The programme for this year’s festival is now fixed, with an opening event on Saturday 9th October and the main events running from Friday 5th to Sunday 7th November. We have a wonderful array of speakers, local , national and international including: Ann Cleeves, creator of Shetland and Vera; Paul Atterbury, forty-year stalwart of Antiques Road Show; harpist and local author, Hazel Prior, whose wonderful latest novel Away With the Penguins is a Richard and Judy Book Club pick for 2021; Mike Thomson, BBC Correspondent, talking about the Secret Library in Syria; and Alfie Moore from BBC Radio’s It’s A Fair Cop.

We are keeping everything crossed we will be able to run a full set of events this year with no changes or cancellations. But if we’ve learned anything from the past 18 months, it’s that we should expect the unexpected. So we’re not giving any guarantees. And if we do need to make changes at the last minute, it’s really helpful to be able to get the word out as widely as possible. If you’re not already on our mailing list, why not sign up now and get all the latest news as soon as it’s available.