Mission
WAAC—Writers & Artists Across the Country—is a consortium of children’s book industry professionals who are building a nationwide network to facilitate author and artist visits in underserved K-12 schools. Author and artist visits can change children’s lives, yet they rarely occur outside independent schools or well-resourced public school districts. WAAC knows firsthand that personal interaction between children and creators fosters literacy, promotes empathy, and enriches global citizenship.
Data supports the results: By introducing under-resourced students to authors we create engaged readers; by supplying them with free books we strengthen education.
“The fact is, every time I visit an under-served school, while I try to surprise and inspire the students, it is they who surprise and inspire me.”
ALEXANDER LONDON | AUTHOR OF PROXY
Impact
WAAC has organized visits for over ten thousand students across the country— providing each with the opportunity to meet an author or illustrator and get their very own book. WAAC has worked with communities in over 40 cities and towns in 17 states with authors like Angie Thomas, Erin Entrada Kelly, Veronica Roth, Tahereh Mafi, Grace Lin, and Tomi Adeyemi.
In a survey of educators who hosted a WAAC author:
100% said students had an increased excitement about books after their WAAC visit.
89% said students had an increased interest in writing and sharing their own stories after their WAAC visit.
73% said the book their students received from WAAC was the first book some of their students ever owned.
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