Redcar'S Central Library will virtually welcome authors Nigella Lawson and Terry Pratchett today as World Book Day goes interactive.

The People's Network in Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's 13 branch libraries allows borrowers to log on and see, hear and talk to the writers, with a large projection screen being set up in Redcar.

The authors, as well as others such as Andy McNab, Meera Syal and John Sergeant, will be beamed into libraries and homes by organisers of the book day.

Readers are also being invited to nominate the book they would take to a desert island.

Users of Redcar's Roseberry Square Library can test their knowledge at a World Book Day quiz, while detective stories are being featured for fans of crime thrillers in Skelton.

At Grangetown, library members can join staff for a coffee and a book talk.

Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council's lending services officer, Ian Wilson, said: "We have always taken part in World Book Day, but this year will certainly be a different experience."

To join in the celebrity talks, log on to www.worldbookdayfestival.com.