School Visits
As a former teen and children’s librarian, Jenn loves inspiring the next generation of readers and writers. Presentations can be tailored to specific grades (her books are best suited for grades 4-8) and customized to fit your school’s needs. She especially loves to talk about revision, the journey from idea to book, how there is no one right way to write a story, and the books that have inspired her. The most magical visits come when students have already engaged with one of Jenn’s books, whether it’s through a classroom read-aloud or a One Book, One School program, etc.
If you are a school, library, or book club considering Jenn for an author visit, take a look at the 2022-2023 Author Visit Guide, and contact to inquire about availability.
For scheduling or additional questions, contact jenn@jennbishop.com.
Please note: Jenn supports equity and inclusivity in the world of books and beyond. She is not available for any book events that discriminate against marginalized or underrepresented people, either on the page or off.
Testimonials
“Watching my 4th graders listen to and interact with Jenn Bishop was one of the highlights of my school year! Due to the nation’s health concerns, my students hadn’t had any kind of in-person visitors, speakers, or assemblies since they had been 1st graders. Jenn’s presentation was everything I could have hoped for and more for my students. She spoke to them like they were close friends. She engaged them with her love of writing, reading, and, of course, buffalo! We all laughed and oohed and ahhed at her stories. My students left her presentation with a renewed desire to become editors and authors of their own stories. They also begged to get her available titles into their hands ASAP! I hope this is just the first of many visits to come.” – Lindsay Boatright, 4th grade teacher, Highland Elementary School (Hamilton, Ohio)
“Our visit with Jenn Bishop was wonderful! Not only was she willing to see hundreds of students, she was able to connect with each student on some level. She was willing to share failures and how they turn into successes. She was willing to share hard parts of life and how positive outcomes can occur. She was able to help our students understand the importance of revision and how writing is really hard! Every single student had a takeaway, and I had too many to name!” – Angie Hull, 6th grade teacher, Sells Middle School (Dublin, OH)
“We loved having Jenn Bishop visit our public library and our local schools as part of our 2019 CommunityREAD program. She was an engaging speaker with both large and small audiences and tailored her presentation to fit both perfectly. The kids asked lots of questions, and Jenn was very generous about answering as many as she could — she even invited teaches to email her questions she didn’t have a chance to answer that day. There has been a lot of interest in Jenn’s books since her visit, and we currently have all twenty-two copies of The Distance to Home checked out from the public library! I would definitely recommend Jenn Bishop to public libraries and schools looking to book an author visit with a middle-grade author.” – Sarah Cramer, Children’s Services Librarian at the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library
“Thank you for sharing your first draft with us because now I know that authors can mess up too. I think that you made it a lot easier for me to understand how much time it takes to revise.” – Sells Middle School 6th grader
“Even via Skype, Jenn Bishop’s author visit with my fifth grade class felt intimate and personal. She gave insightful answers to my students’ thoughtful answers (and patient answers to the questions that may have gotten repeated once or twice).” – Matt Z., Las Vegas, NV
“The visit with Jenn Bishop was great, she read from her latest book 14 Hollow Road and she spoke to the kids about writing. That you do not have to have wanted to be a writer all your life in order to become one later. We all loved that she shared her first page of her first draft of The Distance to Home compared to her final draft to see just how very different they were. She engaged the kids and gave them some info about herself so they could relate. Looking forward to her new book coming in 2020.” – Jen Abraham, 6th grader teacher, Sells Middle School (Dublin, OH)
“Jenn Bishop is one of the best Skype visits I’ve hosted. She was engaging, thoughtful, and made a real connection with my students. My class was enjoying 14 Hollow Road as a read-aloud (one of our favorites of the year!) when we Skyped with Ms. Bishop. She read a chapter to us, answered all of our questions, provided writing advice (which we put to good use), and even gave us some reading recommendations. We were so lucky to spend time with her, and it is an experience my students listed as one of their highlights of the whole year.” – Shauna Yusko, Teacher-Librarian, Kealakekua, HI
“You helped me think twice before complaining about revising — you showed us that it’s really important. Your first draft was so different from the actual published copy of The Distance to Home.” – Sells Middle School 6th grader
