The
Book Week Committee of CBCA Tasmania is currently administering a 3 year grant
which focuses on different programs including the promotion of our talented
Tasmanian authors and illustrators. These creators will be visiting primary and
secondary schools throughout the state to conduct talks and workshops. This
article by Karys McEwen discusses why school visits are important for students.
Karys is the library manager across both Prahran and Richmond High Schools in
Melbourne, as well as the vice president of the Children’s Book Council of
Australia (Victorian Branch) and the treasurer of the School Library
Association of Victoria.
The
following article was originally published in Books+Publishing, 19
March 2019
It is reproduced here with permission from the
author and publisher.
In her first column for 2019, high
school library manager Karys McEwen argues that young people have much to gain
from interacting with authors in person—but authors need to be supported.
A few years ago I was contacted
by an author who was interested in visiting my school library for free while
promoting their latest book, an anthology of young adult stories. I jumped at
the offer, especially since working at a public school meant there wasn’t much
of a budget for visiting authors. The author brought along another writer
friend who happened to be in town, and the two of them regaled the student book
club with stories about their creative process, getting published, and making a
career out of writing. The kids asked endless questions. Some of them also
purchased the anthology and had it signed, while others borrowed it from the
library—the reserve queue was at least a couple of students long for the rest
of the year. For months afterwards they spoke about how great the visit was,
and begged me to get more authors to come to school. The experience opened
their eyes in a way that exceeded my expectations.
There are myriad opportunities for this type of
engagement between authors and young people to take place: school visits,
writers’ festivals, workshops, holiday programs, launches, storytimes at
bookshops or libraries, and online connections too, through blogs or social
media. The pay-off is invaluable in terms of introducing children to the
possibilities of the creative industries, getting them to appreciate the art of
storytelling, and hooking reluctant readers who are given a chance to better
understand the stories they read by meeting the person that exists behind the
words on the page. Since realising this, I have started taking my students to
the local writers’ festival each year, and each year without fail, they leave
feeling enthused and inspired. My favourite thing is to hear them chatting
excitedly on the train home about everything they experienced during the day.
However, it is vital to recognise that from an
author’s point of view, this side of their job is not necessarily the easiest.
Many children’s authors in Australia and beyond rely on the extra income that
school visits and festivals can generate, and the travel and type of work can
take a toll. We need to ensure that authors are being paid appropriately and
that services exist to support them in this task.
It is also important to understand that class and
locality play a part in access to these types of activities—private schools
often have more funds to pay for visiting authors, and children that live
rurally are less likely to have festivals and events within a reasonable
distance. It is not as simple as declaring that all young people should have
the chance to meet authors. But there are ways around such obstacles.
Sometimes an author might be in a position to
negotiate their fee for school visits, though this should never be expected.
There are, however, events and workshops available for free, or at reduced
prices for disadvantaged youth, such as the State Library of Victoria’s Story
Camp or the slew of children’s events at this year’s Perth Writers Week. Online
platforms like Goodreads and the recently relaunched Inside a Dog website allow
young people to engage with authors and other readers online. Often young
people just need showing that these opportunities exist.
Recently some of our English
classes were undertaking a literature circles project, and a group of rowdy
boys chose Brendan Lawley’s young adult novel Bonesland (Text).
Although they were excited by how much they could relate to the themes in the
book, they were all very reluctant readers and were having difficulty finding
the motivation to read. I tweeted Brendan and asked if he would mind if they
got in touch with him to chat through some things, and he kindly agreed. The
boys were blown away by the fact that they were speaking to the author of the
book they had to read for school, and every time I saw one of them in the
hallway, they would excitedly update me on their most recent interaction. At
the end of the project, the quietest boy of the group approached the library
desk, thanked me for helping them get in touch with the author, and told me
what a huge impact it had on his learning.
Engaging with a book is a powerful and crucial
experience for every young person. However, the extra step of being able to
meet or speak with the storytellers and creators themselves adds another
element that can make all the difference. We need to continue providing the
opportunities for authors to do just that.
Reference:
McEwen, K. (2019). Why you should meet your heroes. In Booksandpublishing.com.au. Retrieved from https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2019/03/19/130065/karys-mcewen-why-you-should-meet-your-heroes/
Please Note: CBCA members get a discount for Books+Publishing (Australian and New Zealand book industry) subscriptions. To access
this discount please contact tas@cbca.org.au for the discount details.
