William David Thomas
Children's Book Author
Classroom Visit
I usually visit kids in 3rd to 6th grade, but I can tailor my material to upper grade students as well. Presentations can range from 20 to 60 minutes, are audience interactive, and can include hands-on activities. I can speak specifically about any one of my books, or make one of these general presentations:
Getting to HUM
My first middle-grade novel, Hum, was published in the summer of 2024. I will happily describe the inspiration for it, the research, the process of writing it, the many changes and revisions that occurred over time, and the struggle to find a publisher. I’ll read passages from the book as examples. When it’s in print, I’ll present a signed copy or copies.
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How Does a (non-fiction) Book Become a Book?
This goes through the steps from idea to research to outline, and on into editing, artwork, and publishing.
The Fiction Writing Process
How I go about writing a book. This includes industry-standard procedures (which often mirror those taught in the classroom) and some of my own personal quirks.
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Story Structure
This is a shorter presentation that describes the basic parts of every work of fiction (the inciting incident, complications, resolution, etc.). I then show those parts in action using text from a classic children’s book as examples.
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To arrange a visit:
Please contact me HERE. Please keep in mind that I am based in Rochester, New York, and as much as I'd like to visit classrooms in Maine, or Kansas, or Hawaii, I do have time and financial constraints.
