A WRITING scheme for young people has seen a top novelist entertain the people of York.

American author Jean Hegland is the first incumbent of an annual writer-in-residence programme at York St John College, with the author marking her visit by hosting a reading and discussion of her work.

The writer-in-residence scheme sees a writer invited to the St John's College School of Arts for a period of three weeks each year.

Here in the city they advise students on their own writing, while meeting with classes across a range of arts subjects to discuss creative writing.

A native of California, Jean has recently completed a similar programme in Sicily.

She said: "It's a very invigorating and exciting thing to meet students and see their enthusiasm all over the world."

Jean's first novel, Into The Forest, has been a great success all over the world. It was published by Random House in Britain and has now been translated into 11 foreign languages.

To mark her visit, Jean has included time entertaining local people with a reading and discussion of her novel.

She held a public reading of the work at the college.

The college managed to secure the services of the noted author because of her 20-year friendship with Gweno Williams, a reader in literature studies and National Teaching Fellow.

Gweno said: "Jean's visit inaugurates an annual writer-in-residence scheme designed to inspire a generation of new writers among our students and in the York community."

Jean has welcomed the opportunity to visit the city and interact with the students.

She said: "For me, it's just so stimulating to work with students from different communities and backgrounds, and especially to be the first in a programme such as this."

Updated: 09:02 Friday, April 04, 2003