Ann Atkinson, who was the Poet Laureate of the Peak District in 2008, and Derbyshire Poet Laureate from 2009 to October 2011, has died aged 64. She was originally from County Durham, but lived in the Peak District for over thirty years.

While the Poet Laureate, Ann produced two collections, Drawing Water and From Matlock to Mamelodi: 5000 miles of poetry with the Derbyshire Poet Laureate Ann Atkinson.

She wrote about all things local – or example, she produced a booklet of poems sold at the Bakewell Show.

Tea Time
In the stall next to their Simmental bull,
they've plugged the kettle in, set out
chairs and table, have cut the cake
and are enjoying tea.

The bull's so big they've left the gate ajar.
He's lying down, ruminating, his back
a sofa, his breath is tripe and steaming hay,
his hide the colour of a coat I'd like to wear.

Her work can also be seen in the form of public art, at The Hub in South Normanton; Blackwell Miners Welfare Cricket Ground; and the Companion Stone in Longshaw Park.

The writer Maeve Binchy, author of 16 novels, novellas and short story collections, has died aged 72 after a short illness.

She trained as a teacher and wrote her first novel in 1972. She described her style as writing how she spoke, and is remembered as warm, gentle and supportive to other writers.

Maeve Binchy's books at Peak Volumes.