The Scotland-based writer inspired by story of teen refugee who has scooped literary award

Fidan Meikle won the 2026 Jhalak Children’s and Young Adult Prize for her middle grade story, My Name is Samim, published by Edinburgh-based Floris Books.

Ms Meikle, who lives in West Lothian, was inspired to after discovering the tragic story of a 13-year-old boy who lost his family while crossing the English Channel in a small boat.

My Name Is Samim and its sequel, My Name Is Zayn, are inspired by the real-life experiences of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the UK.

The judges praised the book for being “a beautifully and uniquely woven debut novel for young people about young people”.

Ms Meikle, who is originally from Azerbaijan and moved to Scotland 20 years ago, said: “The inspiration for the book actually came to me in an email one day. It was a newsletter from a charity I support, and within it there was a story written in the first person by a boy who would’ve been around thirteen at the time.

“In desperation, his older brother attempted to swim across the English Channel to try and reach the UK, hoping to then bring his younger brother across afterwards. As you can imagine, it ended in tragedy.”

She added: “I remember reading that part and being struck by it. I kept wondering: what does hope even look like after a loss like that? How do you keep going when everything has already been taken away from you?

“It was that question, and that boy’s story – his resilience, courage, and faith in a better future against all odds – that stayed with me and eventually became the seed for this book.”

She said that as she had not experienced being a refugee herself, she wanted to be careful how she told the story.

She said: “While writing the book, I was very aware that I hadn’t lived this experience myself, so I could never approach it as though I was telling my own story. That meant being careful not to assume, not to fill gaps with imagination where I should have been listening more carefully, and not to simplify something that is, in reality, very complex.”

Judge Lanisha Butterfield added: “Fidan writes with tender humanity and I can't think of a more deserving, urgent winner.”

Judge Christine Pillainayagam said: My Name Is Samim returned to me over and over again throughout the judging process, a book that refused to leave me. Beautifully written, powerful, moving and ultimately hopeful, this story celebrates all that it is to be human, to survive, to adapt to new worlds when our own worlds crumble.”

Ms Meikle’s book has previously been shortlisted for several other awards, including the FCBG Award, the Sheffield Book Award, the Literally Brilliant Book Award, the Hampshire Book Award, and the Cumbria Schools Secondary Spellbinding Award 2026.

The Jhalak Prize seeks to celebrate books by British or British resident writers of colour.

The winning authors were awarded £1,000 at a reception in London on Wednesday evening.

Sunny Singh, prize director of the Jhalak Prize, which also awards one author of poetry and another of prose, said: “The judges have, once again, selected towering works of literature for winners of the three Jhalak Prize awards. Their choices exemplify the courageous and defiant works that have become a hallmark of the prize over the past decade.

“The judges task was incredibly difficult given the extraordinary shortlists they had selected. I am in awe of their selections for winners of the Jhalak Children’s & Young Adult, Poetry and Prose prizes. These are books that are urgent and necessary now and shall endure far into the future.”