School or Library Visits/Presentations:

As a children’s author I love meeting my readers to share some of my
experiences and talking with them about the writing process. My
books, set in contemporary India and post World War Germany,
provide excellent tie-ins for social studies curricula and ample material
for interesting discussions. If you invite me to your school or library I
can talk to groups of any size and tailor my presentations to the needs
of different audiences, focusing on one or several of these topics:

The Writing Process - how an idea grows into a book

SARASWATI’S WAY – inspiration and challenges of writing a book set in India

Writing historical fiction – spinning a story while researching the past

How to Read like a Writer- improve your own writing by studying
and imitating techniques of published authors

“I highly recommend schools host Monika Schröder for an author visit!
Monika’s years of being a classroom teacher are evident in how she
teaches her audience important writing lessons as well as inspires them
to be writers. She immediately established a relaxed, friendly rapport
with our middle school students who responded positively to her comfortable
manner. I plan to invite Monika back to TAISM for some longer
sessions which I hope will include writer’s workshops.”
Paige Spilles, HS/MS Librarian – Library Coordinator, TAISM (The
American International School of Muscat, Oman)

“We just had the pleasure of hosting Monika Schröder for a day of celebrating reading and writing at Dresden International School. As a writer, Monika has traveled the world collecting ideas for her novels and as a teacher/librarian she knows how to communicate her enthusiasm for reading and writing to students. She has published three books: Dog in the Wood, Saraswati’s Way, and this Fall, Farrar Straus & Giroux will release My Brother’s Shadow.
Monika’s account of how she researched these novels was fascinating for both teachers and students alike – a testimonial to the riches of primary resources! Monika offers useful techniques to budding writers who want to improve their craft and a glimpse into the often difficult but always rewarding process of shepherding the first ideas into the finished product. She designed her presentations to fit perfectly into our current units in Humanities, English and Maths. Monika worked with students from grades 4-8 but I can easily imagine extending her audience up to grade 10.
I have had very positive feedback from both classroom teachers and students and many have requested that we get Monika to come back to give more extensive writing workshops in the future.”
Sharon Larner, Librarian, Dresden International School