Virtual Visits:
Dawn will virtually visit your students anywhere in the world and talk about writing books, finding ideas, character development, and more!
Presentation time: 40 minutes total with 20 minutes presentation and 20 minutes for questions.
Fee: $150 honorarium (can be waived if a minimum book order is made via a local bookstore. Please inquire for more information).
Limited free 20 minute visits for Title 1 schools and on World Read Aloud Day. See below for more information.
Technology: Dawn can join any existing video conferencing system you supply (Zoom/Google Meet/Webex/Teams)
Presentation Options (choose one of the following):
BOOK READING (of your choice) followed by a presentation about being an author and Q&A
Writing Workshop 1: WRITE ON! Why Writing (is possibly) the Most Important Thing You'll Ever Do
Writing Workshop 2: GOTCHA! How to Find and Capture Great Writing Ideas
Writing Workshop 3: FROM "AHOY, MATEY!" to "HOWDY, PARDNER!" How to Create Vivid Characters by Giving Each One a Unique Voice
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| I'll Tell You About This Trophy When I Visit! |
Contact Dawn via email, Twitter, or through the contact form (at the left of the desktop/web view of this page) to arrange your virtual visit.
See photos from some of Dawn's past book events here.
In-Person Visits
I love visiting schools, libraries and community groups to share my passion for reading, writing, signing and all things literacy! My book talks and writers' workshops are known for being lively and interactive, and I'm always happy to autograph books after the program.
My author visits "typically" fall into one or more of the following categories:
Whenever pricing is a barrier, I do my best to be flexible and creative. See below for established discounts and unique opportunities, or let's talk.
Dawn's Most Popular Writing Workshops:
My author visits "typically" fall into one or more of the following categories:
Young Writer's Workshops
Sign Language Story Times
Family Literacy Nights and/or Parent/Teacher Education/Outreach
(I've summarized my most popular writing workshops below. For those who prefer to be overwhelmed by options, a more comprehensive listing of current program offerings is available at this link).
My standard weekday rate is $150/hour, with a minimum two-hour booking requirement, plus travel. (Fees reduce to $100/hour for four or more consecutive hours, $600 for a full-day visit, or $1000 for two full-day visits, plus travel.) For visits that span more than one classroom or grade level, (e.g. involves the school community more fully), if a school-wide book sale is facilitated/promoted by the school as part of my visit, then I also gift a teacher in-service meeting or a family literacy night to supplement my visit. If the author visit is in the Portland (Oregon) metro area, this "extra programming" does not need to take place on the same day as my visit, but it should be coordinated/packaged as an extension of (or preview to) the author visit experience. For organizations outside of my local area, the first hour of instruction/consultation may be adjusted upward to incorporate a distance surcharge. Weekend programming generally requires a full or half-day commitment.
(I've summarized my most popular writing workshops below. For those who prefer to be overwhelmed by options, a more comprehensive listing of current program offerings is available at this link).
My standard weekday rate is $150/hour, with a minimum two-hour booking requirement, plus travel. (Fees reduce to $100/hour for four or more consecutive hours, $600 for a full-day visit, or $1000 for two full-day visits, plus travel.) For visits that span more than one classroom or grade level, (e.g. involves the school community more fully), if a school-wide book sale is facilitated/promoted by the school as part of my visit, then I also gift a teacher in-service meeting or a family literacy night to supplement my visit. If the author visit is in the Portland (Oregon) metro area, this "extra programming" does not need to take place on the same day as my visit, but it should be coordinated/packaged as an extension of (or preview to) the author visit experience. For organizations outside of my local area, the first hour of instruction/consultation may be adjusted upward to incorporate a distance surcharge. Weekend programming generally requires a full or half-day commitment.
Whenever pricing is a barrier, I do my best to be flexible and creative. See below for established discounts and unique opportunities, or let's talk.
Dawn's Most Popular Writing Workshops:Anatomy of a Picture Book: An informational workshop that provides a behind-the-scenes look at how picture books are made and the opportunity to have an informal Q & A with a published children's author.
