AN AUTHOR whose book has been chosen as the star of a city-wide reading festival says he is delighted to have been embraced by his adopted city of Brighton and Hove.

Paul McVeigh, originally from Northern Ireland but who now lives in Brighton, is this year's City Reads 2016 author.

The citywide festival of reading during April and May is part of the Brighton Festival and will see Mr McVeigh's debut book, The Good Son, read and discussed at events across the city.

Mr McVeigh said: “When I moved to Brighton a few years ago, one of the first things I did was volunteer for City Reads to celebrate books and get to know my new city.

"Who could believe that just a few years later my book would be chosen and my adopted city would adopt me right back?

"That it will be part of the 50th Anniversary of the Brighton Festival is such an honour. I can’t wait to get started.”

The Good Son traces the story of Mickey Donnelly as he tries to protect his mother and sister from the Troubles and from his father, in the Ardoyne district of Belfast.

Sarah Hutchings, artistic director of City Reads, said choosing one book for a whole city to read and celebrate "brings people together".

She said Mr McVeigh’s book was the "perfect choice" - particularly as 2016 marks the centenary of the Easter Rising, a rebellion that led to the eventual signing of the Anglo Irish Treaty and the creation of Northern Ireland.

She added: "I defy anyone not to fall in love with its protagonist Mickey Donnelly. He’s clever, naive and hilariously funny. I hope you love it as much as we do at City Reads."

Christopher Hamilton-Emery, marketing and publicity director at Salt Publishing, which published Mr McVeigh's book, said it was a tragicomic classic in the making.

He added: "Using the voice of a 10-year-old Belfast boy in the midst of the Troubles to explore a brutal landscape with charm, comedy and just the odd touch of darkness. It's a book about wild dreams, your idiot brother and your crazy Ma."