School and Festival Appearances. By Brian Falkner - Author

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1 School and Festival Appearances By Brian Falkner - Author

2 School and Festival Visits By Brian Falkner - Author Introduction You have probably been sent this document if your school is expecting or considering a visit from author Brian Falkner. This document is to give you some information about Brian's visits to schools, what you can expect, and what you can do to prepare for a visit. Please note that this information is for the purpose of facilitating a school visit by Brian, and is not intended to be disseminated to the school students. Other resources that are intended for students are listed at the end of this document. Please encourage your students to use these resources prior to Brian's visit. Quick Summary Session time: 60 minutes Sessions per day: 3 to 4 About Brian Brian is a highly sought -after speaker in schools, and at literary festivals and conferences. His infectious enthusiasm, humour and energy make every appearance a popular and memorable one. His talks cover everything from tips for budding writers, to inspiration for reluctant readers, to small drops of wisdom on life, the universe and everything in between, in a visual, irreverent and highly entertaining way. His workshops provide practical guidance for student writers on the process of creating a story, and his Story Sports Tournaments will get the most reluctant writers champing at the bit to write! B r i a n F a l k n e r A u t h o r V i s i t s 2

3 Planning the visit Suggested Programme A full day visit to your school should consist of three one hour sessions: two in the morning, and one in the afternoon. A session can consist of a presentation, a workshop or a Story Sports competition. A typical programme would be: 9:30am 10:30am Presentation 11:00am 12:00noon Presentation 12:00pm Lunch 1:00pm Workshop or Story Sports 2:30pm Finish Notes: All students will find the presentation entertaining and interesting. The maximum benefit for keen student writers comes from attending a presentation and a workshop. A planning sheet is included with this info sheet. Please complete it and it to Brian as soon as possible. Brian s is [email protected]. Photographs and Videotaping Please feel free to take photographs or video tape of Brian s visit to your school. You have permission for the use of these in school magazines, websites and other school-related material. Please forward any photographs (and video if possible) to Brian by at [email protected]. Brian likes to include photos of recent visits on his website and blog. Press If local media are interested in interviewing Brian, please let him know this in advance. Autographs Brian is always happy to sign books or autographs for students. Book Sales If your students want to order signed copies of Brian s books during the visit, this can be arranged. Please see the section: Book Sales. After the Author Visit Please give Brian some feedback on the feedback page of Brian s website. If the visit went well, please let other schools know. Spread the word! B r i a n F a l k n e r A u t h o r V i s i t s 3

4 Presentation To introduce himself to students Brian has a prepared talk which covers the following subjects: This presentation covers some or all of the following subjects: Having a dream How he became an author His books, and upcoming books Where he gets his story ideas This is followed by either A question and answer session o OR The Taste Test competition Please let Brian know in advance whether you would prefer the Q&A session, or the Taste Test Competition. The total time for the presentation, including the talk or the competition, is 60 minutes. The presentation is suitable for almost any size of audience. The physical requirements for the presentation are a data-projector (and screen) and a table for Brian to use. If you have selected the Taste Test, then a long table and six chairs will be needed for the competition. Presentation Key Points: Length: 60 minutes (including competition) Audience: students Requirements: Data-projector Screen Table Table & 6 chairs B r i a n F a l k n e r A u t h o r V i s i t s 4

5 Taste Test Competition The competition is based on a scene in Brian s second novel, The Real Thing, in which a character must prove that he has the ability to differentiate between different kinds of cola. In this competition six contestants chosen from the audience will be asked to identify five different cola drinks. Prizes The winner will receive a signed copy of one of Brian s books. A grand prize may also be awarded (at Brian s discretion) which is for the winner s name to be used as the name of a character in an upcoming Brian Falkner novel. The book prizes will be provided by Brian, and charged to the school after the visit. Equipment No equipment is required as Brian will bring all drinks, cups, entry forms and even pens, with him. Taste Test Setup Set up for the competition requires a long table (or two) with six chairs arranged in a panel format facing the audience. (See the suggested floor plan). An (adult) assistant is required for this competition, to arrange the cups and pour the drinks. This needs to be done out of view of the audience, and will take about ten minutes. This should be done about twenty minutes prior to the end of the session. Taste Test Key Points: Length: minutes Requirements: Adult Assistant, long table, six chairs. B r i a n F a l k n e r A u t h o r V i s i t s 5

