A Mill Hill woman has helped an aspiring author’s dreams come true after awarding a publishing deal in memory of her brother, who died two years ago.

Tiffany Orton, 39, of Tavistock Avenue, and her mother, Elaine Hanson, launched the bursary to help Luke Bitmead’s name live on after he took his own life at the age of 34.

They hope the Luke Bitmead Memorial Fund will help aspiring authors who face the same struggle to get published that Oxford-based Mr Bitmead endured.

Andrew Blackman, from Crouch End, won the first £2,500 bursary and a publishing deal with Legend Press at an awards ceremony in Holborn this week.

Mrs Orton said: “We wanted to help other struggling writers to get their work out there and to get published. Luke spent eight years writing away, trying to get a publishing deal and we thought we could help others in that position.

“It was fab to see how emotional everybody got at the awards. Writing is such a solitary process and it was good to get them all together.

“Luke was a really caring and compassionate person and it was his idea to help other writers. It was a tragedy to lose him but rather than sit around crying, we wanted to do something positive.”

The bursary came from royalties from Luke’s two novels and Legend Press has agreed to publish Mr Blackman’s novel, On the Holloway Road.

Tom Chalmers, managing director of Legend Press, said: “Life is often incredibly tough for aspiring writers if they do not have the financial backing to match their ability, no matter how talented.

“This award goes someway to addressing that balance and helps turn ambition into reality. From working with the unforgettable Luke, I know he would be delighted at the opportunity the bursary creates.”

Sam Mills, a novelist and bursary judge, said: “Andrew has a mature prose style with a lovely turn of phrase. His writing showed great flashes of wit and insight.

“I am proud to have been involved in selecting such a worthy winner and feel he has the potential to go onto great things.”