A KILBIRNIE student has beaten off stiff competition from young writers all over the UK to be shortlisted for a prestigious award.

Sophie McNaughton, who is studying Journalism, Creative Writing, and English at Strathclyde University, is among 115 finalists nominated in the 2017 Wicked Young Writer Awards.

The former Garnock Academy pupil was shortlisted in the 18-25 category for her poem Izzy, which raises awareness of extinction and endangered species.

Sophie, 21, told the Herald: “I’m just really chuffed. I didn’t think I would have heard anything back. I sent in a few entries. They told me there were 4,000 entries, so I was quite shocked.

“My entry is a poem. I wrote it when I was doing the Creative Writing semester at uni. All the poems I was doing that semester were about animals in some way.

“I’d be astonished if I won. All the finalists get published in the anthology and I’m really happy just with that and to be a finalist.”

The acclaimed Wicked Young Writer Awards is in its seventh year and was created and sponsored by award-winning musical Wicked in association with the National Literary Trust.

Championed by Patron Her Royal Highness, The Duchess of Cornwall, this year’s judges include former Labour MP, Ed Balls, ITV News Arts Editor, Nina Nannar, and the acclaimed performance poet and writer, Laura Dockrill.

Author and illustrator of the How to Train Your Dragon books, Cressida Cowell, will return as Head Judge for the third consecutive year, together with long-standing judges Jonathan Douglas, Director of the National Literacy Trust, and Michael McCabe, Executive Producer of Wicked.

Jonathan Douglas said: “Every year I am moved by the incredible writing of the children and young people who enter the Wicked Young Writer Awards – and this year was no exception. Children tackled incredibly difficult subject matters with originality, creativity and an undeniable sense of hope, buoyed by the good that can come out of bad situations. Well done to everyone who took part in this year’s awards and congratulations to the worthy finalists! We hope that the awards will continue to inspire children and young people to give their thoughts, ideas and passions a voice.”

The winners who will be announced on June 23 at an awards ceremony at London’s Apollo Victoria Theatre, home of the long running hit musical Wicked.

Sophie added: “I would love to go to it but I can’t, it’s too expensive. Because I can’t go, they’re going to send me a goody bag and a copy of the anthology.”