Chinese takeaway owner lands £10,000 publishing deal after her book won Richard and Judy's Search for a Bestseller competition

A Chinese takeaway owner from west Wales has landed a £10,000 publishing deal after winning Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan's book competition.

Julie Ma told how she was convinced her book Happy Families would be rejected when she entered the Search For A Bestseller competition.

But Madeley called her work 'absolutely, bloody great' and praised her story based on a takeaway and the lives of its customers. 

Ma will receive a publishing deal worth at least £10,000, with her work published by Welbeck in February 2021.

Born and raised in Carmarthen, Ma's grandfather arrived in Wales from China in the 1920s.

Her parents set up a Chinese takeaway in the 1970s and she took over the business with her brother in 2008.

Julie Ma won the Search For A Bestseller prize for her book Happy Families, which Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan called 'absolutely, bloody great'

Her love of reading and writing emerged from school and a local bookshop called Derrick Williams.

Ma said: 'I feel I should be pinched to wake me up.

'As most writers starting out know, it's worth building up a thick skin to deal with all of the rejections, so when I entered, I just expected to add another layer to my hide.

'But secretly, I was hoping Richard and Judy would enjoy hearing about the folk in the Chinese takeaway and the quirky town they live in. And they did.'

Madeley said: 'We thought Happy Families was great - absolutely, bloody great. It's a wonderful story, and she's such a talented, funny writer.

'We think this has real appeal to a wide audience and are thrilled to choose it as the winner. Julie Ma is a rare find.'

The prize for the book competition run by Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan will receive a £10,000 publishing deal, and have her work published by Welbeck in February 2021

Jon Elek, fiction publisher for Welbeck Publishing Group, said: 'From its waggish first page to its perfect ending, Happy Families was the bright shining star among the 900 submissions we received for the competition.

'Julie Ma's story of three generations of a Chinese immigrant family in rural Wales was a joy to read and we look forward to publishing it next year.

'It is sad, funny, moving and draws you into the lives of these fantastic characters who are all involved in one way or another with the running of a Chinese takeaway in a small town.

'To me, it had the charm of The Rosie Project, the warmth of The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry and the magic of Gavin And Stacey.'

The 2020 Richard and Judy Search For A Bestseller competition, supported by WHSmith, opened for submissions in July.

Unpublished writers were asked to submit an original fiction manuscript aimed at adults.

Previous winners include Caz Frear with Sweet Little Lies, Tracy Rees with Amy Snow and Claire Gradidge with The Unexpected Return of Josephine Fox.