Hi there – and welcome to the World Read Aloud Day author Skype volunteer list for 2016!
If you’re new to this blog, I’m Kate Messner, and I write books like these:
I also read lots of books, and reading aloud is one of my favorite things in the world. When I was a kid, I was the one forever waving my hand to volunteer to read to the class, and still, I’ll pretty much read to anyone who will listen.
For the past few years, I’ve helped out with LitWorld’s World Read Aloud Day by pulling together a list of author volunteers who would like to spend part of the day Skyping with classrooms around the world to share the joy of reading aloud.
World Read Aloud Day 2016 is Wednesday, February 24th!
Unfortunately, I’ll be traveling to a conference in Missouri on that day and won’t be around to Skype myself, but I promise to share a special video read-aloud here on that day, so bookmark this page & you’ll be able to share that with your students!
The authors listed below have volunteered their time to read aloud to classrooms and libraries all over the world. These aren’t long, fancy presentations; a typical one might go like this:
1-2 minutes: Author introduces himself or herself and talks a little about his or her books.
3-5 minutes: Author reads aloud a short picture book, or a short excerpt from a chapter book/novel
5-10 minutes: Author answers some questions from students about reading/writing
1-2 minutes: Author book-talks a couple books he or she loves (but didn’t write!) as recommendations for the kids
If you’re a teacher or librarian and you’d like to have an author Skype with your classroom or library on World Read Aloud Day, here’s how to do it:
Check out the list of volunteering authors below and visit their websites to see which ones might be a good fit for your students.
Contact the author directly by using the email provided or clicking on the link to his or her website and finding the contact form. Please be sure to provide the following information in your request:
Your name and what grade(s) you work with
Your city and time zone (this is important for scheduling!)
Possible times to Skype on February 24th. Please note authors’ availability and time zones. Adjust accordingly if yours is different!
Your Skype username
A phone number where you can be reached on that day in case of technical issues
Please understand that authors are people, too, and have schedules and families just like you, so not all authors will be available at all times. It may take a few tries before you find someone whose books and schedule fit with yours. If I learn that someone’s schedule for the day is full, I’ll put a line through their name – that means the author’s schedule is full, and no more visits are available. (Authors, please let me know that if you can!)
World Read Aloud Day – Skyping Author Volunteers for February 24, 2016.
Authors are listed here (kind of randomly, actually…in the order they emailed me) along with publishers, available times, and the age groups for which they write. (PB=picture books, MG=middle grades, YA=young adult, etc.)
Phil Bildner
FSG and Chronicle
Older Elementary
9-12 (Eastern Time)
www.philbildner.com
philbildner@gmail.com
Jennifer Maschari
HarperCollins/Balzer+Bray
Older Elementary & Middle School
8 am- 12pm EST
http://www.jenmaschari.com
jen.maschari@gmail.com
Joanne Levy
Aladdin M!X (forthcoming), Bloomsbury
Middle School
8 am – 4 pm EST
http://www.joannelevy.com
joanne@joannelevy.com
Stacy McAnulty
Random House Kids
Elementary
8:30 am- 2pm EST
www.stacymcanulty.com
author.stacymcanulty@gmail.com
Kim Norman
Penguin, Sterling & Scholastic
Younger Elementary
10am-3pm Eastern Time Zone
www.kimnormanbooks.com
kimnorman@mac.com
Ammi-Joan Paquette
Philomel/Penguin
Elementary
11am – 3pm EST
www.ajpaquette.com
joanpaq@gmail.com
Melanie Crowder
Atheneum / Simon & Schuster
Upper Elementary, Middle School or High School
8 am -11 am MST
www.melaniecrowder.com
melanieacrowder@gmail.com
Julie Falatko
Viking Children’s Books
Elementary
9 am – 2 pm EST
http://juliefalatko.com
julie@juliefalatko.com
Lisa Jahn-Clough
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Elementary K – 3 (picture books)
High school (YA novels)
9 am – 2 pm EST
www.lisajahnclough.com
jahnclough@gmail.com
Sarah Albee
