Helen, a pupil in year 11, entered the short story competition for 16-18 year olds, run by Penguin and The Daily Telegraph.  She was recently notified that hers was one of six stories shortlisted out of hundreds of entries – a great achievement, as she was the youngest entrant on the shortlist.  The stories could be on any topic and of any genre, with the only stimulus being that it should ‘be a story for the generation’ and ‘reflect the contemporary world’.  John le Carré and the Penguin fiction editors were very impressed with Helen’s story, describing it as ‘touching and well written’, and stating that Helen ‘has a very bright future ahead of her’.  Helen has won several other prizes for her writing, including the prestigious Malton Literature Festival, where she was placed 4^th out of over 400 entries.  She will now receive a limited edition signed copy of John le Carré’s latest novel, Our Kind of Traitor.