A campaign to celebrate Norwich by telling its stories has been launched in inspiring style.

Eastern Daily Press: Peter Wilson speaks at the launch of Visit Norwich City of Stories at The Library.Picture by SIMON FINLAY.Peter Wilson speaks at the launch of Visit Norwich City of Stories at The Library.Picture by SIMON FINLAY.

Guests packed into The Library Bar and Grill to kick-start the 12-week City of Stories project, with poetry readings and live music last night.

The campaign aims to collate people's writing about the city, from their experiences to fiction set there, and enthuse people to enjoy what is here.

Nick Bond, head of tourism at Visit Norwich, said he was 'thrilled' to be celebrating the launch of the campaign to promote the city.

He explained that its aim was to get people talking about Norwich digitally, with a range of city-related subjects to be covered - from food and Norwich at night to architecture and family activities.

Eastern Daily Press: Echoes in the Wall play at the launch of Visit Norwich City of Stories at The Library.Picture by SIMON FINLAY.Echoes in the Wall play at the launch of Visit Norwich City of Stories at The Library.Picture by SIMON FINLAY. (Image: Archant Norfolk.)

Norwich funk band Killamonjambo performed, along with Echoes in the Well, after a series of speeches.

Among those was Henry Layte, of Norwich independent book shop The Book Hive, who helped publish A Girl is a Half-formed Thing by Norwich author Eimear McBride.

The book, which had been rejected by publisher after publisher for almost a decade, won the Women's Prize for Fiction this year.

Mr Layte told the assembled guests that Norwich was a catalyst that helped things to happen.

'When you say you're going to do something here, everybody says 'alright - how can I help',' he said.

Peter Wilson, chief executive of the Theatre Royal, told of the city's arts scene as the 'envy of the UK' and great literature that has 'poured out'.

'What we want now is a very long and happy middle to our story,' he said.

The campaign's principal sponsor is Norwich BID, and it is being backed by the Norwich Evening News.

The theme for the first week of the campaign is Through the Eye of the Beholder and it is sponsored by Theatre Royal Norwich.

People are being urged to join the conversation online by tweeting using #cityofstories