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Edinburgh Reporter

Edinburgh writer wins national competition

A young Edinburgh writer, 12-year-old Charlotte Hennessey, has won first prize in a national writing competition for young people, the Henrietta Branford Writing Competition. The annual competition runs in conjunction with the prestigious Branford Boase Award which recognises a debut children's author and their editor. It was set up in memory of the outstanding children's writer Henrietta Branford and the gifted editor, Wendy Boase, Editorial Director of Walker Books. The competition aims to find and encourage writers of the future, something Henrietta Branford was always keen to do. The award is open to anyone under the age of 19 and every year organisers say there are sackfuls of entries from all over the country. This year, inspired by last year's winner, author Nathanael Lessore (Steady For This, King Of Nothing, What Happens Online) entrants were asked to write a story that would make the judges laugh. Called An Unexpected Fashion Statement Charlotte's story follows an unknown fashion model who suddenly finds herself pushed on to the catwalk to cover for a missing colleague. The poor girl is, in turn, bewildered, embarrassed and humiliated but eventually she escapes and runs through the streets to hide in her apartment. Could it be that the whole incident was a clever publicity stunt? Competition judge Prue Goodwin said: 'This is a great concept and very well written! Charlotte shows real assurance in the writing, and we loved the laughter-in-spite-of-cringing element to the story.' Nathanael Lessore was also hugely impressed by the winning stories. He said: 'Writing funny stories is not easy, but Charlotte came up with a brilliant idea and her passion for storytelling leaps off the page too. Congratulations, Charlotte!' Charlotte's story is available to read on the Branford Boase Award website here. She also won a set of the six books on the shortlist for the 2025 Branford Boase Award signed by their authors. Like this: Like Related