20th October, 2011

Catherine Fisher named Young People’s Laureate

Catherine Fisher, Seren poet and author of award winning fantasy novels for children, has been named Wales’ first Young People’s Laureate. Literature Wales said the Young People’s Laureate post is the first of its kind in the UK and aims to inspire young people in Wales to become involved with reading and creative writing. Her appointment was announced by singer Charlotte Church.
A full-time writer specialising in myth and history, Fisher’s futuristic novel Incarceron was optioned last year by 20th Century Fox. Her novel The Oracle, which blends Egyptian and Greek elements of magic and adventure, was shortlisted for the Whitbread Children’s Books prize, and the trilogy has been printed in more than 20 languages. In 1989 she won both the Welsh Arts Council Young Writer’s Prize and the Cardiff International Poetry Competition. For the full story visit the BBC website www.bbc.co.uk