Tessa McLeod, a 14-year-old from Carmangay, recently received the Martyn Godfrey Young Writers Award for her short story The Shadows Among Us.

The Young Alberta Book Society (YABS) announced the winners of the provincial writing awards on May 9.

The competition is open to students in Alberta in Grades 4-9 who submit their short stories. Winners are picked by grade.

For being the Grade 8 winner, the Picture Butte High School student received a package of books by YABS authors will also receive a certificate.

“I was amazed I was picked for it. I didn’t know I was that good,” said McLeod.

“After I submitted it I kept thinking of all the things that I should have changed or I could have done better, but I ended up winning it.”

Her story is a fantasy in which the main character discovers she has powers.

“There is this one series that I have always loved, it’s called Keeper of the Lost Cities,” she said. “It has nothing to do with my story at all, but it’s about this girl finding out that she has powers and growing from it.”

McLeod said the idea for her story stemmed from the many fantasy books she has read.

Her story was originally a school assignment, for which she received an A.

“I kind of built from there and tweaked it a bit. I just kind of changed the tense in which the story was written and who she was a little bit and broadened the story line a little.”

Her mother, Kelly, helped her edit the story, but Tessa did most of the work herself.

McLeod was also encouraged by a teacher’s aide at her school to submit the story.

“This teacher found out that I love to read and write and she pushed me and found the website for me and definitely

helped me a lot,” she said.

Visit www.yabs.ab.ca/youngwriters.php to read McLeod’s story.