A RENOWNED writer and poet from Ramsbottom has been shortlisted for a national award.

Chrissie Gittins' collection of short stories set in Bury, Ramsbottom, and Manchester, ‘Between Here and Knitwear’, is shortlisted in the The Saboteur Awards, which is run by leading literature publication The Sabotage Reviews.

Five short story collections made the list after receiving the most votes from members of the public, with the final winner to be decided by an online poll.

Voting is open until May 24, and the winners of the 12 categories will be announced at a ceremony at exclusive London private members club Vout-O-Reenees.

She commented: “I’m absolutely delighted to be shortlisted in the these awards. I’ve watched the Saboteurs grow over the last six years and now I’m thrilled to be in the thick of it.

"There is a lot of heart in these awards – they are run by people who really care about literature and the spoken word.”

Chrissie, who is recently back from reading at her alma mater Newcastle University, will have her new children’s poetry collection, ‘Adder, Bluebell, Lobster’, released in August. She will also be travelling to Ireland in July for the West Cork Literature Festival in July.

The author, who grew up in Bury but now lives in London, worked as an artist and a teacher before becoming a full-time writer. She writes poetry, poetry for children, short stories and radio drama.

Her critically-acclaimed plays for BBC Radio 4 include 'Poles Apart', starring Bernard Cribbins, and 'Starved for Love', which featured Patricia Routledge.

She has also contributed poems for Cbeebies TV and to the Oxfam CD of Poems for Children, and was a finalist in the first Manchester Children’s Literature Prize in 2014.

Chrissie’s residencies have included Maidstone Borough Council, twelve Southwark primary schools, Croydon Libraries, the Refugee Council, Bangkok Patana School in Thailand, and Belmarsh Prison.