A 12-YEAR-OLD Chew Valley pupil has won a national writing competition.

Eden Florence Collin O’Hare, from Winford, has been selected as the South West winner in Pearson’s national writing competition. 

Eden’s story about a bereaved young author has now been published in a brand-new book.

In autumn 2022, digital media learning company Pearson encouraged children and young people between the ages of four and 19 to shine a light on the page, representing what, and who, they feel is being left out in literature today. All 18 winning entries have been compiled into a book, My Twist on a Tale: Represent!

Scooping the award in the South West category, Eden’s work, Martha Brown, was chosen alongside 17 other stories and poems written by children across the country.

Eden’s story is about a girl called Martha who lives on a farm with her sick father and her brother, having lost her mother during her birth. Martha blames herself and feels her brother does too. As the only female in the house, she is expected to do everything – including caring for her dad – while her brother, as a boy, does very little.   Upon finding stories Martha has written in her notebook, her brother tells her to sell them to support her dying father. She does. But it’s too late. Martha’s father passes away and, with the money received, she plans to travel the world, but her brother has other plans.

Despite the heartache, Eden’s tale ends on a hopeful note that intelligent girls can have a future and must not let anyone tell them otherwise.

Eden, who attends Chew Valley School in Chew Magna, said: “This is a dream come true. I’ve always wanted to be a published author. This story is hopefully the first of many.”

Students from across schools and colleges in the UK entered the competition, writing and reshaping their own diverse pieces. 

All 18 winning entries received their own hard copy of the book as part of their prize. Audio versions of each winning entry will soon be made available too.

Danny Cuttell, Head of Secondary English at Pearson, said: “Eden should be extremely proud of the story she has written. Our judges thought this was an engrossing tale that explored family and gender stereotypes in a highly readable way. We were all rooting for Martha, and heartened by Eden’s ultimate message for girls to aim high and prize their intelligence.”

Emma Braithwaite, head of skills and development at The Reading Agency, who judged the South West category, said: “I absolutely loved this story! It felt really original and the characters were so well created that I found myself drawn into it. I liked the way Martha’s creativity was expressed through her story-telling and that it was a way for her to cope with the difficult things happening in her life like her dad’s illness. I was gripped and couldn’t wait to find out what happened to her – I howled in protest at the injustice shown to Martha by her brother! You should be very proud of your story, Eden. Well done!”