Keren David has been named as the winner of this year’s Angus Book Award for her novel When I was Joe.

Voted for by more than 400 third year pupils across the county, the award - a trophy of the Aberlemno serpent stone and £500 - was presented at a ceremony in Arbroath Academy last Tuesday.

When I Was Joe is published by Frances Lincoln Children’s Books and has been shortlisted for many of the teenage book awards which followed in the footsteps of the Angus Book Award, the first of its kind in the UK.

Before launching her career as a writer of teenage novels, Keren worked as a journalist and editor. When I Was Joe is her debut teenage novel. A sequel, Almost True, was published in the UK in September last year.

The other shortlisted titles were, Auslander by Paul Dowswell (Bloomsbury), Wasted by Nicola Morgan (Walker Books) and Luke and Jon by Robert Williams (Faber and Faber).

Keren said: “I’m thrilled to have won the Angus Book Award against such strong competition. The award is very special and it encourages pupils to do so much more than read – they made films, created alternative book covers and wrote reviews. I’d like to thank everyone who voted for When I Was Joe.”