Some of the country's top writers were at Bishop Auckland Town Hall yesterday for a literary competition that is achieving national importance.

Booker Prize winner Pat Barker, Whitbread Award winner David Almond and best-selling children's author Anne Fine are all patrons of Alpha to Omega, the third in a series of competitions inaugurated by Wear Valley Writers.

This year's challenge was to write the opening chapter and the final paragraph of a novel.

Winner Simon Fairnington's piece is set in a modern Russia ruled by the Mafia.

Other winners included Beda Higgins of Newcastle, Bernie Crosthwaite, from Knaresborough and Eileen Jennison, of Bishop Auckland.

But the 400 entries came from all over the country and abroad.

"It's good to see such a high standard," said Pat Barker.

Judges included writers Julia Darling, Patricia Fawcett, Margaret Wilkinson and Wendy Robertson, who was the instigator of the competition.

The top nine entries have been gathered into a book and winners will be hoping for similar success to that of the first winner, Jonathan Tulloch.

Hearing David Almond read out his short story Season Ticket at the presentation ceremony, inspired Jonathan to extend it into a novel, which later won a major prize and has now become the new film Purely Belter.

"It's marvellous that the North-East can be known as the cradle of good writing," said Wendy.