Teenager Kenuli's book given Royal seal of approval

A Sunderland schoolgirl has received Royal recognition for her debut novel, which she penned as she adapted to life in the city.

- by Katy Wheeler

Kenuli Lehansa and her family moved from Sri Lanka to Sunderland in 2023 and the youngster found that reading and writing stories helped her to quickly adapt to a new language and culture.

Teachers at Richard Avenue Primary School encouraged her to start writing stories and she found a love of literature at regular trips to Sunderland Library at the Museum & Winter Gardens, which further helped to improve her reading and writing skills.

Now 13, and a pupil at St Anthony's, Kenuli has published her first book, entitled The Mythical Forest, and it's receiving high praise indeed.

King Charles, Prince William and Mayor of Sunderland, Cllr Ehthesham Haque, have all written letters to Kenuli to encourage her writing.