The Author’s Apprentice Project

The Author’s Apprentice Project

The Author’s Apprentice is an online program that allows school students to work with author Stephen Hunt in producing a novel in real-time. The Author’s Apprentice is a virtual author-in-residence program and a social network with a dedicated purpose: involving and engaging students in the process of creating an original novel across the time period of one year.

Thirty-three Churston Ferrers students from Key Stage 3 have volunteered to be part of this project and there has been much activity on the Author’s Apprentice forum. During the planning stage, readers will vote on such facets of the novel as character names and chapter titles. We are also encouraging ideas and opinions to be shared in school at lunchtime meetings and via Google Classroom. The novel is going to be released in three or four serialised instalments, with voting on future plot developments. A selection of titles will be proposed and again student feedback will be welcomed.

This is an interactive process with each instalment taking on board reader feedback. Towards the end of the process, readers will vote on the final cover design. This is an interesting opportunity for keen writers to offer their thoughts and opinions and understand better how a professional writer undertakes the writing process. It is hoped that at some point in the year Stephen Hunt will have time to visit the school and speak to some of the students involved.