A RENOWNED literary festival is set to return to Bridport this year.

Tickets for the 2021 Bridport Literary Festival are set to go on sale this month. This year's event will take place from Sunday, November 7 until Saturday, November 13.

Key speakers at the festival will include Lord Jonathan Sumption, Marina Wheeler, Emma Soames, Alan Johnson, Lord Hain and Christina Lamb.

The Bridport Literary Festival has been running since 2015 and sees writers and audiences attending from all over the country.

Last year's festival was scheduled to go ahead in November with various acts announced for a reduced programme at Bridport Arts Centre and the Electric Palace. However, the event had to be cancelled just days before it was due to take place, as a result of the second national lockdown.

Tanya Bruce-Lockhart, festival director, said: "Once again, BridLit has something for everyone. After a disrupted programme last year, we’re determined to make the 2021 festival more intriguing, illuminating and entertaining than ever before."

General ticket sales will begin from Monday, August 30 but there will be a priority booking period for the 'Friends of BridLit' between Monday, August 9 and Friday, August 27.

A special event is being put on in addition to the festival for friends, sponsors and donors on Monday, September 20 at the Bridport Arts Centre.

The day will feature Lachlan Goudie telling 'The Story of Scottish Art', journeying through 5,000 years of Scottish Art, at 11am, Tom Fort talking at 2.30pm about his book, 'Casting Shadows', on the history of freshwater fishing in Britain, and, at 4.30pm, Andrew Ziminski will speak about 'The Stonemason: a History of Building Britain' - part archaeological history and part a deeply personal insight into the ancient craft.

The Bridport TIC box office is now open for bookings.

Tickets for each Friends’ Day event are £12 or £30 for all three. To find out more about becoming a Friend or for more information about BridLit 2021, visit www.bridlit.com.