A SUCCESSFUL author who won a Malvern Writers' Circle competition a decade ago will return to the town to judge the work of the next generation of young writers.

Graham Gardner was a pupil at John Masefield High School in Ledbury when he won the group's Young Writer of the Year competition, set up by member Wendy Grounds with her late husband Don.

The boost he got from winning encouraged him to pursue his dream and, nine years later, his debut novel, Inventing Elliot, was published to great acclaim. His sequel, The Truth about Elliot, is due out next spring.

"I'd always wanted to write so winning something was great encouragement," said Mr Gardner. "But the most important thing about the Malvern competition was that everyone who entered got useful feedback from the judging panel."

Mr Gardner is currently an academic researcher in social and political geography at the University of Wales, in Abersytwyth, but often returns to Malvern to visit his parents.

He will be one of the judges in this year's competition, along with writer Dr Michael Wyndham, who has had short stories published in magazines all over the world and recently completed a novel, The Song of the Sun.

The competition is open to anyone aged between 14 and 19. There are prizes in three categories: short stories and creative writing of up to 2,000 words and poetry of up to 40 lines. There is also a prize for an overall winner, who will be awarded the title Young Writer of the Year.

All entries should be submitted by December 31 to The Secretary, Malvern Writers' Circle, 15 Queens Driver, Great Malvern.

Chairman Peter Sutton said: "The competition helps youngsters focus on their writing. There is a huge amount of talent out there and we hope to encourage it. That's one of the primary aims of the circle."

Malvern Writers' Circle was founded in 1948 by Joyce King, who was then editor of the Malvern Gazette. Members meet regularly and have interests as diverse as poetry, local history and TV comedy scripts.