Peebles teacher Claire McFall was this week named as a winner in the Scottish Children’s Book Awards for 2013 for her debut novel, Ferryman.
Claire, who teaches English, beat off fierce competition to scoop the top spot in the older readers (12-16 years) category.
A celebration of the best of Scottish writing and illustration for children, the awards are judged in three age categories - Bookbug readers (3-7), younger readers (8-11) and older readers (12-16) – and are run by Scottish Book Trust in partnership with Creative Scotland, with category winners each receiving £3,000.
Commenting on her win, Claire, said she had been more than delighted just to have made the shortlist for the awards.
“So to win is an incredible surprise. What makes me particularly ecstatic is that the awards are voted for by readers, which means that young people across Scotland enjoyed Ferryman,” she said.
“The competition was high, so to come out top is an honour. It’s not really a word, but I feel it’s the only appropriate expression to describe how I feel – awesomeness!”
Ferryman is her first book and is a love story which retells the ancient Greek myth of Charon, the ferryman of Hades, who transported souls to the Underworld.
Claire’s second novel, Bombmaker, was released last month.