The shortlist for the first-ever BBC Young Writers’ Award with Book Trust has just been released, and is filled with rites of passage undertaken by young adults, including falling in love, family break-up, and teenage angst – and all in under 1,000 words!

With entries open to 14-18 year olds, this year’s Award attracted over 1,000 entries ranging from the fantastical to the everyday and covering all sorts of issues faced by young people. This years shortlisted writers are: Hannah Ledlie, 17, from Scotland for ‘Floor Twenty-Two’ where a final despairing act is suspended in time; Jessica Phillips, 18, from Merseyside for her story ‘Safe’, where a father’s departure leads to a disquieting retreat from the world; Brennig Davies, 15, from Wales for ‘Skinning’ which tells of a transition from boyhood to man (with a twist!); Clare Chodos-Irvine, 16, from London for ‘Stars, Sparks and Lightning’, a sultry evocation of the first spark of love; and Cassie Beggs, 17, from Wales for the mythical tale ‘The Sun and The Moon’. Congratulations to all the shortlistees. Click here for the full article.

Source: The Guardian