Georgina Hartley, in Year 9, has recently won a creative writing competition through National Teen Book Club.

Her narrative, which was written from the perspective of a character in the novel ‘The Upper World’, was selected from many entries across the country. She has received glowing feedback from a professional editor at Penguin Random House publishing and will have her work published of the National Teen Book Club library.

Winning piece: Nadia’s perspective

To say she was panicking would be an understatement. She was practically having a heart attack with his ‘oh so subtle looks’. What was he thinking? Was he okay? No; In what god forsaken universe would Esso look at her continuously? That would just be insane. And she has officially gone crazy. He looked again. Her stomach did flips. Not those terrible intoxicating love ones but the unmatched feeling of anxiety. Her mind went foggy, wrapped in this invisible coil that could be described as insanity? Maybe she should go to the hospital? Even so she looked back and he turned, concentrating, pulling his signature small pout. It was like the world… no the universe froze. a moment shared between one another? Or unbeknownst to her partner? Friend? Acquaintance? It didn’t matter really it was just that deep relentless panic crawling and worming its way into her mind. He raised his hand. He asked a question. It didn’t matter the words, she looked at him with sheer confusion. She tried giving a happy face. His face glowed with happiness and maybe something more? Although that would be insanity, pure, utter, True, Insanity, that she could only feel her self-falling more and more into. Or maybe it was true people looked at her, as strange as it might seem. He wasn’t anything ordinary, it was like he was an alien picked from another planet and planted in this one not bothering to hide his façade of creepiness that nobody else could see. Maybe she had gone insane? He was never looking anyway. They were friends. She really had to check up on her mental health one day.

Feedback from Penguin Random House UK

Congratulations on your winning entry for the National Teen Book Club creative writing competition! Thank you for taking part. I’ve really enjoyed reading your written piece from Nadia’s perspective – and it’s very clear how meaningfully you have engaged with the characters and story of The Upper World.

You brilliantly capture Nadia’s voice and her state of mind in this passage; her excitement, anxiety and confusion – with dashes of humour, too, which I particularly enjoyed.You have really shown Nadia’s stream of consciousness here, achieved with repeated questions, as well as short or broken sentences and statements – all revealing the pace at which her mind is moving from one thought/comprehension to the next. Capturing a character’s voice for a reader, in a way that feels authentic and consistent, is hard and you’ve achieved this very effectively in your piece. I truly felt like I was in Nadia’s head as I read this, experiencing this moment between her and Esso as it played out. I think many readers would identify with Nadia’s experience here; so whilst this is a moment that’s specific to Nadia and Esso’s story, it also feels universal in many ways – and that is key to writing that readers will connect with. Congratulations!

Thank you again, and best of luck in your future creative writing; you are a talented writer, so please keep writing!