THIS year's literature programme, sponsored by Waterstones, features big names from the world of writing, including some homegrown talent.

Salisbury’s very own Barney Norris talks about his debut novel Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain.

Set in the city, the novel captures the lives of five ordinary people – a flower seller, a schoolboy, an army wife, a security guard, a widower – all facing their own personal challenges.

The former Bishop Wordsworth’s School student will be at The Salberg, Salisbury Playhouse on June 2.

Speaking ahead of his appearance, he said: “Every time I come back and do any work in Salisbury I feel proud to be spreading the message that art doesn’t have to come from other places: art can be us speaking. This talk is a great opportunity to keep passing that message on.”

Respected Maori author, Witi Ihimaera, joins the festival to talk about his novel The Whale Rider and the Maori legends upon which his many short stories are based. He will be at

The Whale Rider has become one of his best loved books and was made into a 2002 film, which is also being screened during the festival. He will be at Salisbury Arts Centre on June 11.

Join Michael Morpurgo for My Wellies Take Me, sponsored by Fawcetts, at the Arts Centre on June 5. It is a performance concert for all ages which follows nine-year-old Pippa on a May Day ramble. Narrated by actor Natalie Walter, Pippa’s lively commentary is interwoven with poetry read by Michael and his wife Clare, including verse by Séan Rafferty, Seamus Heaney, D H Lawrence, Robert Browning and Shakespeare, as well as traditional English songs. He will be appearing on June 5.

BBC Radio 2’s Vassos Alexander shares the highs and lows of running in his book Don’t Stop Me Now at The Salberg, Salisbury Playhouse, on June 4.

Join Dame Joan Bakewell at the Playhouse on June 3 to hear about her book, Stop the Clocks, and stories from her life. She has been a teacher, copy writer, studio manager, broadcaster, journalist, and the government’s Voice of Older People. and chair of a theatre company, Shared Experience.