Revealing the Ten Authors of Tomorrow - The Wilbur Niso Smith Foundation

This is one of the best things I have done so far. When The Wilbur & Niso Smith Foundation invited me to join this initiative as a  volunteer reviewer, I knew that I would love every minute of it. They sent me the stories of 11 year old and under.

The young authors were bright, very imaginative and so good at storytelling. I was touched by their enthusiasm and earnest representation of their stories.

So here are the shortlists.

Wishing them all the very best. Keep writing!

The following stories are commended alongside those selected for the shortlist. Each writer displayed great potential and will receive a certificate of commendation in September. Congratulations! 11 and under: A Cat's Work by Layla Wilson (11), A Rainforest Adventure by Shira Woolfson (11), Little Desire and the Witch Mithona by Pavel Pavlov (9), Max and the Manor by Anurag Dastidar (9), Roar-some Feathers by David Essien (9), The Death and Birth of a Kingdom by Alex Freeman (10), To Fly Alone by Naomi Sutton (10) 12-15 years: Code Espionage by Sahil Lowalekar (13), Surprise for the Small-Mother by Uma Menon (15), The Climb by Liam Donoher, The Hawk Roosting by Henry Tesson-Fell (15), The Nighthawk by Filip Matyla (12), Through the Brick Wall by Lydia Kent (15), Sea of Souls by Ibukunoluwa Adebayo (14) 16-21 years: A Boy and his Dog by Alex Atkinson (17), A Red Dawn by Charlotte Williams (20), Atlas Rising by Taylor Gardner (19), The Hunt by Brianna Witte (21), The Miracles of Eluna Khine by Alex Bestwick (19), This Isn't About Her by Salvador Tinajero (20)

A huge thank you to the readers and reviewers who volunteered their time with us over the last couple of months. The winner of each category will announced at the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize Awards Ceremony on 12th September 2019.