A Richmond teenager has been commended after a national hunt for the best young fiction writers.

Mia Galanti, who attends The Green School in Isleworth, took part in The Write Stuff 2017 competition, aimed at girls aged 11 to 16, which was launched in March and asked girls to write a short, fictional story with a central theme of ‘family’.

International bestselling author Barbara Taylor Bradford OBE, together with The Sunday Times, chose the best amongst hundreds of entries, and Mia was one.

We chatted with Mia, bookworm-to-bookworm:

Who are your favourite authors?

My favourite authors are Rainbow Rowell, JK Rowling, Rick Riordan, and Patrick Ness.

Who is your favourite fictional character and why?

Piper McLean of the Olympus series, she’s really badass and awesome, not afraid to be vulnerable, and good at saving the world.

How did you discover your love of writing?

I always quite liked telling stories; I started writing when I was seven or eight and I have always liked reading.

Barbara Taylor Bradford OBE said: “As a girl who got her first story published at the age of ten, I know how wonderful it is to be recognised for your writing talents at a young age.”

She added: “I was really impressed with this year’s entries. I was reading stories that had been written by very clever, young women who displayed their talent, imagination, and command of the English language.”

Research by National Literacy Trust recently highlighted a sharp drop-off in creative writing among teenagers.

The competition was set up in direct response to this, to reward storytelling and imaginative fiction and to encourage teenage girls to keep writing.

The stories were judged on originality, imagination, sentence structure, language and the writer’s ability to tell a story, capture the reader and hold their attention.

The girls’ stories – including Mia’s Lucy – will be published in a free ebook published on November 24 2017.

Mia will also take part in an exclusive writing master class at News UK London headquarters, hosted by HarperCollins at the end of November.

The competition was supported by National Literacy Trust, HarperCollins, The Girls’ Day School Trust, Association of State Girls’ Schools (ASGS) and the Girls School Association.