Kristin F. Johnson
Kristin F. Johnson
Kristin F. Johnson

Speaking

Kristin is the author of more than ten books and is a for­mer ele­men­tary media spe­cial­ist. She has appeared at many events, including:

  • Bat­tle of the Books, Brain­erd, MN, speak­ing in front of 400 mid­dle grade readers
  • Mor­ris Area Pub­lic Schools, Mor­ris, MN, speak­ing about writ­ing, edit­ing, and empa­thy to mul­ti­ple grade lev­els, K‑8
  • School media cen­ters, speak­ing to class­es about writ­ing and publishing
  • Book launch­es at bookstores
  • TV appear­ances, such as Kato Liv­ing in Manka­to, MN
  • Book mar­ket­ing talks to groups of writ­ers, such as SCBWI
  • Small writ­ing groups for kids grades 4 and 5
  • Zoom calls with read­ing groups
  • Book clubs
Young Authors Young Artists conference graphic novel class
Young Authors, Young Artists con­fer­ence, graph­ic nov­el class

Tailored to Your Needs

She will tai­lor events to your needs. Please use con­tact form to request an appear­ance. Speak­er fees apply. How can Kristin help spread empa­thy and improve lit­er­a­cy in your community?

Possible Presentations

Students K through 2

“Empa­thy is for Everyone!”

This pre­sen­ta­tion is high­ly inter­ac­tive. Typ­i­cal­ly, these ses­sions run 25–30 and allow for pass­ing time between class­es. Social Emo­tion­al Learn­ing (SEL) is inte­grat­ed into these lessons and read­ings from Kristin’s pic­ture book: In Your Shoes: A Sto­ry of Empa­thy (new­er edi­tion: Sophie Learns to Lis­ten: A Sto­ry About Empa­thy).

Students 3 through 8

Stu­dents in these age groups have a longer atten­tion span, so pre­sen­ta­tions are typ­i­cal­ly one hour and include writ­ing activities.

“Any­one can be a Poet!”

We will dis­cuss poet­ry forms and relat­ed writ­ing exer­cis­es, such as dia­mante, haiku, poems inspired by a start­ing line prompt, lim­er­ick, and free verse. We will review poems by famous writ­ers and write our own.

“Fear­less Writ­ing: Why Do Adven­ture Sto­ries Cap­ti­vate Us?”

Talk on being a writer, over­com­ing obsta­cles and hav­ing resilience, and why adven­ture and storm sto­ries engage us so well. Dis­cus­sion can include Kristin’s book Fear­less, a mid­dle grade adven­ture, and/or any of her three True Dis­as­ter books.

“What’s in a Story?”

Pre­sen­ta­tion includes inter­ac­tive ele­ments that explore the crit­i­cal basics of sto­ry struc­ture. We’ll use some famous exam­ples with which every­one is like­ly familiar.

“Humor in 5 Pan­els or Less”

This talk is an explo­ration of what makes graph­ic nov­el and comics work. Pre­sen­ta­tion fol­lowed by cre­at­ing your own comics exer­cis­es with hand­outs. Works best in a class­room setting.

Chaska school visit
Chas­ka school visit
Great Gathering writing
Great Gath­er­ing writ­ing workshop
Morris Area Schools, True Disaster Stories
Mor­ris Area Schools, True Dis­as­ter Stories

Presentations for Grownups

Kristin is a fre­quent­ly request­ed speak­er talk­ing on book mar­ket­ing, poet­ry due to her lat­est poet­ry col­lec­tion, Pick­les and Par­adise: 80 fun­ny poems for pick­le­ballers. She has spo­ken at book­stores and to SCBWI groups, online and in per­son. She is a for­mer col­lege writ­ing instruc­tor with more than thir­teen years of expe­ri­ence. What are your pre­sen­ta­tion needs?

Iowa Readers Association Panel for authors and writers on school visits
Iowa Read­ers Asso­ci­a­tion Pan­el for authors on school visits