For aspiring writers, the biggest goal is getting published and being able to officially call themselves an author. As we all know, it’s never too late to follow your dreams of becoming a writer.

As it turns out, it’s never too early to start either. One 5-year-old girl from Weymouth in England already has two major accomplishments under her belt: being a published author, and being awarded the Guinness World Records title for world’s youngest published author!

Photo: Guinesss World Records

5-year-old Bella-Jay Dark took her parents by surprise last year when she told them her plans to write a book. At first, her family assumed it was simply “one of those things” kids say, but then the young girl followed through! And now, she is the proud published author of her very first book, The Lost Cat, which has been officially published by Ginger Fyfe Press.

Since its debut, the book has sold more than 1,000 copies. This then led to the young Bella being awarded the Guinness World Records title, as she fit the criteria for the title. The criteria for eligibility meant that the book in question needed to be published by a commercial publishing house, as well as having at least 1,000 copies be printed and sold.

Guinness World Records was able to confirm that Bella, at the exact age of 5 years and 211 days old, was indeed the youngest person in the world to publish a book and meet the criteria. The previous record-holder was Dorothy Straight, who published her book, How the World Began, back in 1964 at the age of 6.

Photo: Amazon

Bella, the new record holder, shared that her idea for “The Lost Cat” came from one of her drawings.

As the young child explained to GWR, “It started off as a picture. My daddy said I could make a book and a story came from the picture.”

Once it was a story, Bella and her father went to a book fair, and it was there that there was interest shown in publishing it. As Bella’s mom, Chelsie Syme, shared, Bella has always had a vivid imagination. She also shared that the young girl has been writing little stories “from as young as three.”

Photo: Guinesss World Records

According to the Daily Mail, her mother said, “We are just so proud of Bella and honestly can’t believe how amazing this is. We’re also so grateful of the support and acknowledgment she has already received so far and she deserves this so much. She has always thrived off positivity from people – she just loves reading and drawing.”

If that isn’t incredible enough of an accomplishment, Bella even did the illustrations in her book all by herself! There was only one exception, the picture at the end of the book which was drawn by her sister, Lacie May.

Looks like Bella has a bright and promising publishing career ahead of her!