What We Do
School, Festival & Library Author Visits
Workshops
INSET Training
Keynote Speeches
Parents Information Evenings
Theatre Performances
Festival Programmes
The service we offer includes our contacts, our know-how and our wide experience from years of running events.
We guarantee we’ll save you a lot of time as well as taking away all the uncertainty.
We Offer
Ease of Booking
Access to a Range of Speakers
Quality Control
Advice & Information
Confirmation of the Visit
Full written confirmation of the arrangements agreed between us will be sent at the time of booking. When the programme has been agreed we’ll send a printed copy of it (together with travel and hotel details) to you and to your visitor.
Travel Arrangements & Payments
All your visitor’s travel arrangements will be sorted out by us and we’ll handle the payment of fees and expenses, as agreed, by sending you a single invoice after the visit. (The only thing we ever ask you to do is book overnight accommodation if it’s needed – for this local knowledge is vital).
How much will the visit cost?
The service offered by Speaking of Books is included in the cost of the visit. The fees and expenses of your visitor will vary from individual to individual according to who they are, what they’re offering and the amount of travel involved.
Fees start from £475 + travel expenses. VAT is additional to all prices quoted, but many schools can claim this back.
How to book
Preferably, plan as far ahead as you can – keeping as much flexibility as possible about the actual date of your book event.
Please bear in mind that around World Book Day (the first Thursday in March) authors are particularly in demand.
After this only one step is needed…
Contact Speaking of Books. That’s all. With one call you’ll have launched a
book event we hope you and your pupils will never forget.
Most authors are besieged with questions and paperwork about every event they do. What, where, when, for how long and for how much? Just sorting out the travel can drive you wild.
Ellie takes all of that off everyone’s shoulders. She knows her speakers’ strengths – and, even more importantly, their weaknesses. She helps schools and conference organisers get the right person for the job. So we authors get to do the things we’re good at without hours of wasted time, and whoever is running the event can be confident that it will go as well as possible. I couldn’t manage without her. I wouldn’t want to try.
I have worked with Ellie Powling for several years in my capacity as Festival Director for Bournville BookFest.
I have always found Ellie to be thoroughly professional and meticulously organised. Ellie combines a desire to help a growing festival with a strong social conscience with an ability to be straightforward and realistic. She is an excellent communicator and negotiator and successfully balances the occasionally difficult dynamic of author expectations and festival director goals/aspirations and expectations. I would not hesitate to recommend Ellie and consider her to be a great asset.
The good people at Speaking of Books put their huge experience into making author events go without a hitch. Any author who has had the experience of turning up for a visit only to find some essential aspect has not been attended to, will know how unsettling this can be for the author, and disappointing for the audience. In all the time Speaking of Books have represented me, I’m happy to say that their efficient planning, attention to detail and liaison between visitor and host has always led to a successful event for me – and feedback from organisers invariably confirms this.