TWO poetry students have been chosen to appear in print in a new anthology.

Jeanette Walker and Barbara Stannard, from the Creative Writing Course at the Hemlington Initiative Centre, have been picked from thousands of entries nationwide to appear in the Make A Wish Volume II book.

The book, subtitled Moonbeams in a Jar, contains poems about making wishes and will be used to raise awareness and money for the Make a Wish Foundation.

The foundation grants wishes for children who are suffering from life-threatening illnesses.

Mrs Stannard, 60, from Nunthorpe, wrote her poem called The Pleasure of the Sea after a holiday in Greece, while Mrs Walker's inspiration came from a television programme about a boy called Nkosi who had the HIV virus.

Mrs Walker, 53, of Hemlington, said: "The programme really struck a chord. Nkosi's only wish was to reach his 12th birthday.

"It is exciting getting it published. After signing all the copyright forms I am now officially an author, something I could never have imagined.

"I have always been interested in writing. I have led a colourful life and my long-term ambition was to write a book."

The creative wiring course in Hemlington is run by Stockton and Billingham College and features a range of different styles of writing.

The book will be published in June by Anchor Books.