ANNE Brontë is 200 this year – and you’re invited to the party!

The Brontë Society will on January 17 host a birthday bash for the youngest of Haworth’s novel-writing siblings to kick off a year of celebrations.

The aim of many activities throughout 2020 will be to highlight Anne’s talent and achievements amidst the shadow of her more famous sisters Charlotte and Emily.

The older sisters, along with brother Branwell, have been the subject of major bicentennial celebrations over the past few years.

The birthday party will run from 6pm at the Delius Arts and Cultural Centre, Great Horton Road, Bradford, and is jointly organised by the South Square Centre in Thornton – the village where Anne was born – and the Brontë Parsonage Museum in Haworth.

There will be live music, poetry, and dancing; performances by musicians, poets and DJs; and a chance to try zine-making, badge-making and other DIY crafts.

A spokesman said: “Anne is often thought of as the ‘other Brontë’, but she was a talented novelist, poet, visual artist and musician. This event is inspired by her creativity and the conviction with which she held her beliefs.”

The full programme for 2020 will be unveiled in the next few weeks but highlights are set to include Haworth events with authors Ruta Sepetys, Maggie O’Farrell, Andrew Michael Hurley, Jess Moor and Nuala Ellwood.

Andrew Michael Hurley is a British writer whose Costa Award-winning debut novel, The Loney, set around Morecambe Bay, was described as a dark version of the Nativity that explored ideas of faith and belief.

Subsequent novel Devil’s Day explored myth, landscape and horror, while last year’s Starve Acre atmospherically portrayed a couple wrestling with grief over the death of their son.

Ruta Sepetys is a Carnegie Medal-winning Lithuanian-American writer of historical fiction for young adults. Her first novel, Between Shades of Gray, portrayed the Genocide of Baltic people after the Soviet occupation in 1941.

In 2002 she was featured in Rolling Stone magazine’s “Women in Rock” special issue as a woman driven to make a difference. She has been described as a “seeker of lost stories” who hopes to give voice to those who weren’t able to tell their story.

The Brontë Parsonage Museum, run by the Brontë Society, will on February 1 unveil its major 2020 exhibition Anne Brontë: Amid The Brave And Strong.

The Brontë Parsonage Museum will host its annual Parsonage Unwrapped event on January 18 at 2pm when literature fans can take a peek behind the scenes during the museum’s annual closed period.

The spokesman said: “Parsonage Wrapped offers exclusive access during our busiest and most exciting time of year, and the chance to experience the museum as you’ve never seen it before.

Tickets cost £25 (£22.50 concessions) by calling 01535 640192.

The Brontë Society programme will also include artists Lindsey Tyson and Sarah Dew, who will present Go Back With Me, a visual, tactile and audio exhibition that explores the emotional importance of ‘place’ in Anne Brontë’s life.

Tickets for the society’s Summer Festival weekend will go on sale to the public in May, and there will also be events featuring comedy duo LipService and artist Samantha Ellis. The Parsonage Museum will partner Weavers Guesthouse and local calligrapher Phylecia Sutherland for a weekend retreat.

To mark Anne’s birthday there will be several events taking place in her beloved Scarborough on January 17-19 including talks, musical performances, storytelling and a candlelit walk to the beach.

Visit bronte.org.uk/whats-on for further information on events.