AUTHORS and illustrators shared the joys of reading with hundreds of schoolchildren as Bookfeast returned for its seventh year.

The festival at St Hugh's College in North Oxford brought together 1,600 youngsters from 21 primary schools across the county and 19 authors and illustrators.

The four day event from Tuesday to Friday featured a range of talks with the goal of inspiring and enthusing children about reading.

Festival director Angie Prysor-Jones said: "It was fabulous, it is all about inspiring children to read and we have this beautiful college setting.

"We want to show them that the college is an ordinary place and St Hugh's has been fantastic and genuinely welcoming.

"We want to create a joy of reading and a habit of reading.

"It is not all about SATs and literacy levels and that is so important."

Children had the chance to buy books at the festival at stalls run by Blackwell's and have them signed by visiting authors.

Ms Prysor-Jones said: "It is lovely when you see them walking back to their buses with their noses buried in the books they have bought."

Among the authors and illustrators at the event were Cas Lester, Jo Cotterill, Tom Moorhouse and Clare Vulliamy.

Piers Torday, whose works include The Last Wild and There May Be A Castle, spoke on Thursday.

He said: "What was really good was seeing so many local Oxford and Oxfordshire children sitting in the heart of an Oxford University college.

"The children were really engaged and full of questions.

"I talked to them about how I became a writer and I was inspired to write when Roald Dahl visited my school.

"I had a letter from him that I showed to them.

"It is incredible when you speak to schoolchildren. You have a real sense of responsibility.

"If you take to a room of 300 children and inspire one to want to find out more about reading and books then you can say you have made a difference."