A TALE of mystery, blood and vampires has been named as the winner of the Bolton Children's Book Award.
After five months of reading eight books, young people in Bolton voted Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy as this year's top read.
The results were announced at a ceremony at Bolton Town Hall on Saturday, although the winning author was unable to attend.
Last year's winner, Sophie McKenzie, who wrote Girl Missing, said: "Winning the Bolton Children's Book Award has given me more confidence to carry on writing because it really helps knowing there are people out there who not only have read, but enjoyed what I've done in the past."
The competition was launched in January and pupils from 20 secondary schools were asked to read all eight books and vote for their favourite.
Cllr Ismail Ibrahim, executive member for culture, young people and sport, said: "The award just gets better and better every year. It's a really popular event with our young people, who all love reading books and getting involved in the workshops."
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