AN author, from Heswall, who released a children's poem book raising awareness about gender diversity, has won a regional award.

Lisa Satchell-Foley, 43, released her first illustrated poem called ‘The Girl in the Dickie Bow’ in 2022.

The book focuses on a young girl who struggles with her mum’s wish for her to be dressed in a dress for her auntie and uncle’s wedding.

Speaking about the book, Lisa said: "She is a really lovely character, and the book has really nice messages, which are strong, but done in a light-hearted and gentle way.

"The book is based on a real-life experience from my past because I was a tomboy. At eight-years-old my uncle and auntie were getting married and my mum wanted me to wear a dress."

Wirral Globe: The bookThe book (Image: Lisa Satchell-Foley)

Last week (June 17) Lisa found out that she had won the Regional Write Blend Award for 2023.

The Write Blend Books awards covers the region of Liverpool, Sefton, Bolton and Wirral. The award is comprised of five categories, Children’s picture book, Chapter book, Young adult, Adult fiction and Poetry.

In each category, there is an award for highly recommended and then there’s the overall winner. Finally, there is an overall regional winner.

Lisa said: "I went ahead and entered but when the shortlist for the categories was shared, unfortunately, the Girl in the Dickie Bow wasn’t shortlisted.

"However, a couple of days after the category winners had been announced the owner of Write Blend Books messaged me to ask if I realised I had won the overall competition for the regional award. This explained why I wasn’t on the category shortlist, so that was a lovely surprise."

Speaking about her win, Lisa said she is "excited" about how her books can help children.

Lisa said: "From conception I have always believed that The Girl in the Dickie Bow and subsequent books rom the ‘It Rocks to be You’ collection have an important role to play in endorsing equality and inclusivity.

"My hope is that this award is a springboard for the book and its messages to become more prominent in primary schools throughout the area and far beyond. It’s obviously nice to win awards but I’m most excited about how these books can help children embrace and celebrate differences."

The book is available to purchase in Linghams Bookshop, Heswall and Bear Hunt books and toys in Bebington.

It can also be purchased online at here.