AuthorVisitFlyer:2016-2017
Who?Tara Sullivan spent her childhood living overseaswith her parents,whowere aidworkers. She nowlives in Massachusetts with her family and writesYoung Adult novels based around current humanrightscrises.What?45-minutepresentations,withtimeforQ&A.Anoptional15minutesforbooksigningandconversationswithindividualstudentscanbeadded.Duringthesigning,studentscanseeandtouchcarvings,cocoapods,andothermaterials
frommyresearchtrips.
Presentation1:BookTalk• In-depthdiscussionofeitherGoldenBoyorTheBitterSideofSweet• Eachpresentationcoversin-depththeunderlyinghumanrightsissueandshows
picturesfrommyresearchtrips.• Idiscusseditingandoverviewtheprocessoftakingastorytopublication.• Highlights:ashortYouTubevideotogivekidscontextforthenovelsandabrief
readingofascenefromthebook.• Thispresentationcanbeeasilytailoredforanysizegroupofstudents.
GoldenBoy dealswith thekillingofpeoplewithalbinism inTanzaniadue toabeliefthattheirbodypartsaregoodluck.TheBitterSideofSweet,dealswiththeprevalenceofchildslaveryinmodern-daychocolateproduction. GoldenBoywasnominatedforawardsinsixdifferentstates.ItwasselectedasabestbookoftheyearbyKirkusandTheWallStreetJournalandwasthewinnerofthe2014NotableSocialStudiesTradeBooksforYoungPeopleAward.TheBitterSideofSweet,released2/23/16,hasgarneredstarredreviewsfromKirkus,Booklist,SchoolLibraryJournal,SLC,andPublishersWeekly,andwasranked5Q3PJSbyVOYA.
“She was a wealth of
information as she taught
our kids about the geography and culture of Tanzania where the story took place. Her
visit provided a spark of
activism and our students
left the assembly inspired.” -Tish Ivie
Media Specialist
Edmond,OK
“Ms.Sullivantalkedwithmystudents,writertowriter,andhelpedthemthinkthroughquestionsallnovelistsmustfaceabout
structure,tense,voice,character
andplot.Iwatchedthemsitupstraighterand
sharemorebecauseoftheregardshe
showedthem.”-KatyHammel
TeacherAlbuquerque,
NM
Forbooktrailersandclassroomguides,pleasevisit:https://tarasullivanbooks.com/whats-real/discussion-trailer/
AuthorVisitFlyer:2016-2017
Option2:WritingTalk• Thispresentationbriefly introducesstudentstomybackgroundandmy
books before diving into a concrete and interactive presentation onwriting.
• Idiscuss theeditingprocessandhow important it is toworkhardonapiece and be able to receive feedback. I then share one tip to improveyourwritingineachofthe“keythree”:character,plot,andsetting.
• Highlight:studentsbeingcalleduptodoa“blindsculpting”activitywhichshowcases the relationship between a fictional character, his/her voiceonthepage,andthereader.
• Due to this presentation’smore interactive nature, it is best suited forsmallergatheringsofstudents(30orfewer).
Howmuch?In-personschoolvisit:$1200/day,plustripexpenses.• Icandouptofourpresentationsaday.Iamfinewithsplittinga
daybetweentwoschools.• Travelexpenses,ifapplicable,includeairfare,hotel,andground
transportation.• Allcostsaredividedamongthenumberofschoolsvisited.
Ifthisisbeyondyourbudget,IalsoloveSkypevisits:• Ioffer40-minutediscussionandQ&ASkypevisitfor$100.
Pleasenotethattheseareinformalchats,anddonotincludethecontentofmyfullpresentationin-personvisitsdescribedabove.
• Foranygroupthathaspurchasedaclasssetofmybook,Ioffera20-minuteQ&AonlySkypevisitfreeofcharge.
Ifinterestedinschedulingavisit,pleaseemailmeat
“HavingTaraSkypewithmyhighschoolanthropologystudentsaboutGoldenBoywasahighlightofthesemester.”-JenParker-HaasLibrarianandSocialStudiesTeacher,Burien,WA
“Our students were
captivated and moved by Tara's
passionate and inspiring
talk about writing and researching
this very powerful and
beautifully written story."
-CaradithCraven
LibraryMediaSpecialist
Edmond,OK
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