JOANNE ROCKLIN

BIOGRAPHY I BOOKS I PRESENTATIONS I BOOK ORDERING

Joanne Rocklin's Presentations

It is exciting for me to share with audiences, especially children, the one most important thing I've learned about writing a story. And it is this: Writing is a magical, crazy, mysterious process, but it's the same process for everyone, young or older, teacher or student, published or unpublished.

We all start with a blank page, often a scared feeling inside, and observations and memories taken straight from our own lives. In my presentations I show kids exactly how that magic happens for me, explain some of its mysteries, and give lots of surprising tips to inspire stories.

My visit to a school usually includes:

• A maximum of three (3) "Magic Story Builders" - Large Assemblies.

  (Each is a 60-minute interactive talk using a puppet, slides, readings, and student participation for 1st grade and up; grade division at school's discretion. Kindergarten may attend as well.)

• Classroom-ready handouts for each class

  (1) "The Three Most Important Things Every Writer Should Know" based on my presentation

  (2) "Five Steps to a Story" with Teacher's Guide

  (3) Study Guides to my novels

• Book signings
• Written correspondence after my visit

  Optional Additions to the Day:  (a) Writing Workshop on brainstorming and the basics of story structure; (b) (45 min.; scheduled after the main presentations); (c) K and/or 1st Grade Classroom Visits (maximum two; approx. 20-30 minutes each). Note, I can only offer a choice between Writing Workshop OR K/1 classroom visits on any one day.

Workshops for Teachers, Librarians, or Parents:

• "Write Your Story in 5 Steps!" 1 hour. An in-depth study of my classroom-ready handout.
• "Inside the Mind of the Child": Selecting Literature Appropriate to the Developmental Age of the Child. 1 hour. An examination of the various genres with respect to shape, content, theme and style. An awareness of these guidelines will facilitate a more effective selection of literature for the classroom and library.
• "Everything I Know About Writing I Learned from my Cats!"  A Hands-on Writing Workshop. 1 hour.

Honorarium:

Ms. Rocklin's honorarium is due the end of the day on the last day of her appearance. She charges $1,000 a day, plus expenses (3 sessions).  She's also available to do an additional short presentations to Kindergardeners for an additional $200.

For further information, especially about the expenses (travel, hotel, and meals), click the "Arrange An Appearance" button and see "General Information on the Cost of an Author Appearance" as well as the 'Honorariums' section near the bottom of "How to Plan an Author Appearance."