Why Willows Weep, Pavilion Theatre, Brighton, May 27

"Encouraging people to stand and look upwards" is how writer Susan Elderkin described the aim of Woodlands Trust short story collection Why Willows Weep.

And judging by the reaction to the selection of forest-inspired fables from Elderkin, Chichester-based Kate Mosse and editor Tracy Chevalier, the audience at the Pavilion Theatre will be spending their summer considering the trees on their doorstep.

As Chevalier explained, the collection was inspired by a long car journey to Dorset with her husband, a trustee of the Woodland Trust, as a way to raise money and the profile of the charity.

The concept of the book is simple, 19 different authors telling the fable behind 19 of the 23 species of trees native to the UK - with only the hazel, elder, hornbeam and service left out.

Each of the guest writers opened the evening with a reading of their short story - Chevalier's a love story surrounding the silver birch, Elderkin focusing on the blackthorn, the ugliest tree in the forest, and Mosse inspired by the history behind 60 ancient yew trees in Kingly Vale.

All three owed a debt to Rudyard Kipling's classic Just So Stories and Aesop's Fables in terms of style, although using a tree as a subject added a slightly more ethereal and romantic edge.

Dr Katy Shaw, from the University Of Brighton, was the perfect host for the following discussion section - asking pertinent, direct and interesting questions, while allowing panel members space to speak.

The easy and natural conversation moved from the purpose of the book to taking in the writer's own use of nature as inspiration and the modern relevance of the short story form - all fascinating topics for writers and readers.