David Leadbeater wins the first UK Kindle Storyteller Award

David wins £20,000 and a dedicated marketing campaign for his crime thriller The Relic Hunters

The UK Kindle Storyteller Award was open to fiction first published as an ebook and in print via Kindle Direct Publishing between 20 February and 19 May.

David was awarded the Award by lead judge Lily Cole last night. His prize also includes access to a mentor and the opportunity to have The Relic Hunters translated.

Six authors were shortlisted from thousands of entries, with the shortlisting criteria including customer interest in the titles.

'Winning the Kindle Storyteller Award has been a life-changing experience,' said David. 'It’s an honour to be chosen as the winner and truly wonderful to have The Relic Hunters selected from such a strong shortlist. It is thanks to my readers that I have won this prize and for that I am truly thankful. I am excited for the next chapter in my storytelling career and hopefully with the profile this prize has given me, my stories will reach more readers.'

'I love the democratic accessibility of this prize,' said Lily Cole. 'It has encouraged more people to write and independently publish, and invited readers to participate in rewarding new writers!'

'It was extremely encouraging to see so many brilliant stories entered in to this competition and even more encouraging to see just how well these stories resonated with readers,' agreed Alessio Santarelli, EU Kindle content director, Amazon. 'We hope that this award has encouraged aspiring authors around the world to continue writing and developing stories that are engaging readers worldwide.'

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