British author Geraldine McCaughran holds a blank book, in which she will write the Peter Pan sequel, in London on Sunday. (Reuters)

London, March 13 (Reuters): British author Geraldine McCaughrean fought off 100 writers from around the world on Sunday to land a daunting literary challenge ? writing the authorised sequel to Peter Pan.

?I am delighted beyond words,? said McCaughrean after being picked by a London children?s hospital which owns the rights to J.M. Barrie?s classic tale of Tinkerbell, Wendy, Captain Hook and the boy who never grew up.

?It is an astonishing, daunting privilege to be let loose in Neverland armed with nothing but a pen,? she said.

The Great Ormond Street hospital launched the search for a sequel last year to mark the centenary of the classic and to keep much needed funds flowing when the copyright runs out ? in Europe in 2007 and in the US in 2023.

The judges, flooded with entries from South America, Australia, the US and Europe, opted for a homegrown author to extend the life of Barrie?s immortal characters.

McCaughrean, author of over 130 books and plays and the only writer ever to capture the Whitbread Children?s Book Award three times, won with her sample chapter and synopsis of a follow-up tale called ?Captain Pan?.