LITERATURE rocks in Swindon. This is the message from Matt Holland after the Arts Council handed Swindon £36,258 to set up a full development plan for literature in the town.

And the literature development worker said Lower Shaw Farm's reputation as a literary hotbed played a major role in securing the funding.

The application for the grant was made by Swindon Council's arts services manager Helen Miah, together with Mr Holland, and will see a three-year programme of work, dubbed Artswords.

Artswords will deliver an extended programme of literature development work in Swindon.

It follows a two-year programme that established Artswords as a borough-wide literature development initiative, working closely with the Swindon Festival of Literature and Swindon libraries, among other partner organisations.

The programme will support existing reader groups and help launch new ones, continue to celebrate national reading dates such as World Book Day and will also see an annual readers' day formed, which will bring together readers, booksellers, library staff and publishers.

A new mentoring programme for writers will also be set up, as will a programme of live literature activities.

All these initiatives are designed to make Swindon a centre of excellence for literature in the south west, according to Mr Holland, pictured.

"Support of this kind from the Arts Council of England represents recognition of what has been achieved in literature in Swindon," he said.

"It also demonstrates that they have faith in greater things still to come in terms of writing, reading, live literature, and word-based activities in Swindon."

And he admitted that recently under-threat Lower Shaw Farm did play a part in the award of the grant.

He said: "I would say the activities of Lower Shaw Farm did help.

"The Swindon Festival Of Literature is a project which Lower Shaw Farm is associated with. It was born here. Its head office is here and the team that runs it is here."

Coun Justin Tomlinson, the lead member for leisure, recreation and culture, also welcomed the Arts Council grant.

He said: "This is a huge step forward for the development of literature in Swindon."