Random House/Bloomsbury/National Geographic
Middle School, Older Elementary
1 – 3 Eastern Time
sarahalbeebooks.com
albees@taftschool.org
Josh Funk
Sterling Children’s
Younger Elementary
8am – 6pm EST
http://www.joshfunkbooks.com
joshfunkbooks+av@gmail.com
Jennifer Swanson
National Geographic Kids, Charlesbridge, Capstone
Older Elementary, Middle School, High School
8am to 2pm EST
www.JenniferSwansonBooks.com
Jennifer@JenniferSwansonBooks.com
Miranda Paul
Lerner Publishing Group & Macmillan Children’s
Elementary
9:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. (Central)
http://mirandapaul.com
wisconsinauthorsbooking@gmail.com
Molly B. Burnham
Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
older elementary
East Coast time available school hours
www.mollybburnham.com
mollyb.burnham@gmail.com
Anne Marie Pace
Disney-Hyperion, Scholastic, Henry Holt, Beach Lane
Younger Elementary
9-3 Eastern time, minus 1:45 – 2:15
http://www.annemariepace.com
annemarie@annemariepace.com
Augusta Scattergood
Scholastic
Upper Elementary, Middle School
2-5 PM EST
www.ascattergood.com
gsgood2@gmail.com
Nanci Turner Steveson
HarperCollins Children’s
Upper Elementary/Middle School
8:30-11:30 Mountain Time
www.nanciturnersteveson.com
Ponywriter7@gmail.com
Alma Fullerton
HarperCollins, Fitzhenry and Whiteside
Elementary
8am – 2pm EST
www.almafullerton.com
almafullerton@almafullerton.com
Erin Dealey
Simon & Schuster/Atheneum, Sleeping Bear, Kane Miller
Elementary
Flexible to your needs–worldwide. (I’m PST)
http://www.erindealey.com
Laura Sassi
Zonderkidz (HarperCollins Christian Publishing)
Younger Elementary, Preschool
10am – 2pm EST
www.laurasassitales.wordpress.com
Hayley Barrett
Candlewick Press
Younger Elementary
9-12 EST
https://hayleybarrettwrites.wordpress.com
hayleybarrettwrites@yahoo.com
Deborah Freedman
Viking Children’s Books
Younger Elementary
9 am — 3 pm EST
http://www.deborahfreedman.net/
Nikki Loftin
Penguin (Razorbill)
Older Elementary
1 pm – 4 pm Central
www.nikkiloftin.com
nikki@nikkiloftin.com
Sarah Darer Littman
Scholastic Press/S & S Aladdin
Upper Elementary/Middle School/High School
8 am- 4pm EST
http://sarahdarerlittman.com
sarahdarerlittman@gmail.com
Sarah Jamila Stevenson
Flux Books
Middle School/High School
10am – 3pm PST
http://www.sarahjamilastevenson.com
sjs@sarahjamilastevenson.com
Michelle Edwards
Random House Books for Young Readers, HMH
Younger Elementary
9 am- 3 pm CST
www.michelledwards.com
michelledwardsmail@gmail.com
Katy Duffield
Two Lions Publishing
Younger Elementary
9am to 3pm EST
www.katyduffield.com
katysduff@yahoo.com
Rosanne Parry
Random House Books for Young Readers
Older Elementary
8:30 to 2:30 PST
www.rosanneparry.com
rosanne@rosanneparry.com
Allison Ofanansky
KarBen
Younger Elementary
9 am to 5 pm. Israel (2 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time)
www.karben.com
allison.ofanansky@yahoo.com
Lauren Magaziner
Penguin Books for Young Readers
Elementary
9 am – 6 pm EST
http://laurenmagaziner.com/
lauren@laurenmagaziner.com
I’ll be updating this list every few days until WRAD, so if you check back, you’ll find that the options will change. Schedules will fill, so some folks will no longer be available, but there will also be new people added.
Authors & Illustrators: If your schedule is full & you need to be crossed off the list, please email to let me know. If you’d like to be added to the list, directions are here. Please note that this particular list is limited to traditionally published authors/illustrators, only to limit its size and scope. I’m one person with limited time. However, if someone else would like to compile and share a list of self-published, magazine, and ebook author/illustrator volunteers, I think that would be absolutely great, and I’ll happily link to it here. Just let me know!
Happy reading, everyone!
“World Read Aloud Day is about taking action to show the world that the right to read and write belongs to all people. World Read Aloud Day motivates children, teens, and adults worldwide to celebrate the power of words, especially those words that are shared from one person to another, and creates a community of readers advocating for every child’s right to a safe education and access to books and technology.” ~from the LitWorld website