Literature crosses all political boundaries and nowhere was this more evident than in Derry this week. DUP mayor, Joe Miller, hosted a civic reception for the bright new star in the literary firmament, Antonia Logue, daughter of SDLP man and adviser to Seamus Mallon, Hugh Logue. Antonia hit the headlines when she received a £66,000 advance for her novel Shadow-Box and the mayor spoke of his "immense pride" in welcoming her back to the city.
SDLP leader and Nobel Prize winner, John Hume, put Logue in the great tradition of writers with Derry associations - Brian Friel, Seamus Heaney, Jennifer Johnston and Seamus Deane. Hume is running for Europe again, but speculation that he would go for the presidency of the Parliament has been played down by associates, who believe it would tie him down too much.