Authors’ Booking Service is pleased to announce that author Patrick Bowman is now scheduling visits in the Greater Toronto Area and beyond.
 
Patrick would be delighted to invigorate your students with a passion for Greek mythology and writing.  His rates are $250 for a one-hour “author presentation”, $450 for a creative writing workshop, or $400 for a lively and provocative overview of Greek mythology.  He is happy to present to groups of any size, although suggested size limits are given below.  Schools wishing to invite him may be eligible for a travel and fee subsidy to offset the cost of his visit through the Writer’s Union of Canada. Contact us for details of this program.

Liz Gilbert Upper School Librarian at the York School in Toronto, said “His presentation is delightful and he establishes a rapport with the audience right away.  I recommend him for book talks as well as discussion about the writing process.”

  

Published Works

Torn from Troy (Ronsdale Press: 2011)

 

Awards and Nominations

A Red Maple 2012 Selection of the Ontario Library Association

 

Presentation Details

Author Presentation (1 hour): I start out with the “story behind the story” – why I wrote Torn from Troy, how it got published, and a few of the mistakes I made along the way!  I then turn to the setting of Torn from Troy, using a series of classical art images such as the famous Laocoön and his Sons to engage the students in a discussion of the Trojan war, and how much of the myth might be true.  I finish off with a dramatic reading from my first book, Torn from Troy.

 

Audience: adaptable for grades five through ten.  Recommended maximum 80 students.

Facilities: A Powerpoint projector and screen are helpful.

Cost: $250 + HST.

 

Creative Writing Workshop (2 hours): Through a series of short exercises, reading and discussion from some well-known classics as well as my own work, this workshop explores the following questions:

 

·         What makes you keep reading a story?  What makes you stop?

·         What are the three main elements of a story?

·         What are the main points of view?

·         What is backstory?

·         What one thing must be in every plot?

·         How do we use dialogue?

·         What is a plot arc?

·         What are the main types of characters?

·         What are direct and report modes of writing?

·         How do we create a plot with conflict?

 

Audience: grades five through nine.  Recommended maximum 30 (twenty or less preferred).

Facilities: a blackboard or whiteboard are preferred but not required.

Cost: $450 + HST.

 

 

Greek Mythology Overview (1½ hours): This session introduces the Greek gods and heroes, covering the major Greek gods (the pantheon), what the Greeks believed about them, and how they differed from modern ideas of God.  It also covers the main heroes of Greek mythology: Herakles, Theseus, Perseus, and Jason.  Lastly, it discusses the single most significant event in Greek mythology, the Trojan war.

 

Audience: adaptable for grades two through ten.  Recommended maximum forty students.

Facilities: Powerpoint projector and screen.

Cost: $400 + HST.