Literati plant trees for books - 03/04/09

An avenue of trees has been planted by literary heavyweights in a symbolic gesture designed to help compensate for the wood used in producing books.

The decision by Booker Prize judges to plant saplings at a woodland in Theydon Bois, Essex, also marked the announcement of the "Booker Dozen" - the 13 titles longlisted for the award.

A group led by Michael Portillo, the chair of last year's panel, planted 13 oak saplings at the 97-acre site, close to Epping Forest, in move which they say could become an annual event and even lead to a Man Booker forest of native trees.

More than 100 novels were submitted for last year's prize, which was won by Aravind Adiga for The White Tiger.

Ion Trewin, literary director of the Man Booker Prize, said: "I can't think of a more fitting way of putting something back."

Laura Judson from the Woodland Trust, which owns the site, said: "There is no better way to illustrate the direct connection between the vast amount of print material consumed in the name of literature and the raw materials required to produce it, not to mention the huge importance of tree planting in one of the least forested countries in Europe."

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