From "Ahoy, Matey!" to "Howdy, Pardner!": A writing workshop that explores how to create vivid characters by giving each one a unique voice.
Gotcha! How to Find and Capture Great Writing Ideas: A writing workshop that explores how to think like a writer by doing things like reading, remembering, watching and listening to the things going on around you.
Revision Rocks!: A writing workshop that explores some of the actual revisions Dawn made over time in her picture book, "The Nest Where I Like to Rest," (a 2011 Oregon Book Awards Finalist) and provides participants with an opportunity to suggest revisions to one of Dawn’s current works-in-progress.
Write On! An Author’s Perspective on Why Writing is (Possibly) the Most Important Thing You’ll Ever Do”: In this workshop Dawn reads her book, "There's a Story in Your Head" and shares with students why she writes and some of the rich experiences she’s had in her life because she writes. The workshop (like the book) concludes with an invitation for students to get busy writing the stories that are in their own heads.
Your Pencil is Magic: A hands-on writing workshop that demonstrates how writing props and prompts can help you unlock the creative ideas hiding inside of you. This workshop is based on a popular class Dawn teaches at the Oregon Writing Festival.
A more complete listing of program offerings is available at this link.
Discounts and Unique Opportunities
Upon request I will waive one hour of instructional fees for every 24 books that are pre-ordered directly from me.
As noted above, I offer a limited number of free 20 minute virtual visits for Title 1 schools and on World Read Aloud Day. I also offer free Self-Guided Virtual Author Visits year round and occasional "Ask the Author" / "Q & A Days" for special promotions (usually announced on social media channels such as Twitter or on my blog.) I also offer Email Q & A Sessions. For complimentary visits, I do request that students are familiar with at least one of my books before the visit (all of my books are widely available in public libraries). For "Ask the Author" / "Q & A Days" I do not prepare a presentation. For these visits, I ask that teachers/librarians prepare students ahead of time with questions (typically ranging from my writing process to the names of my pets ; ), and then we engage in a back and forth exchange during our time together. For Email Q & A Sessions, (offered AFTER your learning community has read at least one of my books and participated in a Self-Guided Virtual Author Visit), I ask that the teacher/librarian summarize up to twenty questions from the students (more if pre-arranged), and then compile them in one email. I make every effort to respond within two weeks (and generally sooner).
Each year I donate a limited number of classroom author visits and/or Family Literacy Nights to fund-raising auctions and/or raffles that benefit local schools, community organizations, and other non-profit groups. I begin taking requests at the start of each year, and when they're gone, they're gone. My goal is to help the school/community organization raise money (in the form of auction bids) and to provide the gift of an author experience to a motivated school or community group. Motivation requires that there is at least one key staff member (or in some cases a key volunteer) that generates interest/momentum for the author visit experience being auctioned. The best way to increase interest/bids is to get one or more teachers (vocally) on board for the classroom author visit. If teachers/librarians let parents know that they want to "win" a classroom-based writing workshop and/or sign language story time, parents are more inclined to bid on the item(s) at the auction. It can also work to have one or more teachers "co-host" the event (e.g. "After School Story Time and Tea Party with Mrs. Smith and children's author Dawn Babb Prochovnic" (and then auction-goers sign up and pay for a "slot" for their student/family at the auctioned event).
In addition to auction-based donations, I also gift a limited number of Book Readings / Sign Language Story Times directly to classroom teachers and school librarians around the community who request a visit via a personal letter describing their interest and need. I do ask that a book order form be sent home with students prior to (or directly after) my visit.
Once in-person programming is back in full swing, I will resume offering a free in-person author visit to groups with students/families who are willing to participate in/assist with a filmed story time event (with appropriate photo/video releases signed, so the experience can be posted/shared on YouTube and/or SchoolTube). Ideally, older students would be involved in the filming/video editing process and young students would engage in the story time experience. Contact me if you would like more information about this opportunity.
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