Tickets are now on sale for Penzance Litfest 2014, with the line-up including Debbie Horsfield and Karen Thrussell, writer and executive producer respectively for the BBC's new production of Poldark.

There will be over eighty sessions scheduled across the five days of the festival, which will run from the July 16 to 20, including Robyn Young in Conversation with Jane Johnson on Scottish Independence, 13th Century Style; Edward Wilson, writer of extraordinary spy thrillers, talking about his work; Anna Wilson and Jamie Thompson filling the Acorn with parents and children.

Litfest favourites The Bookshop Band are back, paying homage this year to the greatest of them all, William Shakespeare; there will be a Big Lit Charity Quiz with question-master Patrick Gale; and a very special production, ‘In Flanders Fields’, on Saturday night. Penzance’s own historic cinema, the Savoy, is screening the original 1972 film of Under Milk Wood.

Multi-award winning poet and playwright John Greening will be sharing his poetry, and will be contributing to the Litfest’s Creative Writing strand. This year, the strand will include both beginner and advanced level workshops, as well as tips on how to get published, software for writers and the effective use of social media for authors.

Litfest always likes to showcase people working and living in West Cornwall. Jonathon Ball, co-founder of the Eden projector, talks about ‘the other side of Eden. And with poets Diana Dixon and Ladies First; performances from, among others, Acorn Young People’s Theatre, the Wireless Ensemble and Penny Young’s friends at the John Daniel Centre; and an extraordinary variety of talks on topics of local interest, ranging from the sinking of the pleasure boat Darlwyne to the plays of Reverend Bernard Walke, there should be something on the schedule for everyone.

And last, but very much not least, LittleFest, the part of the Festival aimed at children, parents and people interested in writing or illustrating children’s books, this year is turbo-charged. Events during school hours on weekdays are aimed at school audiences, and are free to school groups.

They must be booked in advance. There are also after-school sessions, and Saturday activities, for children, young adults and parents, and for aspiring writers of children’s stories. Plus, Penzance has a very special guest. In association with The Edge of the World Bookshop, the Gruffalo is coming to town.

He will be hosting a teaparty on Friday afternoon, just at the end of term. In this, the fifth year of the Litfest, the Acorn will once again be the Festival Hub, with the downstairs cafe/bar providing the social centre for meeting up with friends and finding out about the day’s activities.

The Litfest always welcomes willing volunteers, so if you would like to be part of this fantastic event the you make contact via the Facebook Page, or tweet a private message via @penzancelitfest, or email info@pz-litfest.org.uk or litfeststewards@btinternet.com.

The full line up can be seen on the website, and tickets for all events are available online at www.crbo.co.uk.

Tickets can be purchased from: The Welcome to West Cornwall Centre, Station Approach, Penzance TR18 2NF The Acorn, Parade St Penzance TR18 4BU (Thursdays & Fridays 11am-2pm) St. Ives Visitor Information Centre, The Guildhall, Street-An-Pol, St Ives, Cornwall TR26 2DS.