KUCHING: Sarawakian author Nadia Mikail made the state proud by winning the 2023 Waterstones Children’s Book Prize with her debut novel ‘The Cats We Meet Along The Way’.
The judges of this prestigious literary award are none other than the esteemed booksellers of Waterstones, making Nadia’s victory all the more impressive. As a reward for her hard work and creativity, she has been granted a handsome prize of £5,000.
Nadia’s roots are firmly planted in Kuching, where she spent her formative years as a student of Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan (SMK) St Theresa. She is currently pursuing a law degree at King’s College in London, but her passion for writing has not been dampened by her academic pursuits.
In her own words, Nadia revealed that her novel was born out of a “worst-case scenario” mindset, imagining the impending apocalypse and the painful separation from her loved ones. However, in the process of writing, she discovered a profound truth – that the only way to combat the anxiety and despair of an uncertain future is to cherish and care for those closest to us, and to hope for a brighter tomorrow.
‘The Cats We Meet Along The Way’ is a poignant tale of a family’s road trip across Malaysia in the face of impending doom. With her masterful storytelling and empathetic characters, Nadia has captured the hearts of readers and critics alike, proving that she is a force to be reckoned with in the literary world.
