18 July, 2017 marks 200 years since the death of Jane Austen. The beloved author holds a special place in many people's hearts, whether for her acerbic wit in the narration of her novels, her wonderful heroines or even the fantastic adaptations the novels have inspired.

A play with huge jeopardy that suffered from little rehearsal time and a short running time.

Read Arts Award Education Manager Annabel Thomas's review of The Stars at Oktober Bend - a CILIP Carnegie Medal shortlisted title

Read Alan Lynch's (Arts Award Support Officer, Education) review for Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, one of the CILIP Carnegie Medal shortlisted titles

This year we are thrilled to be working closely with CILIP and the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children's Book Awards to help spread the word that not only is reading great fun, it can also contribute to achieving an Arts Award!

Read Arts Award Administrator Shaun Smith's review for Railhead, one of the CILIP Carnegie Medal shortlisted titles

Read Arts Award Associate (Museum, Heritage and Libraries) Caroline Bray's review for Wolf Hollow, CILIP Carnegie Medal shortlisted title

Prominent Turkish writer Elif Shafak discusses her new novel, the political situation in Turkey and how it has influenced her writing.

The man behind Doctor Who, Sherlock and the League of Gentleman has gained somewhat mythical status in the writing world. Mark Gatiss's eccentric nature definitely lived up to the legend behind him.

Are we ready to let go of the humble book and fully embrace its digital counterpart? Sienna shares the Part C, Form a View, from her Gold Arts Award.

As a founding member of comedy group Monty Python and celebrated for revolutionising the travel documentary genre, Michael Palin remains at the forefront of the British identity.

Ellen Orange speaks to Sam Baker, a journalist and co-founder of The Pool, and author of The Woman Who Ran, about her career in writing and her new book.