Journalist wins teenage book prize with first attempt

Sarah Singleton, 39, a local newspaper journalist and mother of two daughters, has won the £1,500 Booktrust Teenage Prize 2005 with her first novel for children, Century.

The story: two sisters, Mercy and Charity, live in what is apparently perpetual winter until one day Mercy wakes to find a snowdrop on her pillow, a signal of spring. It leads to her questioning everything she has ever known, including the truth of her mother's death. Geraldine Brennan, a books editor and chair of the judges, said it deserved wide attention.

"Century is a perfectly formed, highly visual and intriguing novel in the Gothic tradition, with the timeless feel of Frankenstein or Dracula," she said. "It keeps the reader guessing as it moves through layers of time and rewards a careful reader with its many hints and clues, yet the language is accessible and the story draws the readers in."

By contrast, Julie Burchill's Sugar Rush, which was turned into a Channel 4 series, featured schoolgirls discovering lesbian love, while another rival, the Orange Prize-shortlisted How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff, is a disturbing tale of life after an attack reminiscent of 11 September.

The other shortlisted books for the prize - which is the only one in its sector - were Siberia by Ann Halam, The Whisper by Bali Rai, The Unrivalled Spangles by Karen Wallace and Come Clean by Terri Paddock, inspired by the true story of harsh boot-camp treatment for rebellious American teenagers.

Sarah Singleton, who lives in Chippenham, Wiltshire, with her husband, Brian Hoare, and daughters Fuchsia, 13, and Poppy, 10, said she was "blown away" by the judges decision.

"I was utterly thrilled to get on the shortlist because this is my first young adult novel and it really benefited from the exposure," she said. "But when I came here today I had absolutely no expectation of winning. There were so many brilliant books - I read them and really enjoyed them."

She was particularly surprised because of the trend of prizes for young people's books being awarded to authors of grittier stories of contemporary life such as Junk by Melvin Burgess.

"My book has an old house setting by a frozen lake and it's set in the 18th century and the end of the 19th century, and it's quite an old-fashioned book, so I think it's interesting they have gone for that," Ms Singleton said. "Hopefully the themes that are in it of loss and grief and the relationship between parents and children are timeless."

On the row over what books were suitable for children to read, she was diplomatic, saying: "I think that there is room for all of these books. My elder daughter read a number of books on the shortlist, including Come Clean, which is a shocking, gritty, contemporary story with some very hard-hitting issues, and she really liked that. I would hate to be prescriptive. I would hate to say any books were good or bad."

So far her daughters have been unimpressed by her writing efforts, although Poppy has offered advice on her next title, Heretic, published in February.