A 12-year-old was presented with first prize in a national writing competition for young people by an award-winning children's novelist.
Vranda Radia, pictured, a student at Hatch End High School, won first prize in the 2019 Henrietta Brandford Writing Competition and was given the award by Mitch Johnson on June 27.
To participate, entrants had to complete a story begun by Mr Johnson, who won the 2018 Brandford Boase Award for his debut novel, Kick.
The annual competition is open to anyone under the age of 19, with the hope to find and encourage writers of the future. It runs in conjunction with the Brandford Boase Award, an award to recognise outstanding children’s or young-adult novelists.
As part of her prize, Ms Radia was given a copy of each of the books shortlisted for the Brandford Boase Award and was given the option to have her books signed by the authors present at the awards.
The Branford Boase Award is funded by Walker Books and was set up in memory of the prize-winning author Henrietta Branford and Wendy Boase, editorial director and one of the founders of Walker Books.
