Young Movellist of the Year Winner!

Young Movellist of the Year WINNER!

So you may not know but in February this year, there was a competition to find a Young Movellist of the Year. Participants had to be teenagers (13-19) and had to have a fully completed novel to enter into the competition. Workers at movellas.com then worked their way through 100 entries, somehow winding it down to just ten participants (the shortlis). Those were; (in no particular order)

Wings by Danielle Paige, aged 16
My Corrupted Lungs by Kyra Schlachter, aged 16
Girl with a Thousand Faces by Emma Yeo, aged 17
Name Upon Your Wrist by Helen Hiorns, aged 19
The Lives We Live by Edie Dams, aged 14
The Art of Forgetting by Warona Jalomba, aged 16
The Thorn in My Flesh by Alexandra Morley, aged 19
Gift: The Rebellion by Saskia Ross, aged 16
I Dare You by Molly Looby, aged 18
The Mendacii Key by Annabel Green, aged 15

Those ten participants were then judged by a team at Random House and Malorie Blackman. They then chose three finalists;

My Corrupted Lungs by Kyra Schlachter, aged 16
Girl with a Thousand Faces by Emma Yeo, aged 17
Name Upon Your Wrist by Helen Hiorns, aged 19

And finally a winner was chosen and announced at a beautiful ceremony on Monday 15th July. The winner was…

The Name Upon Your Wrist by Helen Hiorns

Malorie Blackman said of the winning entry ‘Wow! What a story! And what I loved about this was the way all the major characters were so fleshed out and real. And I couldn’t predict the ending. In fact, I didn’t even see that ending coming. I loved that! I loved the idea of each person’s soulmate being written on their wrist, but Corin, the heroine, is full of questions about how her soulmate has been chosen and why. She is a loud rebel. Her sister Jacinta is a quiet one. And the story was such a satisfying read.’

Natalie Doherty, editor at Random House Children’s Publishers said ‘This entry instantly stood out to us, for the quality of the writing, the feisty and complicated but extremely likeable main character, and the fact that it gripped us right from the first paragraph. The concept of the story is brilliant: at first glance, very simple, but incredibly complex under the surface. And it’s thought-provoking, too. All the way through, you’re asking yourself questions: what would I do if I lived in this world? What choices would I make? Would I fall into line, or would I rebel? For us, it has all the marks of a really talented writer, and we think it’s a very deserving winner.’

Yvonne Biggins, Movellas Community Director added ‘We loved this story. The protagonist Corin is a complex character who we come to love through her rebellious and inquisitive nature. Helen Hiorns has created a world not to dissimilar from the world we live in today, but yet so different. The subtlety in her writing is a real strength. We can’t wait for the sequel!’

Winner Helen Hiorns said ‘I feel like I’ve fallen into a novel myself. I wrote the book in a mad rush and found out about the publishing contract whilst backpacking round Europe. It’s been incredible! Thank you, Movellas, Random House, Sony and The Reading Agency.’

The Name on Your Wrist is available to buy today!
Amazon UK. Sony eReader Store.

I haven’t personally read this book yet but it is one that I’m going to be purchasing soon as it sounds absoutely incredible! Will you be picking it up too?