Writer turned down 100 times bags top children's award

London, Jan 5 (ANI): Following in the footsteps of JK Rowling and Philip Pullman, a debut children's writer has won a major literary prize after being turned down by as many as 100 publishers.

Web designer Jason Wallace has bagged the Costa Children's Book Award for 'Out of Shadows,' set in a newly-independent Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe, reports the Scotsman.

The judges declared the book an "extraordinary debut" saying: "This compelling portrayal of a nation in crisis gripped us from start to finish and has stayed with us since." (ANI)