A poetry slam, TV newsman Jon Snow, veteran politician Tony Benn and a Booker Prize winner are highlights of this year's Birmingham Book Festival.
The highly acclaimed festival, now in its sixth year, will launch on National Poetry Day and organisers say it will feature 40 "more exciting and diverse events than ever before".
Festival Poetry Slam is a competitive poetry match, and there are also writing workshops and book launches with high profile figures including novelist and screenplay writer Hanif Kureshi, and Irish writer and Booker Prize winner Roddy Doyle.
A National Poetry Day festival dinner features dishes created by Roz Goddard, Birmingham's poet laureate 2003-2004, and performance poet Richard Grant.
For the first time, bookworms will be able to reserve tickets for some events by text.
A festival spokesman said: "This is our sixth book festival and it feels like the most exciting so far.
"The festival will cover a great breadth of styles and genres with personal and interactive appearances from high profile authors in venues across the city.
"We have more events this year than ever before and will be welcoming over 40 writers to Birmingham - novelists, historians, politicians, social commentators, storytellers, crime writers, radio drama writers, poets and theorists as well as short story writers."
Roz will also be the festival's first "writer in residence", and will run poetry workshops.
Other authors making an appearance include Phillipa Gregory, David Lodge, Jim Crace, Lesley Glaister, Jill Nelson, Manda Scott and Helen Cross.
The event, sponsored by Orange, runs from October 7 to 22.
* Tickets are available from Birmingham Central Library on 0121 236 5622 or by visiting www.bbfo4.co.uk. A festival brochure is available from info@bookcommunications.co.uk or 0121 246 2774.
