Finally some culture!

[maverick]

wow my school has finally got some culture. some of my friends have actually got permission to start up a writers club. YAY!
it's such a great idea all budding young authors watch out! lol. our aim is to have IC come and visit us by the end of year because after that we're all gone..... Sob *really jumps for joy*
anyone got any ideas on how to rope IC into such a visit?

mav

[Elspeth]

That sounds fantastic, good Maverick.

maverick said:

anyone got any ideas on how to rope IC into such a visit?

You'd probably have to find the agency that represents her and arrange a visit.

EDIT> She appears to be represented by Booked Out.

[Arien]

ooh, awesome Mav ^_^
Good luck roping in IC!

[Kaylan-R]

that would be awsome to get IC to come to your writers club!
She'd be a great public speaker and I'm sure if you ask her nicely she maybe
just might give you insight into The Sending
*wink wink*

Kay

[Talmina]

Of course it all depends on if she's coming back to Oz any time soon Maverick, we wouldn't want you delaying her finishin The Sending or Darkfall now would we...

[Min]

WOW, Maverick, that's fantastic! Invite me along if you manage to grab IC for a day!!

[maverick]

yes yes ues.... if i manage to get her in i'll get all the brisbanites i can in. and no talmina i don't want to delay the sending anymore than you do. i've been waiting for it for more than half my life.... which makes me sound really young when i put it that way.

but there is also somewhat of a brickwall i've come to as far as IC goes. apparently if we try to get her in for an appearance then there is a callout fee of some description. that really sucks because the club is entirely run by us students. we don't get any support from the school let alone funding so i don't know what we're gunna do if there is such a fee.....

*sighs* and we've only got until november 17. which may seem like a long time but realistically its not.

mav

[Talmina]

I would recommend finding out what that fee would be and then try a fundraiser to pay for it. Also the school might help with some of the cost as it would be open to all students right, not just the members of the writers club. Get a costing and then ask some questions about what can be done...

[Elspeth]

Talk to the librarians and find out if they have would like to help you to arrange an author visit. Most school libraries try to arrange at least one author visit a year.

[Rilla]

buneater said:

Most school libraries try to arrange at least one author visit a year.

Unlike mine, which does invite authors but only 'certain students' can go and see them.

*sulks*

Anyway, good luck with trying to get her, Mav!

[Siryn]

that really isnt fair, are those 'certain students' handing out bribes or something?
ask them "well...was the sxe good?"

if i were you i would take this further!!!

i'll back you up 100%

or better yet, start a thread in writersmerge and ask the writers to help you write a really 'forward/firm/nasty/threatening/soothing' letter to get rid of this problem...

or if you just want me to take out these 'certain students' i can hook you up with a guy. lol

[Cookie Lover]

How will hooking her up with a guy help?

[Swallow]

She means a hit man, not getting Rilla a date.

And i almost always was one of those 'certain students' my libraries (i went to about 6 different schools before college) ran it the same way, simply because it was too hard to get writers, and it would be such a waste if the space in the library was taken up by students who didn't want to be there. So they would invite the students who they knew were writers or avid readers. I was the kid who always knew her library staff personally. I was a library geek (still am, there was one at my uni who is very much perv material who i always have to talk to... i am so pathetic) but the librarians would always remember me and make sure i came. But then again, i would spend my lunchtimes volunteering to help with displays, or write reviews, and i tutored younger kids with reading. So of course they would remember me because i was almost always helping out with setting up the display for that particular author.
Then again, i didn't get to see many. Canberra isn't a big place, not many authors come our way, so the only ones i managed to see was Morris Glieztman (sp??) Jackie French, Paul Jennings and i missed out on Terry Pratchett, but he was at the local library, and i was crook that week so missed it. there were a few others, but not many, those were the only ones i can remember. But i did get to go to the children's book of the year awards nearly every year until i was 14, that was the small one they held in Canberra. I can't remember it attracting any writers i particularily liked or thought were worth remembering.... :S

But yeah, Rilla, you've just gotta make yourself known. Talk to your librarians and ask about it. Be nosy, ask them if anyone is coming, and let them know that you are keen. they're not mind readers.... or are they?
Bun?
*twilight zone music*
Bun??

[Siryn]

wow, did this just get personal?

No offence to you flit, none at all, really! But I never had any of those sort of opportunities at school and i still think that it shouldnt be up to individualds to decide whether someone is worthy enough of those opportunities.

I understand that it is waste of space if students who dont want to be there, are forced to attend -i get it, but what i dont understand is how someone can be stripped of the right to attend such an event because they werent invited to go. (Oh, how passionate....)

