Visits

KL Visits

Invite KL Going into your classroom or library via Skype!
To Book KL Going for a school visit or a Skype visit, please contact the Penguin Author Appearance Coordinator at penguinauthorvisits@gmail.com .

Thanks to modern technology, classrooms all over the world can connect with the authors of their favorite books. Meeting authors and having a chance to interact with them is a fabulous way to get your students excited about reading. By eliminating the costs of travel and hosting, virtual visits are easily covered within most school budgets (costs are negotiable, but range from $50 to $150). Visits can also be donated by individuals or hosted by the PTA, so ask a parent, board member, or local business if they’d like to sponsor an event.

A typical Skype visit lasts 45 minutes (or one classroom period) and includes introductory remarks by KL and a chance for students to ask prepared questions. Virtual visits are highly customizable and can include discussions about the writing and publishing process, a reading from one of KL’s books, or even a writing lesson on a specific topic.

“I’ve done Skype visits with groups ranging from elementary to high school, and I’ve honestly found that Q&A with students who have read my books is really fun and gets the kids the most excited. Q&A easily fills the time — in fact, we almost always have to cut things short — and kids are genuinely excited to personally interact with me. I’m always surprised at the insightful queries kids have about my books and about what it’s like to be an author.”

All you need for a Skype visit is a computer, a screen or wall to project onto, and a free Skype account. If you’re interested in arranging a Skype visit with KL Going, contact Penguin Group at penguinauthorvisits@gmail.com.

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Want KL to visit you?
Okay, she probably won’t show up at your house, but she’d be happy to visit your school or library. Contact Penguin Group at penguinauthorvisits@gmail.com, or download the brochure.

Here’s what your visit could include:
KL is available for conferences, keynote addresses, workshops, panels and small group/classroom visits. Speeches and workshops are tailored to the needs of specific audiences. Examples of previous topics include, “What I Learned about Being an Author from Working at an Agency”, “First Books”, and “How a book becomes a Book.”

Small group visits include a 40 minute talk in which she walks the kids through the experience of publishing using her own books as a model.

Watch KL Going speak at the
University of South Florida
Writing for Children and Teens: Conflict and Resolution

Having worked in publishing before becoming an author, KL introduces props from various stages of the publishing process. She reveals how her books start out in the idea phase and even brings the first book she ever wrote – an unpublished novel written in high school. She then talks about how she moved from that earliest point to the point of publication. KL brings examples of adult and children’s book manuscripts, a publishing

K.L. Going in the classroom

Photo by June Lombardi.

contract, the first cover sketches for Fat Kid, galleys of books before press, an edited and a copyedited manuscript (so kids can learn the difference) and foreign editions of various books. There’s time for questions after the presentation and she will often read a selection from one of her books.

KL’s goal with her author visits is to give kids a hands-on look at the publishing process and to make the time as engaging as possible. She has given versions of this presentation to audiences ranging from pre-K through adult and finds audiences of every age equally fascinated to see first-hand how a book evolves from idea to finished product.

If your group were to book a longer visit, she would be happy to include writing exercises as well.

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