WINNERS
Children's Picture Book
Children's Chapter Book
Young Adult Fiction
Adult Fiction
Regional Award
Highly Commended
Children's Picture Book
Children's Chapter Book
Young Adult Fiction
Adult Fiction
Poetry
The Judges
Bob Stone
Bob Stone is the owner of Write Blend bookshop and the author of a number of books, including the Missing Beat trilogy of Young Adult fantasy novels, a collection of short stories and one children's picture book, all published by Beaten Track Publishing. He has also self published one adult novel and two children's chapter book.
​
Thirty-seven years after graduating from UCNW Bangor, he has finally found a use for the degree in English Literature that gives you the sole life skill of reading books!
Estelle Maher
Estelle Maher is surrounded by the written word. She runs TAUK Publishing, an assisted publishing team who help writers who wish to self-publish and is also an author herself. Her debut novel won Best Spiritual Fiction in 2018 and she has just finished her fourth book which she plans to publish later this year.
​
Estelle loves nothing more than curling up with a comedy or a drama with a dramatic plot twist. She is also passionate about highlighting talented debut authors.
Christie Barlow
Christie Barlow is the number one international bestselling author of seventeen romantic comedies including the iconic Love Heart Lane Series, A Home at Honeysuckle Farm and Kitty's Countryside Dream. She lives in a ramshackle cottage in a quaint village in the heart of Staffordshire with her four children and two dogs.
Her writing career has come as a lovely surprise when Christie decided to write a book to teach her children a valuable life lesson and show them that they are capable of achieving their dreams. Christie’s dream was to become a writer and the book she wrote to prove a point went on to become a #1 international bestseller in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia.
Ian D. Hall
Found on a Co-op shelf in Stirchley, Birmingham...that is how Ian introduces himself, but thankfully the writer is more than just a replacement for a can of Heinz Baked Beans, he is an author in his own right, with four highly recommended poetry collections and four novels (all published by Beaten Track Publishing) to his name.
The University of Liverpool graduate has been reviewing books, film, music, and theatre in Liverpool and beyond for almost twenty years, and for the last decade has owned and published under Liverpool Sound and Vision.
He is proud to be one of the judges in this year's Write Blend Awards.
Susanne T. Schroder
Susanne provides book readings and workshops throughout the year and is a best selling children’s author. She has worked in publishing since leaving Copenhagen in 2006 where she trained and worked as a pedagog (child educator).
Susanne has an MA in Children’s Illustration, is a patron of the children’s Literacy Project Kingsley & Co and works with teenagers suffering from extreme anxiety to help them write and illustrate picture books for children.
Natalie Denny
Natalie Denny is the award-winning force behind Skywriters Ltd, an award-winning creative education social enterprise. Natalie is currently represented by Chloe Seager at Madeleine Milburn Literary, TV and Film Agency. Her roles include writer, activist, tutor and EDI Consultant for Anthony Walker Foundation.
Natalie is chair of The Period Project Merseyside, a voluntary led initiative providing women and people who have periods with menstrual items and campaigning to #endperiodpoverty and co-founder of The Goddess Projects, an organisation with the mission to empower, inspire and assist Black women and women of colour to develop and achieve in their communities.
Natalie was awarded the Merseyside Women of the Year Social Impact accolade and Skywriters Ltd won Best Start Up of the Year at Merseyside Independent Business Awards in 2022. Natalie is shortlisted in the One To Watch category in the Northern Power Women Awards and has been included in the Future List 2023.
Andrea Moulding
Andrea started a love affair with writing in her youth and like most teens has an embarrassing book of her own angst poems, which she assures us will never see the light of day.
​
Despite loving the written word, she only published her first novel ‘Throwing Salt at the Devil’ in her fifties, proving you are never too old to start. She is keen to support writers who don’t have the confidence to begin writing and wants to encourage everyone tell their stories.
​
Now truly bitten by the writing bug she has another book about her own experience with breast cancer called Stay on the Bus coming out soon. She has also started work on the sequel to her novel and has several children books in the pipeline.
Andrea is passionate about writing as a creative outlet for everyone.
Deborah Murphy
Deborah is a solicitor by trade, a writer by heart, and a reader since she could focus on a written page. She spends more time in between the pages of a book than she does in ‘real life’ - a book addict and proud of it. Deborah writes poetry, short stories and chapter stories mostly in the genre of fantasy fiction, and is currently working on a children‘s picture book inspired by her rescue dog, Lockie. She reads anything - ANYTHING - depending upon mood, and she is looking forward to reading the entries in this exciting contest and discovering more new worlds in which to be lost.
Maddy Templeman
Maddy’s first book, Seen Too is an Amazon bestseller and she is currently editing her second book, a personal account of the alternative Christian lifestyle she was brought up in. She writes pieces for Broken Spine poetry and arts magazine and is an active member of the Pick Up Your Pen writing group. She is also a mentor for The Girls Network and loves to encourage people to reach their full potential. Maddy enjoys reading, camping, walking, travelling, flying birds of prey and spending time with her cat, Rooster.
Ali Harwood
Ali Harwood is an artist, poet, writer and teacher. He is the author and illustrator of the popular poetic picture book ‘Liverpool Liver Birds’ and the host of the Liver Bards monthly poetry event. Ali has enjoyed recent art commissions from Liverpool City Region (The World Reimagined), Liverpool Fostering (Stand By Me) and Cammell Laird (Battle of the Atlantic). He is co-ordinator for the Liverpool Literacy Cycle.