FANS of the best-selling author, Alexander McCall Smith, will have the opportunity to get up close and personal at a special event in Worcester Cathedral.

The event will take place on Wednesday, May 27, and the Bishop of Worcester, John Inge, will host a question and answer session with the author, and there will also be the opportunity to attend an exclusive drinks reception before the event. All proceeds from both events are being shared between the Three Choirs Festival and Berega Hospital in Morogoro, Tanzania.

An event spokesman said: "Berega Hospital is in the Diocese of Morogoro, Tanzania, with which the Diocese of Worcester has a friendship link. Money was collected for Berega Hospital in memory of Denise Inge, Bishop John’s wife who died on Easter Sunday last year. Denise’s last book, A Tour of Bones, was published earlier this year and included a commendation written by Alexander McCall Smith.

"Mr McCall Smith is one of the world’s most prolific and most popular authors, writing or editing well over 100 books, including his highly successful No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, which has sold over twenty million copies. His various series of books have been translated into over forty-six languages and become bestsellers through the world. They include the 44 Scotland Street novels, the Isabel Dalhousie novels, the Von Igelfeld series, and the Corduroy Mansions series."

Bishop John said McCall Smith was "a huge talent with books that appeal to a wide variety of people".

He added: "The chance to ask him questions about his work doesn’t come around very often and I’m looking forward to kicking it all off with a few of my own. I hope that lots of people will be able to join me in the cathedral and raise a significant amount of money for the two charities.”

Tickets for the exclusive drinks reception at 5.45pm in the Chapter House will cost £10 and there will be priority seating for those who have also bought tickets for the question and answer session. Tickets for both the reception and the question or answer session are available now on 0845 6521823 or online from www.3choirs.org