Amelia has her first poetry book published at the age of 12
A young author has had her first book of poetry published.
Amelia Blackledge, 12, who goes to school in Shropshire, turned to writing poetry when her family was hit by tragedy.
She finished her book, Different Angles, when she was 11 and was delighted to see it in print thanks to publishers Austin McCauley.
Different Angles includes more than a dozen poems covering a range of emotions and her young life.
The student at Packwood Haugh School, Ruyton-XI-Towns, says much of her poetry is inspired by the sport that she also loves.
Amelia is the undefeated British and English Sabre Fencing Champion for her age group, and within her book is a poem that captures the emotion of winning those fights.
She is also a keen runner and trains in the High Peak, Derbyshire, another inspiration for her writing.
Proud
Amelia recently received a third place in a global poetry competition which could see more of her work published, and she is already under way with putting together her next anthology.
Her mother, Vanessa, said she was very proud of her daughter having her work published at the age of just 12.
"When the family was struggling, she channelled her energy into her sport and her poetry," Vanessa said.
"It resonated a true depth of emotion and expression from a dark place and charmed us with belief and positivity.
"She wrote a great deal of poetry during that time and we sent a couple of to publishers.
"The interest in those poems led to the book."
Different Angles is now on sale in Waterstones and on Amazon, plus many other stores.
When not sport training, Amelia plays the drums and sings in a choir.
