Leicester Literary Festival speaks volumes

A wise man once said: "reading is to the mind what exercise is to the body". So if you're still with us, you can rest assured it'll do you some good. But if you really want to flex those mental muscles, the Literary Leicester Festival is a must.

An impressive selection of top writers is heading to the University of Leicester from Wednesday, for the city's second annual festival of its kind.

The four-day event is an inspiring celebration and will be packed with literary readings, talks and presentations from authors including Jacqueline Wilson, Meg Rosoff and Sarah Waters.

The festival will open with readings by the eminent poet, writer and broadcaster Peter Porter.

He has published a number of acclaimed poetry collections, and has been awarded the Duff Cooper Memorial Prize, the Whitbread Poetry Award and the 2002 Queen's Gold Medal for Poetry.

His most recent collection, Better than God, has been shortlisted for the Forward Prize for best poetry collection of the year.

Sarah Waters – the author of the award-winning Victorian novels Tipping the Velvet, Affinity and Fingersmith – is in conversation with Emma Parker on Thursday, November 12.

Her latest novel, The Little Stranger, was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize.

Saturday is a time for young book worms. Acclaimed children's writer Jacqueline Wilson will read from her latest book, Hetty Feather, and answer questions about her work.

Tickets have already been snapped up for this session, but there is also the opportunity to meet the award-winning author Meg Rosoff, who will talk about her books, including her latest novel The Bride's Farewell.

Pekko's Puppets will perform two well-loved fairy tales, Red Riding Hood and The Princess and the Pea.

Other highlights of the festival include distinguished critic, reviewer and author John Carey on the work of William Golding, and a panel of TV writers discussing how they entered the profession, how television scripts are commissioned, and the different demands of television, film and stage, and opportunities for young writers.

R J Ellory's new book, The Anniversary Man, is a chilling tale of serial murder. An Evening with the author, will bring the festival to a close.

Info

The literary festival is to be held at the University of Leicester, from Wednesday to Saturday, November 14.

All events are free, although some are by ticket only, available from Rebecca Vickerman on 0116 252 2320 or e-mail: rv40@le.ac.uk

For more details see: www.le.ac.uk/literaryleicester