THE full line-up of authors and events at the inaugural Salisbury Literary Festival have been revealed and include bestselling author Philippa Gregory.

The event, which takes place from October 27-29, will be celebrating the city’s rich literary history and inspiring readers and writers of all ages

The brochure for the festival hits the streets of Salisbury and beyond with details of the full programme.

“It’s really exciting to see how popular the Salisbury Literary Festival is proving to be,” says festival director Tom Bromley. “With two months to go, well more than 200 tickets already have been sold so we expect a boost in sales once people have the brochure and see all there is on offer.”

The festival’s diverse programme includes interactive events such as a short story competition for three age groups, literary walks and writing workshops.

Venues are throughout the city, including Salisbury Library, Waterstones, Salisbury Playhouse, Sarum College, Salisbury Museum, Salisbury Cathedral and the Guildhall.

Highlights include:

Number one New York Times bestselling author Philippa Gregory, whose new book The Last Tudor is number one in the hardback non-fiction charts, will be in Salisbury Cathedral on Saturday, October 28.

Author of the Sunday Times hottest bestseller of 2017, Gail Honeyman, will talk about her debut, Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine.

Salisbury Greats events celebrate the city’s rich literary heritage: John Creasey and William Golding, and Terry Pratchett alone have sold almost 200 million books between them. For Pratchett fans of all ages there will be a family afternoon on all things Pratchett in Salisbury Library and Paul Kidby who designed the Discworld book will give an illustrated talk in Salisbury Museum.

The festival marks the 10th anniversary of Sir Charlie Stinkysocks with author Kristina Stephenson, festival patron and host of a fancy dress party at Salisbury Library.

Sunday, October 29 is dedicated to the craft of writing, bringing together leading literary agents, publishers, authors and creative writing teachers for a mixture of workshops and discussion panels. Alongside the likes of Rupert Wallis, Suzannah Dunn and Helen Bryant, there will also be Ask an Agent and Writing for Children panels. The Perspectives on Publishing session includes Mary-Anne Harrington, publisher of Maggie O’Farrell, whose new memoir is number one in the hardback non-fiction charts. Festival Patron and wildly successful novelist Mark Dawson will reveal secrets of self-publishing in the final session of the Writers’ Day.

Tickets are required for most events (including free sessions) and are available at salisburyliteraryfestival.co.uk Some will also be available to buy at Sarum College Bookshop.