SIR Ian Rankin, Martin Clunes, Kate Humble and Vanessa Kisuule are among the wordsmiths heading to Somerset next month.

The Yeovil Literary Festival gets underway on October 10, with a programme designed to fit booklovers of all shapes and sizes.

St John The Baptist Church will be the venue for an event with multi-million selling Sir Ian Rankin, starting at 7pm on October 10, where he will be talking about his latest John Rebus novel, Midnight and Blue.

Meanwhile, Yeovil Library will get things going with Hazel Prior, returning to the town to introduce readers to Gone with the Penguins, a heart warming and charming final chapter of Veronica McCreedy’s story.

Rebecca Thorne, AJ West and Sharon Jacksties are a few other names that will be visiting the library between October 18 and 19.

The festival will get into full swing from Thursday, October 24, at Westlands Entertainment Venue.

A number of high-profile celebrity names will be at Westlands, with some in the Wheeldon Suites and others in the Ballroom.

Amy Jeffs will be taking over Wheeldon Suites 2 & 3 from 6pm on October 24, while Andrew Child will be discussing the 29th book of the incredibly popular Jack Reacher series from 4pm on October 26.

The Westlands Ballroom will host the likes of Kaleb Cooper, Kate Humble and Paul Sinha over Thursday and Friday, October 24 and 25.

Saturday and Sunday, October 26 and 27, will see more extraordinary authors talking about their new books, including Strictly favourite Janette Manrara, former Labour MP Alan Johnson and Carol Klein.

Late additions that didn’t make it into this year’s brochure are Fern Britton and Sue Cleaver, who will be joining the line up on Sunday, October 27, at 8pm and noon, while Luke Evans will be at Westlands Entertainment Venue on November 16 at 7.30pm.

“So as the month countdown begins, Yeovil Literary Festival will soon be here,” a spokesperson said. “2024 is set to be another successful year, so grab your tickets while you can.”

For full details, and to book tickets, visit yeovilliteraryfestival.co.uk/whats-on or call the Box Office at Westlands on 01935 422884.