Kay Honeyman grew up in Fort Worth, Texas and attended Baylor University, graduating with a Bachelors and Masters in English Language and Literature. She has taught middle and high school English for fifteen years and currently teaches at Highland Park Middle School. She was chosen as Teacher of the Year in 2009 and represented Highland Park ISD as their Secondary Teacher of the Year.

Kay has published articles on teaching and writing in Teaching Tolerance and The Writer’s Magazine. She presented at AASL (American Association of School Librarians) in 2007 on Reading for Pleasure in the Secondary Classroom and ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development) on Engaging Students in Real World Connection in 2012.

Kay became fascinated with the history of Chinese immigration to the United States when she and her husband decided to adopt from China. They adopted their first child in 2010 and their second child in 2012.

Kay Honeyman’s debut novel, The Fire Horse Girl follows the story of Jade Moon as she travels from China through Angel Island onto the rough streets of 1920s San Francisco’s Chinatown in a search for freedom and identity. Visit her website at kayhoneyman.com.

Program Description

Writing and Revising
Length: 30-60 minutes
Audience: 6^th grade+ (large group presentation or small workshop)

How does a piece of writing go from good to great? In this presentation, Kay will share her struggles and triumphs working through the revision process. She will use examples from The Fire Horse Girl, share revision and editing tricks and techniques, and encourage students to revisit their own writing. Kay hopes that students will gain a better understanding of writing as a process and ways to improve their own writing. Writing exercises incorporated for smaller groups.

Research and Writing
Length: 30-60 minutes
Audience: 6^th grade+ (large group presentation or small workshop)

How can the right research breath life into fiction and nonfiction writing? How do you integrate research seamlessly into a story or other piece of writing? In this presentation, Kay will share the many approaches to research – primary, traditional book, online, and others – that came together to create the world of The Fire Horse Girl. Writing exercises incorporated for smaller groups.

From Idea to Published Novel
Length: 30-60 minutes
Audience:6^th grade+(large group presentation)

How does an idea become a novel? In this presentation, Kay will share the path to publishing. It will inform students on how the books that they hold in their hands came to be and hopefully inspire a few budding authors, setting them on the path to their own published novels.

Connecting Past to Present
Length: 30-60 minutes
Audience: 6^th grade+ (large group presentation)

What can the past tell us about the present? Kay will discuss why we write and read about the past. She will discuss the Chinese immigration experience of the past, immigration issues today, and her own experience immigrating her two children from China. This presentation will teach students about immigration (past and present) and spark thought and discussion.

Why We Tell Stories
Length: 30-60 minutes
Audience: 6^th grade+ (large group presentation)

What has made storytelling such an important part of humanity all over the world and throughout human history? In this presentation, Kay will discus why stories hold such sway over our emotions. Kay uses the story of Cowherd and Weaver Girl and her novel The Fire Horse Girl to discuss the power of stories. It will encourage students to think about how they use and enjoy stories in their life – from novels, to news, to advertising – to connect, to inform, to persuade, to reflect, and to entertain.

Patterns in Stories
Length: 40-60 minutes
Audience:6^th grade+(large group presentation or small group workshop)

What stories do we tell and where do we find them? In this workshop Kay will discuss the patterns and archetypes that repeat in stories using her own novel, The Fire Horse Girl, traditional Chinese folktales, popular movies and novels. These patterns can help readers and writers have a deeper understanding of stories. Writing activities incorporated into small group workshop.

Workshop: Fundamentals of Building Character
Length: 40-60 minutes
Audience: 6^th grade+(small group workshop)

How do authors build interesting and unique but relatable characters? In this workshop, Kay will lead students through a series of character building exercises designed to set them on the path to their own stories.

Workshop: Finding Your Story
Length: 40-60 minutes
Audience: 6^th grade+(small group workshop)

Where do authors find their ideas for stories, and what are the first steps to turning that spark of an idea into a novel? In this workshop Kay will take students through the first steps of finding and developing a great story idea.

Writer Workshops
Length: 40-60 minutes
Audience: 6^th grade+ (small group workshop)

Kay is happy to tailor small group workshops to any writing skill.

Request a visit.

Virtual Visits

Kay is happy to Skype with a group of students about reading and writing. All Skypes are a Q&A format.

$100 for a 30 minute Skype

$200 for an hour Skype

AV Tech

Presentations use a projector and a screen or wall to project on. If these materials are not available, please discuss upfront.

Honorarium

Local (Dallas/Fort Worth area):
$500/per day, three presentations per day
$250 for a single presentation

Non-local and overnight:
$750 per day plus travel/accommodations/meals

Ordering Books

To pre-order books at a 40% discounted rate please call our customer service department in Jefferson City, Missouri. Call 1-888-724-1872 and dial extension "8015" when prompted. Let the sales rep know that you are hosting an author appearance and that you were referred by Scholastic Trade in New York City.