The Authors Tour of Schools strives to bring authors to rural and/or low-income schools in Eastern Washington and Northern Idaho that might not otherwise be able to afford such literary enrichment. Participating authors are asked to weave three strands into their day-long (or multiple day) visits: sharing their work, discussing the writing life and their personal stories, and leading students in their own writing. We strive to give students and teachers a hands-on, joyous, oh-my-gosh experience with literature.

Almost twenty authors have committed to participating in the 2005-2006 Authors Tour. They include poets, novelists, and nonfiction writers, as well as children's authors, naturalists and humorists. Not all are household names, but we hand pick authors who have three attributes: compelling prose or poetry, a sense of passion for their work, and a good touch with young people. Several of our authors have teaching backgrounds; we emphasize to all our authors that their role includes teaching moments. In the planning stage, authors will consult with teachers as to the writing emphasis that's most appropriate.

This year's season will run from mid-October through March. Schools in small districts (2,000 or fewer) will be charged $225 for a one-day school visit. That is roughly one quarter of what visiting authors earn these days, and does not cover the entire expense of a visit. We will ask qualifying schools in larger districts to pay an additional $70 (or $295 total) to cover more (but still not all) of our costs. What's a qualifying school? One with a 50 percent or higher free-and-reduced lunch rate. We bill all our schools through Eastern Washington University, and the university in turn pays the author.

Authors and teachers have the freedom to work out their day's schedule. We strongly encourage schools to give their author a wee bit of breathing room. (One author literally was trailed into the restroom last year by her enthusiastic hosts!) We expect our authors to work with students for about four hours during the school day. Arranging a teachers-only session after school is possible. In some cases, author readings for a community-wide audience can be arranged in addition to the school visit.

While the emphasis of the Authors Tour is to expose students to literature, we also take pride in raising the profile of worthy regional authors. To that end, we work to match educators' interests with appropriate authors.

Some of our authors appreciate the opportunity to offer their books for sale during their visits. They also appreciate teachers' ability to prepare their students in the weeks leading up to the writer's visit. We can send one author to your school, create a series of visits, or send a team of two or three authors for a one-day literary blitz!

The Authors Tour of Schools is an outreach program of the Get Lit!  Literary Festival, now entering its eighth year. Get Lit!  has brought to the Inland Northwest such national figures as Garrison Keillor, Kurt Vonnegut, Salman Rushdie and Rita Dove, as well as featuring regional and local authors. The festival is produced annually by EWU Press.

Please send any questions or thoughts you have. We're on a great learning curve here, often through brilliant ideas that come from educators in the field.

Marny Lombard
Get Lit!  Young Writers Program Coordinator
getlitkids@mail.ewu.edu
927-8865h&w/981-4030c./623-4284msg.