Lulu Frisson, a 17-year-old sixth former from Birmingham, has won the tenth anniversary BBC Young Writers’ Award 2024 with Cambridge University (YWA) for ‘Special’, a story about a neurodiverse student who is encouraged by an empathetic teacher on a journey of self-discovery through creativity. The news was announced live on BBC Radio 4 Front Row this evening (Tuesday 1st October) during a ceremony held at BBC Broadcasting House.
Talking about her short story, Lulu Frisson says:
“My story is inspired by personal experience, primarily that I’ve been very lucky to have some truly amazing subject teachers and SENDCOs in my life, and my story is really just an elaborated narrative of their real support of myself and my writing. But it’s also been inspired by the work I see all my teachers do with younger quiet or neurodivergent students in school, encouraging their talents and interests and seeing them as people beyond the classroom. I was diagnosed with autism relatively late at 15, and although I don’t present with the stereotypical traits of autism, it felt personally like finding a missing puzzle piece. I wanted to write a story inspired by that feeling, and by the support I’ve felt from my teachers in navigating this part of my identity.”
Lulu won Art UK’s ‘Write on Art’ competition in 2023. A sixth-form student, she leads a creative writing club for years 8 and 9. Lulu was encouraged to enter the YWA by a teacher and wrote her story specifically for the competition over a two-week period, wanting it to reflect “how I see the world and how my brain works.”
Katie Thistleton, Chair of the 2024 BBC Young Writers’ Award Judging Panel, says:
“I was so impressed by the quality of the shortlist for the Young Writers’ Award and the incredible skill displayed by writers of such a young age, but ‘Special’ really jumped out at me from the very first reading. It is such a beautifully crafted, richly poetic story which explores neurodiversity with empathy and originality. I felt as if I was on a journey with the protagonist and was cheering her along all the way! Lulu is a serious talent, and we can’t wait to see what she writes next.”
‘Special’ is a ‘beautifully crafted’ portrayal of a neurodiverse student who is struggling at school until, introduced to the joys of reading and writing by an empathetic teacher, she discovers the power of creativity as a tool for self-discovery and undergoes a ‘profound change.’ Told in the third person, this poetic ‘ode to books,’ exploring the true meaning of the word ‘special’ and the negative connotations around the language of neurodiversity was praised by the judges for its ‘confident writing.’ Although set against a background of education budget cuts, a lack of SEND provision in schools and the cultural stigmatisation of those with special needs, ‘Special’ is a call for empathy and a reminder of the beauty of human differences.
‘Special’ is available to listen to on BBC Sounds and the BBC Radio 1 website, read by Kymberley Cochrane (The Strata, Card-En-Ciel.) Lulu will appear on Radio 1’s Life Hacks on Sunday 6th October.
Lulu beat stiff competition from fellow teenagers Basmala Alkhalaf, 17, from Birmingham for ‘A Human, a Robot and a Gosling Walk into a Post-Apocalyptic Bar’; Amaan Foyez, 18, from Essex for ‘The Quiet’; Vivienne Hall, 17, from Bolton for ‘Confession’; and Aidan Vogelzang, 15, from Elgin, Scotland for ‘Nathalie’s Flatmate’.
Celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, the BBC Young Writers’ Award with Cambridge University 2024 is open to all writers between the ages of 14 –18 and was created to discover and inspire the next generation of writers. A cross-network collaboration between BBC Radio 4 and Radio 1, it has quickly built a reputation for identifying the very best in young writing talent. 2018 shortlistee and 2020 winner Lottie Mills’ debut short story collection, Monstrum was published in May 2024 by Oneworld to critical acclaim, and 2022 winner, Elena Barham has contributed to a children’s story collection, Northern Dreaming, gifted to all children born in Leeds during the Year of Culture 2023, alongside writers including Joseph Coelho and Lemn Sissay.
This year’s judging panel was chaired by Radio 1 presenter Katie Thistleton. She was joined by author, broadcaster and former teacher Jeffrey Boakye; bestselling and award-winning children and YA author Katherine Webber; novelist Nicola Dinan; and award-winning children’s and YA author and journalist Benjamin Dean.
Dr Elizabeth Rawlinson-Mills, University Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education and Fellow of Robinson College Cambridge, says: “It feels impossible to write about this story without using the word “special”. What a glorious celebration of reading, writing and the power of a transformative teacher. Lulu’s beautiful, powerful writing reminds us of the power of words and images to shrink the distances between us, and how urgent and life-changing that can be.”
