Author Visits
Arranging an author visit or special event

If you are interested in arranging an author visit to a school, library, troop, or club, you may use this form to contact me. Or you may email me: clare at claredunkle.com. Because of an aggressive writing schedule, I can accept only two visit requests per month. I keep my calendar on the front page of this section, so you can consult it to see which months are available. When you contact me, please suggest the days that will work best for you; my writing work is more fluid than your curriculum or work schedule, so chances are good that I will be able to work with your date.

My normal speaking fee varies depending on whether or not the venue is within five hours' drive of my home (San Antonio, Texas). If it is, my speaking fee is $300 plus travel expenses for a one-day visit, or $500 plus travel expenses for a two-day visit. If the venue is further than five hours' drive, I charge $500 plus travel expenses for a one-day visit, or $750 plus travel expenses for a two-day visit. Beyond that, I charge $250 plus travel expenses for each additional day.

You are welcome to use any material from this website for publicity purposes in promoting a signing or event, provided such material is properly credited. If you need a publicity photo of me, you may find one on any of my About the Author webpages. Simply click on the small image of me in the left-hand navigation bar, and a high-resolution photo will pop up; you may then save it to your own computer.

Many readers contact me in order to ask a question about one of my books, such as whether or not the book is being made into a movie. I have posted questions and answers on the following pages:

The Hollow Kingdom
Close Kin
By These Ten Bones
In the Coils of the Snake

I also have posted general questions and answers about my career on this webpage. And I have put my very best writing and publishing advice in this separate section.

Before contacting me, please take a look at these pages to see if I’ve answered your question already.

Unfortunately, I can no longer answer all of the reader mail I receive. I could put together a form letter to send to you, but I have a lot of respect for my readers, and I think that if you take the time to write to me, you are hoping that I will take the time to write a personal message back to you. A form letter isn’t personal, so it just won’t do.

I still intend to answer as much reader mail as I can, but if I can’t find the time to reply to yours, please remember that I was very happy to hear from you and that I would have written you back if I could.

Unfortunately, I cannot read your written work, such as a story, poem, or manuscript. To find out why, please read this page.

To request a signed bookplate, please follow the directions on this page.

Please note that I cannot advise you on whether or not you should use a particular agent, publishing house, or editor. I cannot give further advice on self publishing, subsidy publishing, or book marketing, either. And I cannot advise you on legal or contract questions. You need to speak to a lawyer.

WHY HAVEN’T I ANSWERED YOUR EMAIL?

I still intend to answer as many readers as I can, but if you have not received an answer within two weeks of writing me, then I’m afraid that one of the following things has happened:

• I couldn’t find the time to reply. This has nothing to do with your email and everything to do with what was on my schedule during those two weeks;
• you filled in the form and forgot to fill in your email address;
• your email address is invalid;
or
• your email account has blocked my reply to you as “spam.” Unfortunately, the last problem happens quite frequently!

If you haven’t received a reply, please email me again from a different account and let me know it is the second time you are trying to reach me. Perhaps another email address will not be so picky.

Or you may write to me at the following address:

P.O. Box 680284
San Antonio, TX 78268

This is a United States address.

Photo copyright 2004 by Joseph R. Dunkle. Special thanks to AAFES and PMG International for setting up the above event at the Heidelberg Mega Bookmark.