A popular literature festival will be making a welcomed return - with tickets now on sale.

The Dorchester Literature Festival will returning this October.

Over the five days, there will be more than thirty speakers, including Vince Cable, Julian Fellowes, Joanna Trollope, Orla Kiely, Jeremy Vine, Lynne Truss, Judy Murray and Mark Austin. Authors will be talking on subjects as diverse as escaping a survivalist Mormon family; food foraging; the dangers of over-prescription; the suffragette movement and seeking the abominable snowman.

Janet Gleeson, who founded the Literary Festival in 2015 together with Paul Atterbury, is delighted with the mix of literature, nature, history and current affairs.

She said: "We know our audiences enjoy a wide range of subjects, which is something we work hard to achieve when putting the schedule together.

"Last year we sold more than 3,500 tickets for 24 core events. This year we’ve increased the size of some of our venues, adding both Thomas Hardye School and the Corn Exchange, and with more than 30 core events scheduled we hope to increase our visitor numbers. Given that we’re still a relatively young festival, we’re thrilled that it’s now established as one of Dorchester’s main cultural events."

This year saw the introduction of the Hall & Woodhouse DLF Writing Prize, and the winner, Philip Browne, with his book, ‘The Unfortunate Captain Peirce and the Wreck of the Halsewell’ was announced in July.

Mr Browne said: "We launched the prize in order to provide a forum for the many local authors who contacted us, wanting to be involved in the festival.

"In our first year we had 53 entries, and we hope the prize will continue to grow, throwing a spotlight on the wealth of talented writers we have in the South West."

This year’s programme also includes a session on how to edit your novel professionally - again demonstrating the festival’s desire to help writers as well as readers.

The festival will run from Wednesday, October 17 until Sunday, October 21.

Tickets can be purchased online at dorchesterliteraryfestival.com or at the Tourist Information Centre based in Dorchester Library.