| Summary: | This study explored the nature of and extent to which Canadian children's authors
were inviting school-age students into literacy. The most common forms of interaction
between authors and readers were identified.
While essentially exploratory in nature this investigation provided some
descriptive research to help uncover the parameters of the phenomenon of authors
interacting with readers at literacy events.
A pilot study was conducted in 2004 to help inform the national survey given in
2007. Seventy-three Canadian children's authors participated in the national survey. The
email survey consisted of 15 items and asked a variety of questions ranging from how
authors shared their craft with students to how beneficial authors found websites as a
means of communicating with their readership.
From the 125 pages of transcription of responses the following general themes
arose: authors in school environments, correspondence, websites, author roles, authors as
literacy resources, engaging in the literacy process, and facilitating events and people.
Two main research tools were used in this study. Atlas.ti was used to generate key
categories from the authors' comments. SPSS was used to generate frequencies.
Findings from this study suggested that authors were highly engaged in inviting
students further into literacy by meeting and corresponding with readers. Authors
identified elements of fiction, researching, reading, developing style, and generating ideas
as central components of their dialogues and mentoring of school-aged children.
Authors also said that websites were significant for maintaining contact with their
readership. Based on the findings of this research, a theoretical model was developed.
The Reader/Author Reciprocal Mediation Model considers how students' literacy can
improve when authors and readers of texts interact with a storyworld. This study provides
a framework for understanding how authors are impacting student literacy.
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