Authors & Illustrators
This page is for authors and illustrators interested in being listed on this site.
Please read the following guidelines and advice before submitting your name for listing on the site. There is no charge for being listed.
The directory only lists writers and illustrators who currently have their work traditionally published in the UK (not at the writer or illustrator’s expense or through crowdfunding and not solely in print-on-demand/ebook format). PLEASE NOTE: I do not make exceptions to this requirement.
If you would like to be listed on this site you will need to provide the web address of a page where schools can find out more about your virtual visits. If you haven’t already done so, it’s a good idea to set up a page on your own website or blog outlining what you offer during a virtual visit.
If your virtual visits are booked via an agency, I can link to your personal virtual visits page on your agency’s site.
I strongly recommend giving the address of your personal virtual visits page rather than your site’s homepage as your link address in the request form below as this enables schools to find details of your virtual visits more easily.
If you live outside the UK, I’m happy to list you on this site providing you’re able to offer virtual visits to UK schools during regular school hours and currently have your work traditionally published in the UK.
If you’d like to be listed on this site, fill out the request form below. If you have any queries, you can click here to email me.
If you are already listed on the site and want to revise your listing, you can do so using the form on this page.
If you wish to withdraw your listing, please contact me.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Why does this site only list writers and illustrators whose books are in print with a traditional publisher?
This site was inspired by similar directory sites in the US which have a similar policy of only including writers whose books are currently in print with a traditional publisher. The policy is intended as a crude quality control measure. I accept it’s inexact and that there are some great writers and illustrators who are not traditionally published, but I run the site on a voluntary basis and I don’t have the time to vet the quality of individual writers and illustrators’ work.
What do authors do on a virtual visit?
This is entirely up to you and the school. My own off-the-peg sessions are adapted from my in-person school sessions and include a reading of one of my picture books, a Q&A and a short talk and/or activity relating to the book. Some schools have used the session to show me a short performance or presentation inspired by one of my books. Other schools have shared the results of ‘favourite book’ votes, with individual children telling me about their favourite page in their favourite book.
How can virtual visits help to sell books?
Some schools may organise a sale of your books to coincide with your virtual visit. To make it easer to put an order together, you can send schools a list of your books currently in print. If you don’t sell direct to schools, you can offer to send out signed book plates for any books the school orders from a bookseller.
You can find more advice for virtual author visits in my 10 Top Tips for Great Virtual Author Visits
