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George Orwell, Tolstoy, F Scott Fitzgerald and John Steinbeck.  What do they have in common with APP’s authors Michael Bartram, John Franks and Mark Cheng?

Correct, they are all good writers. But they have more in common than that. All of them had the title of their novel changed from their first draft.  Would Of Mice and Men become such a classic if sold under the original title Something that Happened? Arguably not – titles matter a lot.

S J Hall –a recent winner of The Peoples Book Prize and best-selling author of Theatres of War categorically stated at the award ceremony that the title helped sell his book.  When an author comes to APP with their manuscript and we agree to publish, we look at the title in relation to the story and the cover design.  Most of our authors have seen their novels transformed, not just with editing, but with careful selection of appropriate title followed by a thorough briefing of the book designer.

So The Cistercian became Father Paul’s War.  When We Remembered Zion was changed to Portrait of a Lost Boy.  Watersmeet morphed into Where Waters Meet.  In today’s crowded market place with over 2 million titles on Amazon your title needs to grab attention.

The novel tells the eerie story of a kidnapped child and the subsequent effect it has on his family. Bartram tells his tale against the backdrop of the significant historial events from the first half of the 20th Century; Both the World Wars, the Dresden Bombings, the formation of the state of Israel and others.

What really allured the APP family to the text was how Bartram combines thrilling fiction with history. Recently we have been reflecting on how much of a neglected narrative technique this is. 

In the 19th century, it was very popular to do this, especially in Europe, writers like Robert Louis Stevenson, Alexandra Dumas and Victor Hugo all used historical events to accompany their legendary tales.

While reading Portrait of a Lost Boy, two novels immediately sprang to mind. Dr Zhivago by Boris Pasternak and The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. Pasternak used the time period between the Russian Revolution and World War Two as a setting for his mysterious cast of characters. Zusak uses World War Two and the bombings of mainland Germany by the Allies to juxtapose the beauty and innocence of his village community. 

If you liked either of these novels, I highly recommend Portrait of a Lost Boy. Like Pasternak and Zusak, Bartram does an exquisite job in transporting his audience into wartime worlds, while still keep them engrossed in the unfolding events and twisting plot development. 

A lot has been written about the less attractive trend to come across the pond from America, namely the use of interns – unpaid placements in the workplace. Market conditions have driven and allowed this trend to survive. On the whole I disapprove, because it discriminates against those who cannot afford to work for nothing. However there are positive aspects to internships – and at APP we have employed the services of interns to both parties’ mutual satisfaction.

But we observe strict protocols. No intern should work more than three days a week and their hours ideally should be from 10am until 4pm. Also the internship should last no more than four to six weeks giving the intern free time to study, look for paid work, or enjoy their spare time. Interns should at least be paid their travel and lunch expenses so they are not out of pocket.

Now to their job specification. Here is a young person – who will be tomorrow’s employee in the work place. Using them to make tea or file is a complete waste of their time and your opportunity to invest. Having fond memories of their placement and the way they are treated will pay dividends in unexpected ways. So take the time to brief about your company’s products, services, processes, and ethos. Then allocate a task where your intern understands the rationale behind it and can follow through to see the end result.  

We select candidates for their academic skill and broad range of interests. They understand the social media scene better than my generation. So both parties benefit from the placement and an intern is able to extend their CV and talk about their experience with confidence. Exploiting interns is not only unfair and damaging; it undermines your own corporate and brand reputation. We gain as much from employing young enthusiastic talent as I hope they do from their internship with APP.

Janet Weitz

Publishing Director & CEO, Alliance Publishing Press