After months of waiting, the deeply impressive shortlist for the 2020 BBC Young Writers’ Award, with First Story and Cambridge University, has been announced on BBC Radio 1’s Life Hacks.

The five shortlisted writers are:


‘Winds that Travel Across’ by Maleeha Faruki, 18, from Leicester
‘Three Pomegranate Seeds’ by Mei Kawagoe, 15, from Leicestershire
‘Bingo Tuesdays’ by Ben Marshall, 18, from Otford, Kent
‘The Changeling’ by Lottie Mills, 18, from Stevenage, Hertfordshire
‘The Battle of Trafalgar Square’ by Naomi Thomas, 17, from Sheffield



Now in its sixth year, The BBC Young Writers’ Award with First Story and Cambridge University 2020 is open to all writers between the ages of 13 –18 years and was created to discover and inspire the next generation of writers. It is a cross-network collaboration between BBC Radio 4 and Radio 1.

Katie Thistleton, Chair of the 2020 BBC Young Writers’ Award Judging Panel, says: “Congratulations to our five shortlisted writers and thank you to everyone who entered the 2020 BBC Young Writers’ Award. This year has been an unsettling one for young people and writing has proved a powerful way to explore complex feelings and emotions. Gaining insight into the minds of teenagers and what they care about through their writing has never seemed so vital. I hope this year’s entries will inspire others.”