Squaring Up For School Visits Panel with Valerie Bolling, Jonathan Roth, and Alexis O’Neill
Sep 11, 2025
Online event
School visits offer a great way for authors and/or illustrators to connect with children, and they can also provide an opportunity to sell your books. This webinar is designed to address all the FAQ’s related to such events. Panelists will address keys to successful school visits while providing valuable information designed to help you get new or increased opportunities. Each will present on an aspect of school visits for about 20 minutes. VALERIE BOLLING will address things KidLit creators should consider before contacting schools to propose a visit such as: · What grade level would you like to visit? · What setting would work best for you (whole school, multiple classes, or one class at a time)? · What specific program choices will you offer? · Will you offer only full-day visits, or are you open to half-day visits or even a single session? · Are you open to both in-person and virtual visits? Valerie will respond to these questions as well as others that will be helpful to you as you prepare to visit schools. JONATHAN ROTH will give tips about how building your network can help you get invited to schools. ALEXIS O'NEILL will address how to shape a presentation and share teachers’ comments on what they especially appreciate in an author or illustrator appearance. A Q&A will follow the presentations. Come prepared to learn, and get needed information to begin filling your school visits calendar!
Webinar Date and Time
Thursday, September 11, 2025, at 6:30 PM - 8:00 PM Eastern
The webinar is 90 minutes long.
Registration will close at 5 PM on Tuesday, September 9, 2025
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Prices
Premium member price: $15
Regular price: $30
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About the Panelists
Valerie Bolling
Valerie Bolling is passionate about creating stories in which all children can see themselves and feel seen and heard, valued and validated. She’s the author of six picture books -- LET’S DANCE! (SCBWI Crystal Kite Award winner); TOGETHER WE RIDE; TOGETHER WE SWIM (2023 Kirkus Prize Finalist); RIDE, ROLL, RUN: TIME FOR FUN!; BING, BOP, BAM: TIME TO JAM!; and I SEE COLOR (Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection) -- as well as a Scholastic Acorn early reader series, RAINBOW DAYS. Sharing her books with children and inspiring them to write their own stories brings Valerie immense joy! linktr.ee/ValerieBolling For this panel: Valerie will focus on things you should consider before contacting schools to propose a visit, such as: · What grade level would you like to visit? · What setting would work best for you (whole school, multiple classes, or one class at a time)? · What specific program choices will you offer? · Will you offer only full-day visits, or are you open to half-day visits or even a single session? · Are you open to both in-person and virtual visits? Valerie will respond to these questions as well as others that will be helpful to you as you prepare to visit schools.
Jonathan Roth
Jonathan Roth is an Earth-bound but space loving author-illustrator of fun, STEAM-themed books for kids including the chapter book series Beep and Bob (Aladdin/S&S), the graphic novel series Rover and Speck (Kids Can Press) and the surprising true story Almost Underwear: How a Piece of Cloth Traveled from Kitty Hawk to the Moon and Mars (Christy Ottaviano Books/Little, Brown Books for Young Readers), which is a Kirkus Best Picture Book of 2024. He also teaches art to elementary students in Maryland For this Panel, Jonathan will give tips about how building your network can help you get invited to schools.
Alexis O'Neill
ALEXIS O’NEILL, a published author and popular presenter, uses her Ph.D. in teacher education to help children’s authors and illustrators in the crafting of school visit presentations. She was the author of the column “The Truth About School Visits” for the SCBWI Bulletin, an instructor for the UCLA Writers’ Program, and a former Regional Advisor for SCBWi Central Coastal California. She is the author of The Recess Queen, The Kite That Bridged Two Nations and other fiction and nonfiction picture books.