Authors make a living by both writing and speaking. Thus, we do need to charge for author visits.

Many schools write grants to hire an author, or they ask parent committees to raise the funds. Schools/organizations in the same area can get together to share costs of an author visit.

I charge different fees, which are dependent upon the specific request. Schools must also pay for my transportation, food, and lodging for an overnight trip. My minimum charge is $300 for a local (New Orleans) one-class-period visit. I ask $600 for a half-day session, $1100 for a full day. The school/organization must pay all travel, lodging, and food costs for out of town visits. Beyond that, I need to know exactly what each school wants me to do.

I present talks on the life of a children’s book writer, or on the subjects of  my books—the Dalai Lama, the Buddha, Walt Disney, Sir Edmund Hillary, Aung San Suu Kyi, Deng Xiaoping, Mao Zedong, Abraham Lincoln, Frank Carpenter, the W. F. Marshall shipwreck—and on writing. Recently I conducted classroom activities on writing fiction or nonfiction from historical research. I also demonstrated a breeches-buoy rescue, a nineteenth-century method of rescuing people from a shipwreck. I enjoying teaching fiction writing too.

Contact me through my website if you need more information.