This year’s Chiddingstone Castle Literary Festival will be held over four days, taking in the long bank holiday weekend, plus a schools’ day.

Running from Saturday, May 4 until Bank Holiday Monday, May 6, which is a family day, and into Tuesday, May 7, which is the day for schools to attend, the festival has its most ambitious programme to date.

There will be talks, performances and workshops in the historic house and grounds, carefully curated to ensure there is something for everyone of all ages and interests.

Subjects include: true crime at the Old Bailey, powerful women’s poetry, new insight on Henry VIII, soldiers’ stories from World War II, terrorism in Africa, cutting edge forensic science, 12 months of applied self-help books, cookery from home and abroad, adventures in wine, revealing memoirs, new fiction, the origins and future of humanity, letters between mothers and sons, the inside track on Brexit and the current political turmoil and television personalities.

Among the famous faces will be Giles and Mary from Gogglebox and wine expert Oz Clarke.

Fiction writers include bestselling author Joanne Harris who will divulge the inspiration behind her new Chocolat novel, The Strawberry Thief.

The children’s programme at the event includes marking 30 years of Wallace and Gromit with modelling workshops from Aardman Animations. Tickets and the programme at chiddingstonecastle.org.uk/literaryfestival.

Also attending the festival will be members of the Shakespeare Project led by Peter Basham, a professional actor from Tunbridge

Wells and member of the Royal Shakespeare Company. Their first production, Macbeth, will be staged at Salomons in Tunbridge Wells in November.

Read more: All the latest events and entertainments news across Kent