Todd Mitchell Books

School Visits and Events

          "The presentations for students were excellent. The powerpoint during the assembly was inspirational... The writer's workshop sessions were hands-on and filled with invaluable tips for good fiction writing. Overall, the whole thing tied in perfectly with our school goals to improve writing scores for students."
          — Sarah Oswick, Media Specialist, Birch Elementary

          "This was an extremely valuable artist-in-residence experience... I would definitely recommend Todd's visit to other teachers. It is one thing for a teacher to deliver the writing curriculum, but it's wonderful to have an author - in their eyes, a cool, famous person - come in and provide the same message. Todd is dynamic, engaging, and worked at a level perfectly appropriate for our 4th-6th grade population. After his visit, students got a 20 minute recess. About half of them took their notebooks and pencils out to keep writing their setting, characters, and disasters in progress. That speaks for itself."
          — Diane Odbert, 6th Grade Teacher, Bacon
          Elementary

          "Todd ably handled both the large group and individual classes. He captured the students’ attention leading them through highly productive writing sessions. Todd broke down the steps involved in writing poetry and fiction, making that blank white page less intimidating. With his lead, students easily created group and individual works. Todd tailored his sessions, relating well with participants from 3rd grade to Faculty. He kept a close eye on the time and masterfully paced the presentations. The 10 page teacher handout, “Teaching Poetry (Games) to Grades K-6”, gave many valuable general approaches, tips, sample poems, and over twenty poetry games to help generate group and individual writing. Todd made the students see writing as worthwhile and FUN! ...School is still buzzing with excitement about writing."
          — Anne Britt, Director of Libraries, St. George's
          Episcopal School

          "We could not have asked for a stronger beginning to our narrative writing unit... In addition to their writing, students have been AR testing on The Traitor King and spreading 'thumbs-up' comments on the book around our school."
          — Joy Frasure, 6th Grade Language Arts Teacher
          Mead Middle School

          "[The students] learned a lot, and now look at writing differently and in a more positive light. I think that many of them did not realize how much reading and writing affect their lives. Many of them also expressed interest in creative writing and continuing the stories [Todd] had them start... The lessons helped students to make real world connections and I was very impressed by the positive effect [Todd] had on our 8th graders."
          — Valarie Shrum, 8th Grade Language Arts Teacher,
           Mandalay Middle School

          "I loved the presentation! ...The powerpoint helped to focus students. Todd’s down-to-earth demeanor, i.e. I’m just like anyone else who likes to write and I have the same dilemmas to face, was real... Come back!"
          — Mimi Landry, Middle School Teacher, Metairie
          Park Country Day School

          "Many of the children have been coming in to the Library to take their AR tests after reading [The Traitor King]. The majority of them are scoring 100% and they're telling me that it was the best book they ever read. And coming from them, that is a real compliment! ...I enjoyed the visit as did all of the children. I sold 85 Traitor Kings, so you know it was a success."
          — Ginny Hoffmann, Lower School Head Librarian,
          St. Martin's Episcopal School

About school visits:
I promise to make the visit fun, educational, and something your students (and faculty) will continue to draw inspiration from for years to come. I have over twelve years of teaching experience, working with aspiring writers of all ages. A typical full day visit includes a large group presentation, two or three single class sessions, and book sales and signing (half day visits are also possible depending on the location). Below are some presentation possibilities, or I can design a presentation to fit your needs.

Large Group Presentations:
—The Magic of Writing (for Elementary School Audiences) In this interactive presentation, I show students why reading and writing are important, while inspiring them to see a bit of magic in their own schools. I also reveal how writers cast their spells by illustrating the writing process. A short author reading and question and answer session can be included.
—Enacting a Vision: Why Stories Matter (for Middle and High School Audiences) In this inspirational session, we'll look at what it means to enact a vision, why stories matter, and how writers work to make their visions real. Four secrets to great writing will be discussed and illustrated. A short author reading and question and answer session can be included.

Single Class Sessions (descriptions available upon request):
— Poetry Writing Games (grades 2-6)
— Story Writing Workshop (grades 4-8)
— Fiction Writing Sessions (grades 5-12): For students who are serious about writing, I can give interactive presentations on a variety of craft-focused issues such as "Seeking Stories: The Art of Plot," "Letting Your Characters Speak," "Boring Stories (and how to fix them)," "Making the Strange Believable," and "The Alchemy of Revision." I can also design a session to meet your needs.

Teacher Sessions:
— Teaching Poetry to Children (for 2-6 grade teachers)
In this session I give teachers exercises and techniques they can use in the class room to inspire students to surprise themselves with writing and discover the enjoyment of playing with words. This session works best in tandem with one of the "Poetry Writing Games" sessions so that I can demonstrate some of the techniques discussed.

General Rates
—School Visits:
          Full day (maximum of five sessions and book signing) —$500 plus travel fee*
          Half day (local schools only, 2-3 sessions and book signing) —$350
—Evening Events and Conferences:
          Speaking fee —$100 per hour, plus travel fee*
*The school visit travel fee is $100 for every hour of travel beyond the first hour of travel from Fort Collins (i.e.: the travel fee to a location that's 3 hours from Fort Collins would be $200 dollars). For evening events, the travel fee is $100 for every hour beyond the first 30 minutes.
          Discounts on travel given if multiple visits scheduled in one area.
          If out of state, please schedule a minimum of two full days.
          Note: A sixth teacher session can be added to any full day visit for an additional $50.
The full cost of an Author Visit can usually be covered by book sales!
Please email me to schedule a school visit or event (include a clear subject heading): toddmitchellbooks@hotmail.com