A Blackwood woman who turned to creative writing after she was bullied has won an award for her work.
Emily-Mae Johnson, 20, won the Best Creative Article prize at the CLIConline awards.
The awards celebrates the efforts of young people who have contributed content for website CLIConline – an information and advice service for youngsters aged between 11 and 25 across Wales.
Emily-Mae was often bullied in school and signed up to Youth4U, the Caerphilly branch of CLIConline, to enhance her creative writing skills.
She is now a keen and talented writer and has written the first ten chapters of a fantasy novel titled ‘Welcome to Brightmore’.
Emily-Mae, who volunteers with charity Cancer Research UK, said: “The team at CLIC have supported me in so many aspects of my life. I have been writing for a while but sometimes it had fallen a bit flat, but at CLIC, they provide real support that ensures I can pick myself up and get writing again.
“I’m always looking to try and help others the way that CLIC have helped me. That’s why I want to work with children in the future, as I want to be able to support and help them develop as they grow up.”
The CLICawards 2012 was attended by Caerphilly AM and Deputy Minister for Skills Jeff Cuthbert, Children’s Commissioner for Wales Keith Towler, and the Mayor of Caerphilly Councillor Gaynor Oliver.
The awards showcased a variety of different talents, with the categories including Best Creative Article, Funniest Article, Most Thought-Provoking Article, Best Journalism Article, Best Review and CLICer of the year.
Marco Gil-Cervantes, chief executive of ProMo-Cymru which runs CLIConline, said: “Emily-Mae’s creativity and imagination has sparked content of the highest standard for CLIConline and is a reminder of the talent that Wales is consistently producing. We would like to congratulate Emily on her efforts and she should be very proud of such an achievement.”
“The CLICawards has given us the opportunity to celebrate the success of young people like Emily-Mae. It gives young people a safe platform to create content that will interest like-minded individuals and gives them an awareness of the power of communication. We hope that case stories such as Emily-Mae’s will inspire more people to get involved with CLIConline in the future. Her success shows that it can enhance and improve young peoples’ lives as well as those of the peers.”
Mayor Gaynor Oliver said: “I’m so proud of all the young people, in this county borough and across the whole of Wales. Young people have been contributing Youth4U and it gives them an opportunity to express themselves in a way that never was possible before.”