Ten copies of The Poets’ Wives hiddenabout Londonderry

The novel is the chosen title for the One City, One Book Belfast 2014 campaign and members of the public are being encouraged to be on the lookout for the books hidden across the city this weekend as part of the Arts Council’s Great Literary Book Hunt.

From local parks, to bus stations, famous landmarks and even theatres – the books are out there for the taking.

One City One Book is a community reading programme developed by the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, to get everyone in the city reading and discussing the same book throughout the month of May. One City One Book promotes reading and celebrate contemporary writing from Northern Ireland. The campaign is supported by Libraries NI, Belfast City Council, QFT, Belfast Telegraph, Faber and Faber, U105, Translink and Clements.

The focus of this year’s initiative is Co. Down author David Park’s new novel, The Poets’ Wives. A story of love, loss and betrayal, told through the voices of three women, living in different times and different places.

The One City One Book campaign will also include a series of events, many of which are free, including readings by the author, talks in libraries and film screenings at the QFT, curated by the author and based on the themes within the book.

Damian Smyth, Head of Literature and Drama at the Arts Council said: “The Great Literary Book Hunt is a fun opportunity for people to re-discover the joy of reading and to find and keep their very own copy of this year’s One City One Book read.

“This year’s choice, The Poets’ Wives is by one of our most successful contemporary authors. It’s a novel which will capture the imagination and I’ve no doubt it will be a popular choice this year.”