DRINKERS at Lancaster pubs will get a bit of prose to go with their pints over the next couple of weeks.

For pubs and hotels across the area are taking part in a novel promotion from the New Pages project run by Lancaster LitFest. The prose comes in the form of short quotes on specially produced beer mats. New Pages reader-in-residence for the Lancaster District, Zosia Culbard, explains: "The idea behind the beer mats is to remind people how well a good book and a leisurely drink go together. We want to encourage people to get into the spirit of reading. For people who would like to get more out of their reading, we suggest they could try a new way of having Happy Hour - by joining a reading group." The New Pages project runs regular groups for people in Lancaster to get together to discuss the books they read and also for people interested in creative writing."