HERE'S WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT KATE'S PRESENTATIONS
"The students and staff at Welcome Elementary (Greenville, SC) had a great day in the media center last Friday.....Nationally known political cartoonist and children's author, Kate Salley Palmer, spent the day at our school and shared three of her most acclaimed books. With all second graders, she related the story behind the story of her autobiographical book about a family beach vacation, The Pink House. Third graders thrilled to the story of the Revolutionary South Carolina battle of Fort Moultrie as told in Palmetto: Symbol of Courage, while fourth and fifth graders heard another SC-oriented book, Francis Marion and the Legend of the Swamp Fox. In the afternoon, Kate and her husband, Jim, spent time with several parents, encouraging them to make reading a priority in their children's lives."
Sarah Brice, Media Specialist, Welcome Elementary School (2008)
"The children were fascinated by Ms. Palmer's presentation and were excited to meet an author.....This was a good positive experience that our students will long remember."
Janie Dease, Principal, Elloree Elementary School (2007)
"Thank you for your wonderful visit to our school last week! The kids loved meeting a real author and getting ideas for their own books. You've inspired a whole group of young authors as well as their parents (during Family Reading Night)."
Ila King, Principal, Summerville Elementary School, GA (2005)
"As the school's literacy coach I've planned several author visits. I must say that having Kate Salley Palmer visit our school was one of the best experiences of my coaching life. Kate helped the students connect the stories and appreciate the artist behind the illustrations. Kate helped our students see the story within the story. Getting this perspective from an author and illustrator is extremely valuable for our young readers and writers."
Rebecca McCraw, SC READS Early Literacy Coach, Mary Bramlett Elementary School, Gaffney, SC (2003)
"The librarians had a meeting on Friday and both Barbara and Diane spoke of how much the children and their teachers enjoyed interacting with Kate and hearing her stories. I loved talking to the students on Friday.....You'd be amazed at how much they remembered and how they quoted Kate. It was a delightful presentation."
Dorothy Beattie, Media Specialist, St. Ignatius School, Mobile, Al (2005)
Booking Kate for a personal appearance
Schools and organizations interested in arranging a visit from Kate Salley Palmer should contact Jim to begin working out the logistics and planning for the visit. You can get in touch by e-mail (the most desirable), telephone, fax, mail or by filling out the form on the bottom of this page. It’s best to contact Jim at least two months ahead of the anticipated visit to be sure dates are available and the proper arrangements can be made.
Book Your Visit Date Here
Booking procedure:
Once a date is confirmed, Jim will send you a packet containing the following:
- An agreement or contract, to be signed by both Jim and the school or organization representative. The contract will confirm the date and nature of the visit, the agreed-to number of presentations, and the fee structure.
- Color copies of all the book covers and a bio and picture of Kate for promotion purposes.
- An order form that can be used for all book orders.
Kate’s speaker fees are as follows:
For one group at a school, conference or other gathering
(unless other arrangements are made in advance), the
fee is $300, plus expenses.
For two groups the fee is $500, plus expenses.
Kate’s expenses may include mileage (roundtrip from Clemson - @ 40 cents) and a hotel room for the appropriate number of nights (if more than 100 miles from Clemson).
Note: For school author visits if we are allowed to sell books, a 10% discount is offered by Warbranch Press.
Presentations needs:
Kate will need a room that can be darkened sufficiently for the audience to see her pictures – especially at schools. Also, for large groups a PA system is a must. Kate will bring an LCD projector and computer for her PowerPoint presentation. She does not mind large groups at schools as long as all the students can see and hear Kate’s presentation.
The Presentation:
Kate is open for suggestions on what the audience would like in her presentations. Some groups like to hear about political cartoons and how she got her ideas, etc., and what’s happening today in political commentary. This would be perhaps typical of a presentation to a high school social studies or history class, etc.
Other groups, such as with most school visits, like to hear about Kate’s picture books. With this Kate shares her stories and the people and places that inspired them, but she also tells about how she gets her ideas.
Her presentations are usually around 40 minutes, with 5 minutes or so for questions and answers. At schools she usually reads one or two books – depending on the grade level and interests of the students and their teachers.
Note: it’s very important at schools for the students to be familiar with Kate’s books before the visit! That way there is more opportunity for productive interaction.
Kate will sign all books for the students and teachers at a school visit, but sometimes the students want the "author" to also sign their hands!
Virtual school author visit:
During the 2009-10 school year Kate did two virtual author visits with an elementary school in Kershaw (SC) County. The teacher contacted us a couple of months ahead and a time was scheduled for Kate to be in front of her computer’s camera at home. The Skype program allows video/audio interaction, and worked very well with a small group (about 15-20 students) in the school library. Ahead of the visit the students e-mailed several questions to Kate, which she answered directly to the student who submitted the question.
We would be delighted to entertain requests from schools who would like to schedule a “virtual” author visit as described above. The actual visit can be around 30 – 45 minutes and the fee for Kate will be $100 for her time and effort.