Between Light and Shadow by Owen Andrew Brown is shortlisted for the 2026 Author of Tomorrow Award, 11 & Under Category. 

About Between Light and Shadow:

Running through the cave, Clara is chased by Shadow Beasts. Where will she end up when she throws herself into a portal?  When she discovers a sinister plot that threatens the universe, Clara finds herself battling evil forces. But is it already too late?   

An interview with Owen: 

WNSF: What is your favourite book? 

Owen: My favourite book is Skandar and the Spirit War by A.F Steadman as I love all the action and the unique twist on unicorns (in the book they are bloodthirsty carnivorous beasts who, along with their riders, wield powerful magic).

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

Owen: My favourite author has to be A.F Steadman because she wrote Skandar which is my favourite book series so far (shout out to all the Skandar fans reading this!).

WNSF: What is your favourite subject at school? 

Owen: My favourite subjects are English or Computing as I am interested in coding. In English I love creative writing, although I often write whole essays for my work, and the teacher has to stop me!

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

Owen: I chose to write an adventure story because it is one of my favourite genres and are basically all I ever read.

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

Owen: If I could ask an author anything I would ask them what makes the best ending and start? 

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

Owen: I would consider David Attenborough to be one of my heroes because I find him so inspiring and he does so much work for this planet.

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

Owen: I would like to go to a rainforest to see all the cool plants and animals.

WNSF: Where do you find inspiration for your stories? 

Owen: The idea for Between Light and Shadow started off as a joke between me and my brother about my 3 year old sister (Clara) being an almighty sorceress and then the idea grew!

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

Owen: If I could time travel I would go about 100 years to the future so that I could see all the new technology.

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

Owen: Magic. Suspense. Action.

WNSF: Congratulations on your brilliant story, and good luck for the next stage of the competition!