York Literature Festival 18 - 28th March at venues around York

York Literature Festival returns for its fourth outing in March 2010, with a splendid line-up of local and national talent, including York-born Kate Atkinson, one of the UK's most popular novelists and Jim Crace, author of Quarantine. Also appearing are Jon McGregor, author of 'If Nobody Speaks Of Remarkable Things', and popular novelist Andrew Martin. There's also a wide range of local authors, poets and storytellers.

The festival has survived the withdrawal of its sole funder and partner, City Of York Council, in August 2009. A voluntary group was rapidly established of local interested writers and groups, and the group has raised the £2,500 necessary to effectively publicise the festival.

"It's been a roller-coaster 12 months," said Miles Salter, chairman of the voluntary group committee. "We suspected the council would pull out for a while, but there was a real feeling of 'we can make this work if we pull together'. It was too good an event for people to just let go of. We felt we owed it to ourselves, and to York, to make it work. It really does have the potential to be one of the best events of its kind in the country."

The festival aims to celebrate the best of York talent, and the city's rich literary heritage, which includes links to W H Auden, Charles Dickens, Kate Atkinson and The Brontes to name a few. A popular guided walk around sites of literary merit will once again feature in the 2010 programme, alongside a plethora of free writing workshops, theatre and open mic events. More than 50 events will take place in the city in March. "I'm confident that we've got a fine programme," said Miles Salter, "and 2010 puts us in a great place for future festivals."

For more information, please visit the website : http://www.yorkliteraturefestival.co.uk