6 Workshops Following the prepared talk Brian is able to offer a workshop for keen writers. The workshops are based on the preceding talk, so it is important that the workshop participants have attended the prepared talk. Writing Skills Workshop (60 minutes) This is a story-writing workshop where the participants will learn key skills to help them with their writing. The focus is on the actual techniques that Brian uses when writing his own stories. Participants should bring pen and paper to take notes. Other Workshops If you have a specific topic you would like covered please contact Brian who can organise a workshop to suit your specific requirements. Story Sports (60 90 minutes) An alternative to a formal workshop is the Story Sports Competition which teaches valuable storywriting skills in a competitive sports environment. B r i a n F a l k n e r A u t h o r V i s i t s 6

7 Workshop Series/Writers Camp A series of workshops is a great way to take students through the process of creating a story. Generally this consists of five workshops, which can be spaced out over a week, a month, or even longer. Each workshop builds on the previous one with skills and techniques to encourage and develop writing. The sessions are a mix of instructional time, and some writing time, with Brian giving oneon-one assistance to the students with their writing. The students are expected to continue working on their stories in between the workshops, so they progress their story each time. Editing/Collaboration In some cases it may be possible for the students to use an online writers space to write and edit their stories, so that Brian, teachers and other students can read the stories as they progress and offer feedback and advice. Awards Ceremony The series culminates in the final workshop and awards ceremony where the hard work of the students is recognised. Publication The completed stories can be published through the school, either online, or in hard copy books. There are many online services that can supply low numbers of actual printed books. It can be a wonderful feeling for a student to see their name on the cover of a printed book. Writers Camps Brian is also available for writers camps.

8 Story Sports With Brian Falkner Story Sports takes the concept of a writing workshop and turns it into a competitive sport. It s a little like theatre sports, except that the emphasis is on writing skills. Students compete in quick-fire games that test their creativity, imagination, and story-writing skills to win prizes. The concept was developed after Brian noticed that students who would not normally express any interest in writing workshops, would participate energetically when the same workshop was presented as a competitive sport. Teams Story Sports teams have three to four members, and six to eight teams can compete at one time. Spectators are welcome! Teams need to elect a captain to read out their answers. Preferably someone with a strong, clear voice. Brian will act as commentator and referee, scoring the results as the game progresses. If possible, a panel of impartial judges will take on the job of scoring the answers. This panel will usually consist of Brian, plus two teachers. Tables and chairs should be provided for the teams, along with pens and writing paper. Audience Participation Audience members are also invited to participate in some simple and fun games, with prizes, while the teams are working on their answers. Heats and Finals If a school has many teams keen on entering the Story Sports competition, these can be arranged in heats, with the winner of each heat going through to a final round. Inter-school Competition Story Sports can also be run as an inter-school competition. Please contact Brian directly to help co-ordinate plans for such a competition as this requires a lot more organisation. B r i a n F a l k n e r A u t h o r V i s i t s 8

9 Prizes The members of the winning team each receive a signed copy of one of Brian's books. Brian will supply the prizes and invoice the school afterwards. If the competition consists of heats, followed by a final, then there should also be some minor prizes for the winners of the heats. These should be provided by the school. During the games, Brian will entertain the audience with quick quizzes and spot prizes. Please make available some small prizes (such as bite-sized chocolate bars) for the audience participation element. Story Sports Key Points: Length: minutes Audience: Any size, from a single class to an entire school. Ages: 10 years and up Teams: Up to 6 teams of 3 to 4 team members Requirements: Whiteboard, markers, eraser Seating: A table and chairs for each team, facing the audience Other: A table and chairs for the panel of judges, if required B r i a n F a l k n e r A u t h o r V i s i t s 9

10 Book Sales Students are often interested in purchasing their own signed copy of Brian s books after his visit. This may be organised through a local bookshop, or directly from Brian. If purchasing from Brian, an order form with a list of available books can be downloaded from Brian s website and printed for distribution to the students. The link to the order form can also be ed to students. Students (or their parents) can fill in the form on line, or on the paper copy, and either pay online, or return the form to the school with payment. The book order form can be found here: You will need a unique order code for your school. Please Brian for this code. Schools can also use this form to order books from Brian, and can pay by credit card, or have the books invoiced to the school. Contact Details [email protected] Website: Facebook: Please Brian to request his mobile phone number. B r i a n F a l k n e r A u t h o r V i s i t s 10