A NORTH Yorkshire author's debut novel has been nominated for an award in Holland.

Everybody Jam, written by former Northern Echo journalist Ali Lewis, has been shortlisted for the Dioraphte Literary Award.

The book, which has already been shortlisted for several prestigious awards in this country, was translated into Dutch and published under the title De Shoenen Van Mijn Broer - which translates as My Brother's Shoes.

The novel, set in the Australian outback, tells the story of teenager Danny, who is struggling to come to terms with the death of his older brother.

Ms Lewis, of Thirlby, near Thirsk, North Yorkshire, said: "It’s a real honour for me to be nominated for this award and to know Everybody Jam is being read and enjoyed by people in the Netherlands.

"When I wrote it, in a drafty shed in North Yorkshire, I dreamed of it being published in English – so to find it now available in other languages too, is wonderful.

"The thing that makes this award extra special is that it not only recognises the story telling, it is also about the translation – and translating some of the Aussie slang Danny uses in Everybody Jam into Dutch can’t have been easy.

"I’m therefore very grateful for the excellent work of Marjet Schumacher who translated it for the publisher, The House of Books in the Netherlands.”

For more details of the award, for youth literature, visit the website at http://www.djp.nl/