Arts Diary: Will Marriott

And a perfect demonstration of this came this week when the shortlist was announced for The Orange Prize for fiction. The only annual UK prize specifically for fiction by women includes Rosie Alison's The Very Thought of You.

Alison's book tells the story of a young girl evacuated to Yorkshire during the war, who ends up seeing things not meant for

her eyes.

Its success is all the more striking as Rosie has yet to have her novel reviewed by a national newspaper.

Now, some authors might kick up a stink if they were shortlisted for such a famous prize and had not yet been reviewed, but not this Yorkshirewoman. She's actually relieved the book hasn't been reviewed, saying: "It would be very easy for a cynic to write it off in a few dismissive lines."

Good luck to Rosie going up against Hilary Mantel and the other four shortlisted authors.

Roger Bingham, the Sheffield actor who spearheaded the Save the Lyceum campaign in 1969, has recently thrown his weight behind a new cause – Sheffield's bid to become the first UK City of Culture in 2013.

Forty years on, Roger has come full circle – recently cast alongside Antony Sher in An Enemy of the People which reopened The Crucible Theatre in February 2010 after a 15m refit.

Sheffield currently has the biggest theatre complex outside London which is a key asset to the city's cultural offer. Without Roger's hard work, determination and campaigning, Sheffield would not have such a strong cultural story to tell.

Roger explains: "I have lived in the Sheffield area all my life and, as a professional and amateur actor, I have performed on every stage in the city.

"I was joint founder of the campaign to save the Lyceum Theatre in 1969 when it closed and was faced with demolition. This kept me active for six years until the building was 'listed' and its future made safe.

"I have acted in many long tours of the UK and cannot think of a city more entitled and better equipped to be City of Culture than the excitingly vital new Sheffield."

To find out more about Sheffield's UK City of Culture bid, visit www.sheffieldcityofculture.com and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

As though to demonstrate the power of a good book, it has been revealed that Yorkshire political rivals Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague and Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable are united in literature.

Revealing their favourite books for the Waterstone's Politicians' Table, the Yorkshire-born MPs showed that while they may have their political differences, they do agree on one thing – the brilliance of Sebastian Faulks's much-loved Birdsong which made it on to both of their lists.

William Hague called it "My favourite novel. It captures brilliantly the ultimate horror of war waged underground, alongside a dramatic love

story". Vince Cable said the novel is "gripping and humane amidst the horrors. It reminds me of what my grandfather and his contemporaries endured".