A WREXHAM teenager has been selected as the Welsh regional winner in a national writing competition.

Holly Thorpe will now see her story into the post-apocalyptic world, published in a new book, available now.

The 18-year-old's win was part of Pearson's My Twist on a Tale: Our Tomorrow writing competition.

In autumn 2021, learning company Pearson empowered children and young people between the ages of four to 19 years, to put pen to paper and write their own stories and poems of the future, compiling the winning entries in new book My Twist on a Tale: Our Tomorrow, alongside a collection of audio stories.

Scooping the award in the Welsh category, Holly's work, Audire, was chosen alongside 16 other fantastic stories and poems written by children across the country.

Holly's story explores human connection and disconnection through the lyrical words of a mysterious onlooker who is looking down on a world overtaken by floods.

Watching a woman from afar slipping from her roof and drowning, Holly's story is both poetic and dark, taking the reader on a journey from the edge of the forest, looking in on a city struggling with the elements.

Holly, who attends Coleg Cambria in Wrexham, said: "When I found out I won I immediately felt incredibly grateful to my English Literature club in my college and my English teacher Janice Westwood.

"I wrote my work shortly after reading some of Kafka's rather bleak short stories and I think that is what made me want to step into the shoes of someone watching a world in crisis in a dangerously passive way, which is something I think many of us, including myself, can unfortunately be guilty of."

Over 1,200 school, sixth-form and college students entered the competition, with 17 winning entries picked across categories, including KS1 through to KS5, and all regions in the UK.

My Twist on a Tale: Our Tomorrow, is available to download on Pearson's website, with all budding authors receiving their very own hard copy as part of their prize. Audio versions of each story have been made available too!

Lindsay Nadin, director of primary at Pearson, said: "Holly should be extremely proud of the story she has written.

"Her creativity and writing skills make her a worthy winner, alongside the 16 other young authors.

"My Twist on a Tale allows us to encourage and excite young children with writing, motivating them to create work that represents their own perspectives of the world in which we live, and find joy in the written word."

Famous children's author, Cathy Cassidy, said: "Holly's writing is clean, crisp and spare, with powerful and original imagery that gripped from the first sentence. Holly has a real talent, an absolute pleasure to read."

The competition was supported by a range of partners including The Reading Agency, National Literacy Trust, Love Reading, Authors Aloud, Parentkind, Governor Cymru Services, Book Love, Bookmark, Gingerbread, Heady Mix and Coram Beanstalk.

To download a copy of the book, visit go.pearson.com/OurTomorrow