A Welsh children’s author is calling on budding young authors in Abergavenny to get their literary careers in top gear and ‘Express’ themselves in an all-new national writing competition.

Writer Sarah KilBride has been chosen by National Express to launch its ‘Express Yourself’ short story competition, launched in celebration of the coach company’s new onboard entertainment system VUER (View, Unwind, Enjoy, Relax) which launched this week.

Sarah, who lives in the Black Mountains area of Wales, is joining the UK’s largest coach operator in a call for children aged 7-16 to get creative and submit short stories inspired by the theme of ‘happy travelling’.

Youngsters are invited to let their creative juices run riot and submit original travel tales. Inspiration can come from anywhere – be it their own real-life experiences or something from the depths of their imaginations.

Winning stories will then be published in an online storybook in ‘VUER’, for passengers to enjoy as they travel - they will have a chance to be read by the millions of people who travel with National Express every year. Each winner will also get a £50 cheque as prize money.

Launching on services in Wales, VUER is the UK’s first coach ‘infotainment’ - news and entertainment system – a complimentary service offering films, TV and magazines entirely free of charge.

The app, which allows customers to enjoy hours of free entertainment – as well as news, weather and journey updates and plus free WiFi - on their own devices from the comfort of their seat, affords the ideal platform to enable kids to get creative and have their stories seen by millions.

Sarah, who is well known for her ‘Princess Evies Ponies’ book series, will be judging entries from Abergavenny.

Talking at the launch of the competition at Llangattock Church in Wales Primary School, she encoraged local children to get involved saying: “This competition is all about journeys and travelling as the people reading it are going to be coach passengers, but the journey you write about can be fictional or real.”

“I’d love every child in Abergavenny to have a go, it doesn’t matter if you think you’re not a writer, everyone has a story. Writing is one of the best ways of expressing your ideas, unlocking your creative side, and this is a great opportunity to share it. Good luck!”

National Express UK Coach Managing Director Tom Stables said: “Every year we take millions of people on a journey, now to celebrate VUER, we are turning the tables are asking youngsters in Abergavenny to take us on a journey. ‘Express Yourself’ is a really unique opportunity for budding young authors to get their literary careers in top gear and we’re looking for really inspiring stories to delight our customers. We can’t wait to start receiving the entries.”

To take advantage of VUER customers simply need to download the app from the Apple or Android app store on their phone or tablet before they get on-board to access the content, which is then streamed over Wi-Fi during the journey.

Entrants should write a story of up to but no more than 1000 words, and they have until the 31 of December to submit it to [email protected] . Alternatively, children can post stories to The Story Team, National Express House, Mill Lane Birmingham B5 6DD.