CORNWALL is taking part in Britain's largest ever reading project, which will be launched in the county on Thursday (January 11) with special ceremonies at Falmouth library and at the Harlyn Ward at the Royal Cornwall Hospital.

SmallIsland Read 2007 builds on the success of the 2006 South West Great Reading Adventure, which saw over 50,000 people join in reading Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days.

Organisers hope that tens of thousands of people from Scotland to Cornwall will join in this year's project and read SmallIsland by Andrea Levy.

Cornwall's main launch will be at Falmouth Library at 3pm on Thursday and the ceremony will have a Jamaican theme, with readings from SmallIsland, poetry readings by Caroline carver and members of the Falmouth Poetry group. Tropical refreshments and live music.

Fifty thousand copies of SmallIsland will be distributed across the country along with 80,000 copies of a full-colour, illustrated guide containing information on the author and background material.

Further information can be obtained by visiting www.smallislandread.com