Narjas Zatat was born in Hungary to an Algerian dad and a Greek mum. When she moved to London at the age of eight, the question ‘Where are you from?’ became a bit of an existential crisis. As a child, she tried to understand her identity by writing stories. As an adult and journalist, she continues to write with a passion for diverse stories. Narjas is our FAB 2021 Text Prize Winner. Her epic YA fantasy submission, Djinn-touched, was described by the judges as ‘engaging, sumptuous and magical. Narjas is an incredibly talented storyteller with the potential to be a true writing star. The decision was unanimous.’

 Lui Sit writes short stories, memoirs, non-fiction and children’s middle grade. She is an alumnus of several development schemes including Megaphone, A Brief Pause, the London Writers Award and WriteNow. Her short stories are published online and in print. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature from Murdoch University and a Graduate Certificate in Creative Writing from Birkbeck University.

The judges said of Ayesha’s A Girl Called Forest, ‘Ayesha Braganza has a purity of voice and vision we found bewitching. Poignant but humorous, and most of all, thrilling.’ 

The judges said of Nadia’s We Are The Dead, ‘Nadia Attia is an urgent new voice for YA, arresting and absorbing, the storytelling felt effortless.’ 

Of Sarah’s work, the judges said, ‘Sarah Christou has a gorgeously confident line, upbeat and modern but classic too, with a nod to Nick Sharratt but clearly in a league of her own.’ 

Of Simji’s work, the judges said, ‘Simji Park has a stunning texture to her work reminiscent of Maurice Sendak, and a stillness that gives it a unique charisma all of its own.’ 

The judges described Reba’s writing as ‘a powerful and immediate piece of storytelling, vibrating with truth and rooted in a familiar context of family. We felt Reba was a writer who showed tremendous promise, originality and versatility’.

The judges said of Maliha’s work, ‘Witty, idiosyncratic, confident – a writer that knows how to appeal to children’s sense of crazy, and to cater for those with a short attention span and the jaded!’ 

For her picture book, the judges said, ‘The decision was unanimous that Yu-Hua should be our first place winner. Her character, Pepe the mole, is adorable, perfectly rendered in soft pencil. She uses a beautiful soft limited colour palette with clever and varied compositions, often playing with scale, keeping the reader engaged. It is pitch-perfect.’

The judges said, of Allen’s submission, ‘His illustration, which often uses strong fluid lines, looks dramatic in colour or black and white. He shows skill in character development and storyboarding, no doubt owing to his animation background.’

Of Rohan’s work, the judges said, ‘Rohan Agalawatta’s story was funny, atmospheric, and self-assured, with a charm all of its own. The setting and characterisation was very strong. A combination of pacy storytelling, super dialogue and laconic humour made for an extremely engaging, witty text, starring a boy called Odel and a deadpan talking yeti.’ 

Of Ramsey’s work, the judges said, ‘The dialogue was bursting with life and humour, and was pitch perfect. The humour, tone and voice made for a poignant but age appropriate text about the author’s own experience of coming to the UK as an asylum seeker.’ 

Of Lucy’s work, the judges said, ‘We were enchanted by the richness of her jewel-like colour work and Lucy’s sumptuous reimagining of familiar traditional fairytales. With a strong eye for colour, pattern and textile, there was an ornamental beauty to Lucy’s work that excited us enormously.’ 

Of Cindy’s work, the judges said, ‘A gentle, magical colour palette moderated by strong, confident lines and a lovely sense of movement. Cindy’s eye for design, facial expression and humour made for a very strong 2nd prize winner. Her work stood out for its ability to tell a story.’