Marcia Thornton Jones Visit Kit
Brief Bio & Introduction:
Marcia Thornton Jones is the author/co-author of 131 books for children including the award-winning mid-grade novel Champ, the mid-grade novel Ratfink, the Publisher’s Weekly bestselling series The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids, the picture book Tale of Jack Frost, and the Writer’s Digest Guide Story Sparkers. Marcia’s books are widely read by students in all elementary grade levels (Grades 1-6).
Marcia and her books have received many notable honors including:
- Milner Award winner
- Maud Hart Lovelace Book Award (MYRA) winner
- Surrey Schools' Book of the Year Award nominee
- Kentucky Bluegrass Award nominee
- Humane Society of the United States KIND Children's honor book
- Publisher's Weekly bestsellers list
- Educational Paperback Association top 100 author
- National Education Association top 100 Books list
- International Reading Associations Children’s Choice Award list
- Elementary Library Book Award (ELBA)
Marcia’s presentations are lively, interactive, and entertaining. As a veteran teacher with more than 20 years experience, she understands the importance of supporting school curricula and readily adapts presentations to match the needs, levels, and interests of her audiences. She lives in Lexington, KY.
Marcia modifies her interactive presentations about how she became a writer, her writing process, and where she gets ideas based on audience level. She is open to working with event organizers to adapt her presentations to meet participants’ specific needs. Favorite presentations include:
Practice, Practice, Practice!
Suggested Audience Grades K – 1
30-35 min. With the help of a puppet named Webster, Marcia relates the importance of reading, practicing, and tips for avoiding becoming discouraged when you ‘just don’t feel good enough’. Students delight in learning how she discovers ideas from everyday events, people, and even her pets!
Never Give Up!
Suggested Audience Grades 1 – 2
45-55 min. Marcia, with her puppet, expands on the early primary focus of reading, perseverance, and practice by stressing revision as she tells about her writing process and where she finds ideas for many of her stories. Students are encouraged to ask questions.
The Stories Behind the Stories!
Suggested Audience Grades 1 – 5 (All School Assembly)
45-55 min. Marcia relates the importance of her personal journal for generating ideas, pre-writing, drafting, and the editorial process — particularly stressing the importance of perseverance when dealing with editorial suggestions and rejections. Students are encouraged to come prepared with questions.
Suggested Audience Grades 3 – 5
45-55 min. Marcia delves deeper into how she uses journal techniques including webbing, charts, and sketching for idea generating, researching, planning, and drafting. Students are encouraged to come prepared with questions.
Writing Like a Writer
Suggested Audience Grades 7 – 12
45-55 min. Students set the ‘agenda’ by generating a list of questions about the writing life including the writing process and the business of writing.
Suggested Audiences Grades 3 – 5
45-55 min. Workshop topics include memoirs, generating ideas, plotting, and techniques like ‘showing instead of just telling’ and making writing come alive using simile/metaphor. Marcia’s examples, along with templates provided to teachers, simplify concepts and provide follow-up practice. Students are encouraged to bring their journals!
Teacher Professional Development
Typical workshops include “Journaling the Writer’s Way” and “Writing Workshops: Hints from a Writer”
Conferences & Festivals
Marcia is available for keynote addresses, conferences, and festivals. She works with event organizers to adapt her presentations to match themes, topics, and needs of the participants.
Marcia prefers personal interaction with students, teachers, and writers so that she can have opportunities for one-on-one conversations, small-group discussions, and time to sign autographs.
Marcia requires a computer able to read PowerPoint presentations from her flash drive, a projector, screen, and a microphone.
$1500/day plus traveling expenses (a day includes no more than three sessions)
Marcia is open to ‘splitting days’ between schools. The fee for four sessions (two in the morning and two in the afternoon) is $1800.