IT WAS billed as a party of words and they were certainly out in force in all their guises to entertain a packed hall, reports Jennie Dennett.

Poets, playwrights and novelists orated their rhyming words, stirring words and a few rude words to a 90-strong crowd at Ulverston's Word Party last Thursday the launch event for the next Word Market literary festival.

The winning entries from the E Short Story and Poetry Competition 2004, run with Word Market and www.thissithelakedistrict.co.uk, were read out - and ESSP 2005, with the theme of 'spaces' was lanuched.

The two-year-old festival is staging a full programme of events in south Cumbria to nurture new writers and readers with projects like song-writing competitions and script-writing workshops.

Word Party was a chance to celebrate winning a £50,000 Arts Council grant to keep Work Market going for another three years.

Star party guest was West Cumbrian novelist John Murray, author of Jazz etc, which was longlisted for last year's Booker. Murray entertained the Lanternhouse gathering with a reading covering the sexual antics of a promiscuous schoolmate from his new book Murphy's Favourite Channels.

Local talent also held their own with excellent performances from South Cumbria Poet Laureate Lucy Crispin, of Kendal; Ulverston-based Jo Stoney, from Fourth Monday Poets Ulverston; and MC Ann Wilson.

"It was a really good turn out and a great atmosphere," said Word Market project co-ordinator Linda Graham.

The event also raised £300 which will go towards the £80,000 Word Market needs to earn to match its grant funds.

Its next event is the Word Market Festival on February 4, 2005.