Book lovers who have missed a festival celebrating their favourite hobby are in for a treat this year.

Dorchester Literary Festival is returning next month with its most compelling line-up of authors to date.

The county town festival, to be held from October 9 to 16, will feature many brilliant speakers covering a hugely diverse range of subjects.

Television presenters Kate Humble and Jeremy Vine help make up this year's starry line-up.

Farmer, writer and activist Kate will be talking about her book A Year of Living Simply - a fresh and frank exploration of a stripped-back approach to life.

Meanwhile, BBC Radio 2 DJ and Eggheads presenter Jeremy will introduce his novel The Diver and the Lover, a story of love, art, politics and sacrifice that explores the lengths we will go to for who - or what - we love.

Organisers say that after we've all experienced challenging times with the pandemic the festival aims to give visitors exactly what they want this year - addressing pressing issues of the moment; delivering some solace and perspective through environment, biography and history and bringing us escapism in the form of sumptuous and thrilling novels.

Issues such as the climate emergency will be addressed with Jonathon Porritt's Hope In Hell and life on the frontline in the NHS will be examined with The Doctor Will See You Now by Dr Amir Khan.

Bestselling author Raynor Winn, who brought the charms of the South West Coast Path to a wider audience with her book The Salt Path, will talk about her new book The Wild Silence.

One of contemporary British fiction’s most famous double-acts, Nicci French, will also be providing bookworms with a treat. The husband and wife writing team Nicci Gerard and Sean French will speak about their new thriller The Unheard.

All author talks and additional workshops will be held at the Dorford Centre, Dorchester Library and Dorset Museum. Among the workshops is Dorset resident and popular crime writer Minette Walters' seminar on How To Write A Novel.

Organisers say tickets are selling fast and spaces are limited due to Covid measures so people are urged to book as soon as possible.

See dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/ for more information and tickets. Tickets can also be bought from Waterstones in Dorchester.