The Dividing Line by Abbie Englund is shortlisted for the 2025 Author of Tomorrow Award, 16-21 Category. 

The Dividing Line: It is 1363 and Mary – a confident, feisty and deeply passionate 14 year old - wanders the fields and streets of Durham. The only child of a poor tanner, her life at home is far from eventful and so her energy is expended in imagining and creating her own escapades. But in Medieval England there are some obstacles too large and dangerous for a mere girl to mount, as Mary soon discovers when she sets her sights on the dividing line of Durham Cathedral. A line which women and girls cannot cross. Or so they say.

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An interview with Abbie: 

WNSF: What is your favourite book?

Abbie: Dickens is a ‘waffler’. There is no doubt whatsoever about that. One could almost say he is the best of authors and the worst of authors! However, A Christmas Carol is a book which I struggle to fault. I feel it is Dickens at his finest, immensely creative without being overly complicated, written in the most beautiful, vivid, flowing style; funny and profound, sobering yet uplifting, it really is a stroke of genius.  

WNSF: Who is your favourite author? Or one who has inspired you and why?

Abbie: Although I am only half way through Les Misérables, Victor Hugo’s writing has already left a deep impression on me. Not only is his content incredibly astute, poignant and at times humorous, and his characters astoundingly vivid, but his style of writing is like no other I have encountered. I didn’t think it was possible to convey such emotion with a three or even two word sentence, but one can feel the passion behind the richness of his words.      

WNSF: What was your favourite subject at school?

Abbie: I loved studying Latin because it has all the satisfaction of something logical like maths, coupled with the creativity of English, plus a dose of history, literature and etymology thrown in for good measure. Unlike a GCSE in modern languages, in which I never did seem to progress quite beyond knowing where the train station was or what my hobbies were, Latin translations are full of the weirdest stories and viewpoints, which makes the lessons highly entertaining.

WNSF: What does ‘adventure writing’ mean to you? Why did you choose to try your hand at an adventure story?

Abbie: I think adventure writing or reading is what happens when you want to visit somewhere but lack the time and money, want to time travel but lack a time machine, want to go to a whole new world but lack said world’s actual existence, want to take risks but not be responsible for the consequences etc. It is not actually a genre I have dabbled in much, but I found it very enjoyable and riveting.

WNSF: If you could ask an author anything, what would you want to know?

Abbie: How much planning do most authors do before beginning to write a novel? That is, do they meticulously plan out the details of the plot and characters before starting or begin with something more vague, letting their pen take them where it will?

WNSF: Who would you consider one of your heroes and why? 

Abbie: One of my greatest heroes is definitely Corrie Ten Boom, a Dutch woman who, along with her family, made her home a place of refuge for Jewish people during the Nazi Occupation of the Netherlands. Whilst many of her family lost their lives for this, and she herself was sent to Ravensbrück, her actions saved many people. She not only survived these horrors but, prompted by her faith, went on to forgive her captors and to give talks in numerous different countries.

WNSF: What is the most adventurous thing you would like to do, or place you would like to visit and why?

Abbie: I have always loved forests, the whispering of leaves and babbling of rivers and cool dampness of the moss-covered floor is rather magical. C S Lewis’ Narnia stories capture this very well. I would therefore love to be able to visit the forests of Scandinavia.

WNSF: Where do you find inspiration for your stories? 

Abbie: I find classical music to be very powerful in its ability to paint a picture in the mind. For example, Vaughan Williams’ ‘The Lark Ascending’ or Holst’s ‘Jupiter’ contain everything an epic story contains except the words!

WNSF: If you could time travel, where would you go and why?

Abbie: My love for Dickens’ works might just send me to London in the mid-1800s. With its myriads of sounds and smells and sights, something new to look at or ponder over with every turn, it would be a feast for both the eyes and the mind. I would be curious to see, moreover, whether I could find amongst the costermongers in Covent Garden or the lawyers in Chancery Lane, people as eccentric as the characters he describes.

WNSF: What three words would you use to describe your story?

Abbie: Unpredictable, emboldening, lively.

WNSF: Congratulations on your incredible story, and good luck!