Young Storyteller of the Year Award — winner announced!

• 5 Stars

Tomos Turtle proudly shows off his award

Independent children’s publisher, Barefoot Books, recently celebrated its fifteenth anniversary and the National Year of Reading with their Young Storyteller of the Year Award. After intense online voting, the six finalists attended an action-packed final at the company’s Bath offices last Saturday. First prize went to nine-year-old Tomos Turtle, from north Wales, whose rendition of the Irish Folk Tale ‘Michael and the Faeries’ gave him a narrow lead over young Somerset storyteller Anita Stern’s ‘A Fragrant Tale from China’. In third place was Elizabeth Maggs, from Bath, with a contemporary take on ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’.

Tomos wins a free trip for two to New York and the opportunity to perform his story again on the Barefoot Storytelling Throne in world-famous toyshop, FAO Schwartz in New York. He also wins £1000 of free books for his school. Commenting on Tomos’s prize, his mother acknowledged the high standard of teaching in north Wales, where small primary schools often come under threat of closure.

Tessa Strickland, Co-Founder and Editor-in-Chief at Barefoot Books said: ‘At a time when many reports on education are about declining standards, it is inspiring to see so much talent, confidence and creativity alive and well in these children; live storytelling lives on in the internet age.’

Honor Wilson-Fletcher, Project Director for the National Year of Reading, says: ’’Three cheers for Tomos! Celebrating the joy and importance of sharing stories has been key during the National Year of Reading, and we’re delighted that Barefoot is encouraging a new generation of storytellers through this terrific competition.’