Mere Literary Festival, which raises money for charities in the town and surrounding area, has now been running for over 20 years, and continues to go from strength to strength.
This year’s line-up features a wide range of authors and organisers are thrilled that Maddie Mortimer, longlisted for the 2022 Booker Prize, is opening the event.
The five-day festival runs from Tuesday to Saturday 11-15 October with talks in three venues in the centre of Mere. Talks will be held on a Saturday for the first time making it more accessible to people who work during the week.

Fiction features in many of the 15 talks but there are also talks on wild swimming, cattle farming, the painting of the Mona Lisa, making cider and the biography of murder, to name a few. Mere has several local pubs and cafes to visit between talks.
Programmes are being distributed to bookshops, libraries, cafes and other venues in towns and villages around Mere. Information is also available, along with links to buy tickets, at the website, www.mereliteraryfestival.com