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Loyola University Maryland’s Apprentice House Press Donates Proceeds from Sale of Hiaasen Books

books on a book shelf
Apprentice House Press, a student-run book publisher based at Loyola University Maryland, has contributed the proceeds from the sale of author Rob Hiaasen’s work, “Float Plan” and “Love Punch & Other Collected Columns,” to two nonprofit organizations promoting gun safety.  

At the request of Hiaasen’s widow, Maria, Apprentice House Press has given a total of $5,000 to Everytown for Gun Safety Action Fund and The Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.  

Hiaasen’s reporting and columns are familiar to a broad community, from Annapolis to Baltimore. His career writing for The Baltimore Sun and The Capital Gazette ended when he was killed in a newsroom shooting on June 28, 2018. For many years prior, Hiaasen had been developing a novel, which Apprentice House Press published posthumously in August 2018.  

“It has been a privilege to publish Rob’s work,” said Kevin Atticks, director of Apprentice House Press. “‘Float Plan’ is a long-form example of the writing that endeared so many readers to Rob’s columns.”  

A contemporary novel, “Float Plan” tells the story of a young man whose routine life is disrupted by a difficult year.  

Many of Hiaasen’s columns were published on June 28, 2019, the one-year anniversary of his death, as “Love Punch & Other Collected Columns,” also available through Apprentice House. 

About the Apprentice House Press 
Apprentice House is the nation’s first entirely student-managed book publisher. Students at Loyola University Maryland are responsible for every aspect of the publishing process, from acquisitions to design and publication of every book. Our mission is, first and foremost, to educate students about the book publishing process. As a program within the Communication Department at Loyola University Maryland, it is driven by student work conducted in three courses: Manuscript Evaluation & Development, Book Design & Production, and Book Marketing & Promotion. 

Students in these courses serve as staff in Apprentice House’s acquisitions, design, and marketing departments, respectively. After students leave the courses, AH professors and AH student staff sustain the on-going operation of the company and market its new releases and backlist titles.