YOUNG writers are about to become published authors after their work was selected for an anthology of short stories.
In the first year that Trinity Academy, in Thorne, has put forward work in a national challenge to encourage young people to put pen to paper, 79 students have had their writing selected.
Entitled Stranger Sagas, their challenge was to write a story of no more 100 words based on their choice from eight prompts that included: "I unravel the family portrait, if these are my parents, who's that downstairs...?", "The sun was blazing, I took out the map, I must be close..." and "I got off the plane, the terminal was empty...".
The opportunity for 11 to 18-year-olds has now inspired some in Years 8 and 9 at Trinity Academy to continue writing in their spare time.
Student Jack Long said: "I enjoyed inventing my story and I would like to carry on doing it as a hobby."
Owen Thorpe was so enthusiastic he wrote two entries, both of which are being published.
Explaining her plot, Freya Burkenshaw said: "It was about a man in the desert who had to find a lizard that would take him down through history."
John Ricketts's story was set in a basement. "It's an alternate reality in a backwards dimension and the characters have to see if they can get back," he explained.
In Julian Disney's short story, Earth is an egg which explodes to reveal a giant bird inside.
Literacy coordinator at the academy Melissa Every said: "This is the first year we have entered the Young Writers project and I'm delighted that so many students will get to see their work in print.
"They came up with some amazing and imaginative ideas and worked really hard to write to the 100 word limit, making sure every word counted."