Katie Ward’s The Pretender gives a new twist to Mark Twain’s ‘The Prince and the Pauper’ Devon based author Katie Ward, who wrote previously for The Midweek Herald, has just released her debut novel. Called ‘The Pretender’, the book was inspired by one of her favourite childhood stories while growing up in Shute, near Axminster. Katie loved reading from an early age and it was on a trip to Scotland where she was given a copy of Mark Twain’s The Prince and the Pauper by her great-aunt for the long journey home. Remaining one of her favourite stories to this day, Katie always wanted the ending to be different. This inspired her to write a modern day version and give it the ending she had always wanted it to have since she was a young child. Katie told the Midweek Herald: “Classic fiction has always been a passion of mine and I felt sad that most young people had never heard of ‘The Prince and the Pauper’ as it is one of my all-time favourites. But realistically, it is too dated to really appeal to the mainstream market. So I decided to modernise it and bring it up to date so I can have the ending I’ve always wanted and I can bring the story to a whole new generation, too.” Katie worked with local artist, Emma Haines, to produce the illustrations for the book which was published on Wednesday (September 12). The Pretender is described as ‘an emotionally intense and compelling story of friendship, love and the strange power of destiny’ and is currently available from Waterstones (ISBN: 9781916430006) Amazon and via Kindle. * While living in Dublin, Katie entered a competition on National Irish TV called ‘Do the Write Thing’. It was run via the Irish daytime show Seoige and O’Shea, affectionately dubbed ‘The Irish Richard and Judy’. Katie was the only non-Irish entrant out of 14 chosen to be featured in an anthology of the same name that reached the Irish Bestsellers List. Later that year, Katie also entered an extract of her first novel into a competition which was being run by Metro Eireann newspaper and judged by MAN Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle, having her story shortlisted. Visit the interview here: https://www.eastdevon24.co.uk/news/katie-ward-gives-famous-tale-a-new-ending-1-5691888  ​

Westcountry author Katie Ward surprised pupils at Shute Primary School when she returned to speak to them about her experiences as a writer and her time as a pupil there. She attended Shute Primary from the age of four and her talent for writing was later spotted by one of the teachers.Katie said: “I was thrilled to be invited back. I have the fondest memories of my time at Shute. When I asked how many of the children wanted to be authors when they grew up, every hand went up so it’s clear I’ll have some competition in years to come.” Katie’s new book, The Pretender, is a modern-day adaptation of the tale of the Prince and the Pauper, set in France. Patrick Germscheid, head of Shute Primary said: “This was a wonderful opportunity for the children to speak to someone who has a long history with Shute School but also to hear about how Katie went about becoming a writer. The children were incredibly enthusiastic and asked a lot of questions.” Visit the interview here: https://www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/former-pupil-tells-pupils-about-her-writing-1-5807502 ​

Former Shute school pupil’s first novel is given a Book Readers Appreciation Group medallion An East Devon author's debut novel has received a prestigious US award aimed at highlighting excellence in independently published books. Katie Ward, who attended Shute Primary School, near Axminster, won the coveted BRAG Medallion for her story 'The Pretender'The accolade from the Book Readers Appreciation Group came after a rigorous review process looking at the quality of the book's plot, writing style, characterisation, cover, dialogue and copy editing. Only a fraction of submitted books are eligible to receive the award which requires a unanimous verdict by the ten-strong judging panel.Katie said: "I am absolutely delighted. This is one of the most prestigious quality awards an independent author can receive. The quality of my book has always been of paramount importance and to be given an award that recognises that means I achieved exactly what I set out to do."All books that carry the BRAG medallion sticker are guaranteed to be quality assured reads. 'The Pretender' - inspired by Mark Twain's 'The Prince and the Pauper' - is available via Amazon in Kindle and paperback editions. Visit the interview here: https://www.midweekherald.co.uk/news/novel-receives-prestigious-us-accolade-1-6039567​

An ex-Tiverton student’s debut novel has been selected to receive a prestigious US award aimed at highlighting excellence in independently published books. Katie Ward’s novel ‘The Pretender’ won the coveted B.R.A.G Medallion Award (Book Readers Appreciation Group) after a rigorous review process looking at the quality of the book’s plot, writing style, characterisation, cover, dialogue and copy editing to name a few. The ten-strong reading panel was then required to give unanimous agreement for the award to be bestowed. Only a fraction of submitted books is eligible to receive the award. Speaking of her achievement, the former East Devon College and Mid Devon Gazette work placement student said: “I am delighted that my debut novel ‘The Pretender’ has received the B.R.A.G Medallion Award. This is one of the most prestigious quality awards an independent author can receive. So, the fact it scored highly in all areas is incredible. The quality of my book has always been of paramount importance to me and to be given an award that recognises that means I achieved exactly what I set out to do.” Originally planning to be a journalist, Katie completed a degree in journalism at the University for the Creative Arts in Farnham. After finishing university, Katie decided to move to Dublin where she entered a competition being run on RTE’s Seoige and O’Shea show.The story submitted was one that Katie had originally written when she was 14 when she was inspired by an article in her favourite teen magazine. Katie’s story was selected to be published in an anthology called “Do the Write Thing’ and reached the Irish Bestsellers List. A few months after this, Katie was also shortlisted for a competition run by Metro Eireann and judged by MAN Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle whom she got to meet. Katie moved back to Devon in 2007 and now lives on the outskirts of Exeter. All books that carry the B.R.A.G medallion sticker are guaranteed to be quality assured reads, giving consumers peace of mind that these books are worth both their time and their money.‘The Pretender’ is available to buy now via Amazon in Kindle and Paperback editions. Visit the interview here: https://www.devonlive.com/news/local-news/devon-author-wows-judges-win-2846654  ​