A NOVELIST who grew up in North Yorkshire has won a national publishing award with her first book, which is set during the Second World War.

Sara Allerton, originally from Ampleforth, has won the Summer 2010 People’s Book Prize category for fiction. She claimed the prize with her Second World War seafaring adventure Making Shore.

Mrs Allerton said: “Getting my debut novel published was a great feeling, but even more gratifying has been the response from readers and winning independent recognition from the People’s Book Prize.

“It vindicates all the hard work and I hope this is the springboard for the novel to compete with those of more established authors.”

Making Shore revolves around the aftermath of a U-boat torpedo strike on a Merchant Navy boat in 1942. The story is told through the memories years later of 86-year-old merchant seaman Brian Clarke, who survived the torpedo attack.

Mrs Allerton, a mother of three children, now lives in Suffolk, but her parents are still residents of Easingwold.