. Research
8. Revising – The only way to make your story better
Tofu Quilt
1. About myself.
2. The reason I wanted to be a writer.
3. I was a freelance writer in Chinese
4. Why I have changed from writing in Chinese to English
5. My discouragement regarding writing in English
6. My triumph after more than a decade of trying
7. Why I wrote Tofu Quilt in free verse
8. About writing – How I write my stories
a. Where I get my inspiration
b. How I weave Chinese sayings into the story to polish the story
c. Revise, revise and revise again
Bungee Cord Hair – Kind of a sequel to Tofu Quilt (For Asia only)
(The story of my submission of the book for the Scholastic Asian Book Award)
1. About myself.
2. The reason I wanted to be a writer.
3. I was a freelance writer in Chinese
4. Why I have changed from writing in Chinese to English
5. My discouragement regarding writing in English
6. My triumph after more than a decade of trying
7. About writing
a. Where I get my inspiration – I am the only person who can write my story the best
b. Revising – The only way to make your story better
Moon Festival (Picture book)
1. Explain the meaning of the Moon Festival
2. About the legend of the moon lady
3.Why I wrote “Moon Festival”
4. Show artifacts. (For oversea schools, photos only.)
5. Parade with students.
First Apple, or Water Ghost, Lichee Tree and Child Bride. (My childhood series.)
It depends on what the school prefers.
1. About myself.
2. The reason I wanted to be a writer.
3. I was a freelance writer in Chinese
4. Why I have changed from writing in Chinese to English
5. My discouragement regarding writing in English
6. My triumph after more than a decade of trying
7. Showing artifacts that are mentioned in the books
8. Simple writing advice – my discipline when I work on my stories
9. Questions
FOR ESL CLASSES:
The Journey of My Writing in English as My Second Language
1. Introduce myself (Show pictures of family and maps of China and Hong Kong)
2. My early writing journey from age 5 to 12
3. Writing journey from age 12 to adult (Tofu Quilt and Bungee Cord Hair)
4. The inconveniences I experienced when I first came to the states
5. My journey to learn English
6. My discouragement regarding writing in English
7. My triumph
8. The main elements that made my dream come true
a. Set goals for myselfb. Strong belief in myselfc. Persistence9. Answer questions from students
BOOK ORDERS
Ordering straight from the publisher will get schools a very good discount:
1. To order House Without Walls, contact:
· Lori.Mocknick@simonandschuster.com, 856-824-2067 or
· Lawrence.jefford@simonandschuster.com, 856-824-2128
2. To order Tofu Quilt, contact:
Hannah Ehrlich, Marketing Associate
Lee and Low Books, Inc.
95 Madison Ave. Suite 1205
New York, NY 10016
Phone: (212) 779-4400 X 29
Fax: (212) 683-1894
E-mail: hehrlich@leeandlow.com
OR
John Man: (212) 779-4400 X 28
E-mail: jman@leeandlow.com
3. To order Bungee Cord Hair:
The book is only available in India and Asia.
For quantity purchases of this book contact:
customersupport@scholastic.asia
+6020720042
To contact Scholastic regarding the Indian edition:
Email: contact@scholastic.co.in
4. To order bi-lingual versions of First Apple, Water Ghost, Lichee Tree or Child Bride, contact:
Wai Wai Ying - info@greenfieldhk.com
Greenfield Educational Centre
Room 01, 1st Floor, Vogue Centre
696 Castle Peak Road
Kowloon, Hong Kong
Tel: (852) 2304-0355
Fax: (852) 2304-0778
5. To obtain original copies of First Apple, Water Ghost, Lichee Tree or Child Bride check Amazon or Barnes & Noble online. If you can't find what you want, contact the author by email.
K-Internationall School Tokyo virtual visits for Tofu Quilt 2018-2022
Sarah Collins Elementary 2022
Sarah Collins Elementary 2023
