In Letters of Note: Art, Shaun Usher celebrates extraordinary correspondence about art, from missives on the agony of being overlooked, the ecstasy of producing work that excites, to surprising sources of inspiration and rousing manifestos. 

A star-studded cast of readers brings the letters to life, with contributions from Sanjeev Bhaskar, Louise Brealey, Simon Callow, Crystal Clarke, Benedict Cumberbatch, Stephen Fry, Neil Gaiman, Toby Jones, Ferdinand Kingsley, Jude Law, Helen McCrory, Stephen Mangan, Clarke Peters, Juliet Stevenson, Mark Strong and Meera Syal.

The collection features letters by Michelangelo, Frida Kahlo, Oscar Howe, Martin Scorsese, Henri Matisse, Augusta Savage, Vincent van Gogh and many more. 

Letters of Note: Art also includes audio exclusive bonus content drawn from recordings made at performances of Letters Live, the live events series produced by Canongate in partnership with SunnyMarch and Shaun Usher. Enjoy Noel Fielding reading Salvador Dali’s letter to Federico García Lorca at London’s Union Chapel and Ian McKellen reading Kurt Vonnegut’s letter to the students of Xavier High School at the Freemasons’ Hall. 

Ten per cent of the proceeds* received from this audiobook will be made available by the publisher, Canongate Books, to The National Literacy Trust for their work with improving the reading, writing, speaking and listening skills in the UK's poorest communities, with a focus on children and young people.

The National Literacy Trust is a registered charity in the UK with charity numbers 1116260 and 5836486 (England/Wales), and SC042944 (Scotland).

*Proceeds means the cash-price or cash-equivalent price less sales taxes.

Full list of narrators: Benedict Cumberbatch, Sanjeev Bhaskar, Louise Brealey, Simon Callow, Crystal Clarke, Stephen Fry, Neil Gaiman, Toby Jones, Ferdinand Kingsley, Jude Law, Helen McCrory, Stephen Mangan, Clarke Peters, Juliet Stevenson, Meera Syal