Author & illustrator guidelines

An author or illustrator visit to a New Brunswick school can encourage literacy by helping to foster a love of reading and creativity among students. The host school will especially appreciate presentations that, where possible, provide curriculum support.

You must be a permanent resident of New Brunswick in order to participate in this program.

We require all WiSP authors and illustrators to be well familiar with two Department of Education documents: Policy for the Protection of Pupils (Policy 701), and Positive Learning and Working Environment (Policy 703). These policies represent the common-sense framework for our WiSP program and are important to remember as you design your presentations.

Your contact person at the school will need the following information before your visit:

• content of your material to ensure it is appropriate for students attending your presentations
• your equipment requirements, and
• special needs or considerations you may have.
  
  

Presentations should be high interest, interactive where possible, and suited to the age level in attendance. Avoid lengthy readings and dry details about the writing and publishing process.

Following your visit, print, complete and return the feedback form and the expense form. In addition to receiving a $300.00 honorarium for a full day, in person visit, or $150.00 honorarium for a 60 minute (or two 30 minute) virtual visit, authors will be reimbursed for approved expenses according to current Government of New Brunswick rates and policy. All claims must be accompanied by original receipts and must be postmarked within 14 days of the visit. Payment cannot be guaranteed if you do not submit these forms in a timely fashion.

All author and illustrator visits are to take place between September 5 and June 1 of a school year.

Guidelines for WiSP database

The WiSP database is managed by the Writers Federation of New Brunswick (WFNB) and co-sponsored by WFNB and the New Brunswick Department of Education. Authors who wish to be featured in the database must qualify by achieving a reasonably objective standard of editorial quality.

We recognize that authors sometimes choose to self-publish their work. However, WiSP lacks the resources to individually assess the work of each writer who wishes to participate. Thus, the database features only those authors whose work is deemed to have met an independent publication standard.

To qualify, an author must have ONE of the following:

• a book of prose (fiction or non-fiction) published by a commercial, university or educational press
• a full-length play or five one-act plays professionally produced or broadcast by a national or regional network broadcast medium
• a book of poetry published by a commercial, university or educational press, or
• a selection of columns, reviews, features, fiction, radio or film scripts, of approximately 30,000 or more words, that has been professionally compiled and published in book form, broadcast or anthologized as a collection.
• A book of prose (fiction or non-fiction), or a book of poetry, or a full-length play, or a collection of five one-act plays, which has been evaluated and determined to have met a professional standard by The Writers Union of Canada. This involves joining TWUC through their self-published application process, found here. All related costs are the responsibility of the applicant.
• For the purposes of this program, publications that are available only in eBook and/or POD formats must be approved through The Writers Union of Canada evaluation process.

 

In addition to meeting at least one of the above professional qualifications, an author who visits New Brunswick schools must independently complete the following steps.

• Obtain and maintain a current Criminal Record Check, which screens adults who are in regular contact with children in the New Brunswick education system. This record may be requested by the host school administration. For more information, please click here.
• Accept responsibilities outlined in Policy 701, the New Brunswick Pupil Protection Policy, and complete the related modules found here.

How to apply as visiting author or illustrator

If you meet the guidelines and wish to participate in the program, we invite you to upload your profile. To do this, please:

• go to Submit WiSP Profile
• input your information in the designated areas
• for “Regions,” check those you are available to visit
• for “Grades,” check those for which your published work/presentations are suited
• for “Background Check,” list the date of your most recent Criminal Record Check.
  
  
• PLEASE NOTE: your profile will not go live on the site until it has been reviewed and approved by the committee. Please do not submit your profile more than once!

You also can upload an author picture, if desired. These need not be professional photos, but we recommend that they be recent.

Proofread your submission carefully to ensure that it is accurate and error-free before you click “Submit.” You will not have the chance to change or correct it until the next scheduled updates. You can submit your profile at any time. However, updates take place each January and July.

The WiSP Committee of WFNB reviews all submitted profiles to ensure they meet the guidelines. Profiles are then posted online in the WiSP database and are available throughout the year for teachers to browse when they are selecting authors and illustrators to visit their classrooms.

Please contact the WiSP Committee of WFNB if you have questions about the program that are not answered on these pages.