A British author and an Alsager resident has won the Feminist Futures award in the United States - given to the author of "an outstanding work of feminist science fiction" and part of the prestigious Omega Sci-Fi awards.

Alsager town councillor, Jane Smith, has won the award for her "Salt Water" which imagines a female survivor navigating a world of rising sea levels as a consequence of climate breakdown.

Jane said: "It's an incredible honour to win this prize and I'm amazed and thrilled that my little story set in the sea resonates with people internationally."

It's the first piece of fiction which Jane, who usually writes non-fiction, often on environmental themes, has written and she's absolutely delighted.

 Jane, co-ordinator and the brains behind Smallwood Toad Patrols which cover roads near Sandbach and Alsager, has written about one of her other passions – toads but never non-fiction.

Smallwood Toad Patrols co-ordinator Jane Smith with her toad work

Last year, Jane was shortlisted for the Future Places Prize for Environmental Literature (UK) as well as the Van der Mey Prize for Non-Fiction (USA) for her piece 'Crossings'.

The Omega Sci-Fi Awards honour "writers who contribute their unique voices and diverse perspectives to the art of science fiction storytelling, while tapping into the power of science fiction to examine the greatest challenges and moral dilemmas that humanity faces."

While Salt Water is deliberately vague on location, Jane's original inspiration was the North Sea and the east coast of Scotland.

She was inspired to write the piece after being part of the COP 26 protests in Glasgow last year, and found that fiction, although a marked departure from her usual work, was the obvious vehicle for the piece.

The awards ceremony for the Feminist Futures and Roswell awards took place on Saturday in Los Angeles, with celebrity guests from the world of film and TV reading from the winners' works.

Salt Water was read by Karen Malina White, best known for her roles in the HBO series Veep and the film Lean On Me.

In her day job, the author is a town councillor in Alsager and deputy leader of the Animal Welfare Party. She has three children and two rescue dogs, and writes when she can between other commitments.

Last year she led the 'Warp and Weft' writing workshop at Macclesfield's Silk Museum, aiming to inspire and encourage beginning writers on their creative journeys.

She cites Margaret Atwood and Paul Kingsnorth, as well as Cheshire author Alan Garner, among her literary influences.

Smith, who doesn't fly for environmental reasons, attended the ceremony via Zoom.

Salt Water will be published by Artemis (USA) this Autumn.