A former Cardigan Secondary School pupil has won a prestigious writing prize at the national eisteddfod.

Meleri Wyn James was brought up Beulah and Aberporth and now lives in Aberystwyth. She has won the Prose Medal for her composition on the subject of ‘porth’, or gate.

The subject of this year's competition was a volume of creative prose of no more than 40,000 words on the subject 'Porth'.

Meleri’s story, Hallt is a novel about a mother and her 16-year-old daughter with special needs.

The 'porth' here is the threshold between the world of a child and the world of an adult. The story is told by Elen, the mother, and Cari, the daughter, alternately.

As Cari matures physically and meets new people including a boy, Elen and her husband's dilemma is how much freedom to allow her.

“This is a gripping story from the beginning building to a dramatic climax,” said adjudicators Menna Baines, Lleucu Roberts and Ion Thomas.

“The portrait of Cari is a lovely one. Yes, there is a certain inherent awkwardness related to her which makes socialising difficult, but gradually we come to see past that to her affection and her honest, open nature.

“Sometimes, indeed, her honesty wears us down. Like every young person she looks to the future and like every parent her mother has to learn to let go.”

The medal and the cash prize of £750 were presented to Meleri in memory of Robyn and Gwenan Léwis by the family.

Meleri Wyn James is a writer and creative editor for Y Lolfa.

She has published books for children, young people and adults.

She is the author of the popular children’s series Na, Nel! for children, as well as the two shows Na, Nel! which was staged at the Ceredigion National Eisteddfod Pavilion in Tregaron last year and in the Llŷn and Eifionydd National Eisteddfod this year.

She loves to read and write and enjoys going to schools, festivals and eisteddfodau to stimulate children and young people to read and to use their imagination.

She has lived in Aberystwyth for over twenty years with her husband, Sion Ilar and their daughters, Mia Seren and Esther Alys.

She is a member of Aberystwyth Athletics Club, and thanks to the support of her fellow runners in the club she has completed several half marathons.

She enjoys riding horses and is very interested in fashion and sewing. She also enjoys socialising with family and friends.

She started writing the novel Hallt immediately after the Ceredigion National Eisteddfod with the intention of trying to give a voice to children and parents who live with challenges and all the pleasure of navigating life's journey with additional needs.

Meleri’s winning volume will be available to buy at the end of this ceremony.