AN English teacher form Innerleithen is hoping to scoop another major literary award.

Claire McFall from Innerleithen landed the Older Readers Category of the Scottish Children's Book Awards three years ago for her gripping debut novel, Ferryman.

And she is now in line for further success with her latest page-turner, Black Cairn Point.

Claire, along with fellow authors Keith Gray and Joan Lennon, make up the 2017 Scottish Teenage Book Prize shortlist.

The prize, set up to celebrate the most popular teen books by Scottish authors, is run by Scottish Book Trust with support from Creative Scotland. Shortlisted authors receive £500 for their book with the winning author receiving £3,000.

A delighted Claire told the us: "I'm incredibly pleased that Black Cairn Point has been selected as one of the short-listed novels.

"This is the first year of the new Scottish Teenage Book Prize and I'm delighted to be a part of it.

"What I love best about the prize is that it is determined purely by votes from Scottish teenage readers.

"I'm really looking forward to connecting with young readers and sharing my story with them."

Claire's first book, Ferryman, is a love story which retells the ancient Greek myth of Charon, the ferryman of Hades who transported souls to the underworld.

The novel won the Older Readers Category of the Scottish Children's Book Awards in 2013 and was also long-listed for the UK Literary Association Book Awards and nominated for the Carnegie Medal.

Her second novel, Bombmaker, was released in 2014 and considers ideas of identity in a dystopian devolved United Kingdom.

Black Cairn Point, which was released last year, is a chilling and atmospheric thriller which explores what happens when an ancient malevolent spirit is reawakened.

Heather Collins, schools programme manager at Scottish Book Trust, added: "The Scottish Teenage Book prize is intended as a celebration of the very best of Scottish young adult fiction, and I defy any teenager to put these books down once they have read the first page – they all contain the ingredients of a gripping read and I predict a close-run competition.”

Children aged from 12 up to 16 can now vote for the winner by submitting a class vote online via the Scottish Book Trust website.

The winning book will be announced via an exclusive video on Wednesday, March 1.

Creative Scotland's head of literature Jenny Niven said: "Congratulations to all three shortlisted authors in the brand new Teenage Book Prize.

"The benefits of encouraging young people to read – from transporting us to other worlds to better understanding the one we’re in - are virtually limitless and Scottish Book Trust are true champions of that cause.

"The new prize encourages teens themselves to actively celebrate the books they love, whilst creating a platform for Scottish writing talent to be recognised and promoted. Creative Scotland is delighted to be able to support both these valuable aims.”