Doldrums by Atlas Weyland Eden is the winner of the 2024 Author of Tomorrow, 16-21 Category. 

Doldrums: At the Port of Leith, Edinburgh, 1880, Charles Dullrum joins a Scottish whaler bound for the Antarctic. Ever since his father died at sea, Dullrum has dreaded the open ocean, but his young wife and son are starving. Lured by the promise of fortune, he embarks on a year-long voyage, fighting storms, sickness and sea-madness. But the journey hardens him, changing him into Captain Doldrums, a man as brutal as the sea, willing to do whatever it takes to protect his family - by whatever means necessary.

You can find out more about Atlas on his website. 

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An interview with Atlas: 

WNSF: What is your favourite book?

Atlas: My favourite book is The Wind Road by Joanna Eden, who, by complete coincidence, is also my mother. It’s a beautiful time-slip story set in the landscape of her childhood, about colliers and smith-gods and swans. It’s been deeply inspiring watching her turn it from a notion into a novel and joining her on the journey.

WNSF: Who is your favourite author? Or one who has inspired you and why?

Atlas: I’ve always adored the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. As a child, Middle-earth inspired me to make my own world, and the myths of that world were the first stories I ever wrote. Tolkien’s love of language inspires me to explore the history of words, to better appreciate their deep resonance through time.

WNSF: What is your favourite subject at school?

Atlas: I’ve been home-schooled for most of my life. My mum taught me English, dragons, history, robotics, geography, puppetry, and mythology, while my dad taught me mathematics and magic, all of which are useful for creative writing. At the moment, my personal favourite is history. The past holds the best stories of all.

WNSF: What does ‘adventure writing’ mean to you? Why did you choose to try your hand at an adventure story?

Atlas: Doldrums was originally intended to be a historical fiction story. I wrote it one summer as part of the Imagining History Programme UK, but there’s a great deal of overlap between historical fiction and adventure writing. For me, an adventure story is about going on a journey externally and internally, exploring both the far reaches of the earth and the depths of a character’s soul.

WNSF: If you could ask an author anything, what would you want to know?

Atlas: I would ask, ‘How do you take your tea?’ You can learn a lot about an author from how they take their tea.

WNSF: Who would you consider one of your heroes and why?

Atlas: Winnie-the-Pooh. He’s everything I aspire to be: contentedly stumping about the forest, making up odd bits of poetry and popping over to a friend’s house for a little something.

WNSF: What is the most adventurous thing you would like to do, or place you would like to visit and why?

Atlas: If I ever heed my inner-Took and go on a grand adventure (though I also have an inner-Baggins who is quite happy staying home and enjoying a leisurely second breakfast) I would love to visit the world’s oldest trees. North America’s ancient redwoods, Japan’s 2,000-year-old cherry, Sweden’s 9,000-year-old pine. And upon returning home, I’d likely have a long nap under the humble 200-year-old oak in the garden.

WNSF: Where do you find inspiration for your stories?

Atlas: Many of my stories are the result of dancing in circles in the garden, with headphones, for a good long while. I find songs immensely inspiring. I watch a story play out in my mind, influenced by the music and the moment and whatever is bobbing about in my mind.

WNSF: If you could time travel, where would you go and why?

Atlas: I would go to 1940s Oxford and have a pint with J.R.R. Tolkien in The Eagle and Child. That or sit in the corner and eavesdrop on him debating with the Inklings.

WNSF: What three words would you use to describe your story?

Atlas: The pirate’s grave.