BRIDPORT Literary Festival kicks off this weekend with another exciting and varied line-up of speakers from the world of writing.

Tickets for many of the events in venues across the town have already sold out but there are still some seats left – visit the website bridlit.com for more information. Tickets can be bought online or from Bridport Tourist Information Centre (01308 424 901).

Now in its 13th season, the festival was spawned originally from The Bridport Prize – the internationally-respected award for poetry and short story writing. Six local literary minded residents got together late in 2004 to discuss the possibility of an annual feast of literature.

They included Chris Huxley, who was then the director of Bridport Arts Centre, Tanya Bruce-Lockhart, then director of the Beaminster Festival of Music and the Arts, Mark Culme Seymour, director of Eype Church for the Arts, Fergus Byrne, editor of the Marshwood Vale Magazine and writers James Crowden and Gijs van Hensbergen.

The Bridport Literary Festival then ignited in November of 2005. It has continued to grow from strength to strength ever since.

The festival’s main sponsors are Kitson & Trotman, solicitors and Waterstones with additional support from Specsavers, and the Bull Hotel and the Friends of the Bridport Literary Festival along with many local benefactors.

Festival director Tanya Bruce-Lockhart said: “We’re hugely grateful to our sponsors for supporting the festival. "November is usually a gloomy month when nothing much happens. The festival attracts visitors to the town at a particularly fallow time of year when tourism is limited and the economy needs a big boost”.

The festival opened on October 29 with a special event featuring musician Billy Bragg in conversation with Chris Huxley about his new book, Roots, Radicals and Rockers: How Skiffle Changed the World.

Politicians, historians, novelists and children’s writers are among those speaking at this year’s festival.

Ten days of events features fiction and non-fiction writers including politician Chris Patten with his memoir: First Confession, mountaineer Chris Bonington with his own Ascent: A Life Spent Climbing on the Edge and Claire Tomalin talking about A Life of My Own. Veteran war correspondents include Kate Adie, Martin Bell and Peter Snow and political journalists include Quentin Letts, Douglas Murray and Steve Richards. The Oldie Magazine is hosting a Literary Lunch at The Seaside Boarding House and the BridLit President, Julian Fellowes, is guest speaker at the annual Literary Dinner at The Bull Hotel.

A diversity of children’s events include the Waterstones Children’s Laureate, Chris Riddell, writer and illustrator of the Goth Girl series and storyteller Michael Loader who will host a Playshop: It’s All Greek and show for young children at the Youth and Community Centre.