Rilla, you could suggest it be an 'open' thing so that people who wanted to go, could, instead of them being denied or not even asked. And i am extremely shy so i could never be the person to actually suggest such a thing in person but i could put it in the suggestion box under 'Anonymous-X'. (you all know i was joking about the hit man 'thing'........i could never do that to an OC fan )

[Swallow]

Wasn't personal dude, it was more my musing.

and yes, i thought it sucked too that they couldn't offer it to everyone. But then again, when they did, i would be stuck never fully able to hear the person speak because the kids next to me were talking.

And what's wrong with the hitman? you should see my list... Murphy and Newton, your days are numbered...

[Elspeth]

Dou

flit said:

They're not mind readers.... or are they?
Bun?
*twilight zone music*
Bun??

Alas, no. We know when you're up to something but we don't magically know if you're desperate to see a particular author or would really like a particular book... unless you tell us.

[Siryn]

Murphy and Newton??? who are these?

[Elspeth]

siryn said:

But I never had any of those sort of opportunities at school and i still think that it shouldnt be up to individualds to decide whether someone is worthy enough of those opportunities.

I meant to add in my previous post that budget also plays a role more often than not in decisions such as these. Unfortunately, the people who give out funding frequently fail to understand the important role libraries play in the information age and as a result, the funding we receive is ridiculous and inadequate. Much as I'd love to arrange an author visit, I know it would stretch our budget and I can only think of at least three students who might be interested in anyway. I just couldn't justify suggesting we spend that sort of money for three students. Yes - there could be people hiding the background unnoticed, who would come with bells on, but I can't spent money on the off chance that this is so. The best I could hope for is to talk to the English teachers about sharing the costs of a visit but this would almost certainly involve an author of one of the books they're studying and many of the students probably wouldn't appreciate it anyway, except for the opportunity it gave them to skip a class or two.

If anyone out there would love an author to visit their school, then your first step is to make friends with your librarians. Ask them to recommend you a book for a start. Say hello to them when borrowing or returning books. You'd be surprised at the results of being friendly to your librarians. If you're lucky, you might even be asked to recommend books to be bought for the library or given a chance to look over the books that book suppliers drop by every couple of weeks. And if they know what sort of books you like, you can be sure they'll put them aside for you when they come in. You could also ask about author visits while you're at it, although you might want to round up a few friends and like-minded souls who would also like a visit. If your librarians know you're a keen reader and writer and (more importantly) that there are a whole group of you, then they're more likely to consider trying to get somebody in for a workshop or to talk to you.

[Rilla]

Flit, at my school it's kinda opposite. The kids who get to go are the ones with reading and writing difficulties, and most of them don't wanna be there, which sucks. They only pay to see it because it gets them out of class.
(not all of them. Just most of them)

But it's not as if I miss out on my favourite authors I think I'll live.

Yay for being friends with librarians! Me and one of the librarians at my school have long chats about all sorts of books! She's a sci-fi/fantasy fan too

[Swallow]

siryn said:

Murphy and Newton??? who are these?

Murphy as in Murphy's law. and Newton as in Issac Newton. I have a problem with everything going wrong and gravity.

And Rilla, argh! I know that! I hate it when they seperate groups like that. Because i was bright they would always make me do extra work, but those who weren't as bright would get to go play the games and do silly things. irritated the hell out of me. Good incentive not to work, or that's how i saw it.

[Talmina]

Siryn perhaps you should get some friends together and go talk to the librarians about getting an author in. If there's a group of you doing it you might not be so shy about it.

Rilla perhaps you could ask the librarians if you could still sit in on author visits....

Bunne, put an announcement in the morning notices for interested students to come and see you. Make sure it explains that you are seeing how many students would be interested to see if it would be worth doing it.

Also I don't think we got an author in at our high school ever. We got one in college because the writers and childrens lit teachers organised one (surprisingly enough I was in both the classes at the time)

[DragonMornir]

Oh i hope this works out for you guys!!! Woot! My school never had authors come to the school either... and its not like we are in the middle of anywhere... But i bet authors went to Nth Sydney Girls or Boys than to my school.... * shakes fist* evil elitist selective schools!!! bah... atleast in Sydney its more likely to be James Ruse Agricultural high that gets special treatment ( ie the top selective school in the state) than a well respected state run public school ( such as Riverside Girls High) just becuase of beauracracy, the spotlight, the publicity.....

Im sorry, i have a problemt with the poor ability of the government that does funding for schools on ability, and the numbers of students that do well in the HSC, not totally on the needs of the school.

James Ruse Agricultural High is always in the top 10, if not top place in the state.

Schools desperate for funding to upgrade technology or the actual school dont get the students because of that whole reason, and therefore are statisitcally less likely to have top acheievers if they have less students than others.

Ok im going to shut up im going completely off subject.....

DM