A SOLIHULL teenager proved the pen is mightier than the sword when she was chosen as the West Midlands winner of a national writing competition.
Bahar Kayani will see her story of a disadvantaged girl opening up about past trauma released as part of a brand-new book released by digital media learning company Pearson.
The 16-year-old took entered Empty Minefields into a competition set up by the company which asked young authors to shine a light on the page, representing what, and who, they feel is being left out in literature.
Bahar’s entry is one of 18 stories and poems that will appear in My Twist on a Tale: Represent!
Empty Minefields tells that story of a girl who decides to share a poem in class, to explain the physical abuse she has received from her father, and the details of her disadvantaged life.
Shocked, her peers don’t know how to react. Her teacher expresses her concern and offers help. The girl surprised by her thoughtfulness, makes a wish to save the world and see more compassion like that being shown by her teacher.
Baha said: “I am so grateful to have received this award, and would like to thank the judges and the team at Pearson for providing young writers with this incredible opportunity.
“Being a part of this competition has led me to have more faith in my writing potential, and I hope that my story can help to inspire people to go after whatever goals they have in life.”
Sara Browne, trainer at Coram Beanstalk, who judged the West Midlands category, said: “I was gripped by this story from the very first sentence.
“What a courageous character, and what a courageous and confident writer, giving us both prose and a poem. There are small details skilfully dropped in throughout that really deepened my understanding of the characters and the situation.
“I can take a strong message from this story; very well done!”
My Twist on a Tale: Represent! is available to download on Pearson’s website, with all budding authors receiving their very own hard copy as part of their prize.
