Bristol Festival of Literature 13-21 October: A quick guide

All things literature will be celebrated in and around Bristol for nine days starting on Saturday 13 October.

Forty brilliant writers will be showcased in an eclectic range of events – covering all genres - across the city in bookshops, theatres and cafés.

With about four or five separate events taking place each day there's so much to choose from. If you're not sure where to start – here's a quick preview of some of the highlights…

As the organisers say: "Pick your stations along the way. See something unusual, see something well-known, visit a masterclass and have a go. You will find the treasure!"

Friday 12 (Special pre-event)

Iain M Banks: From here to the sublime: 6-7pm @ Waterstones – tickets via Waterstones

One of the UK's most talented and prolific novelists flings open the covers in the latest in his bestselling Culture series: The Hydrogen Sonata.

Saturday 13

Clive Bulton: Trenches to Trams: 10am to 1pm @ The WW2 Bus - £5

Jump aboard a vintage bus and follow the route that the author's great grandfather-in-law worked on as a tram conductor between the wars.

Sunday 14

Bristol Writers' Group: Tales in the caves: 8-9pm @ Redcliffe Caves - £5

Talented local writers perform their works in the hidden depths of Bristol's Redcliffe Caves. Be scared and inspired.

Monday 15

Moira Young, TM Alexander, Chris Fisher and Sarwat Chadda: How to write stories kids really want to read: 6-7pm @ Parlour - £5

An interactive session with award winning authors that will put you ahead of the game.

Tuesday 16

John Lanchester: Capital, and other pleasures: 7-8pm @ St Stephen's - £5

The standout novel of the banking crisis. The author knows the fears and dreams of a whole society… and Banksy's identity, apparently.

Wednesday 17

Helen Hart, Alison Baverstock and Clare Christian: Successful Self-Publishing: 4-5pm @ Foyles Bookshop - £3

Explore the best way to embark on your publishing project – avoiding expensive pitfalls.

Thursday 18

Stanley Donwood & Ric Jerrom: Household Worms & The Wind-Up Merchant - £5

Radiohead artist Stanley Donwood reading from his short stories, with Ric Jerrom of Act Natural Theatre Co.

Friday 19

Paul Stephenson OBE, Edson Miles Chambers, Marvin Rees and Lillian Allen: Jamaica 50: 6-7pm @ Foyles Bookshop - £5

The panel takes the temperature of Jamaican creative words as 'the islands' turn 50. Through performance and debate they look back at landmark moments and ahead to future challenges.

Saturday 20

Emylia Hall: Why we fell in love with The Book of Summers: 6-7pm @ Waterstones - £5

Winner of the Richard & Judy Summer Book Club 2012, this was one of the reads of the year. Bristol-based Hall talks about those heady summers in Hungary, devastating first love and the poetry of bohemian life versus the prose of English suburbia.

Tickets can be purchased online at unputdownable.org or phone 0117 2305177 (12 noon – 2pm Monday to Friday. Email: boxoffice@unoutdownable.org.

Tickets may also be available on the doors but it's advised to go on line to purchase them.

Twitter: @BristolLitFest

Facebook: facebook.com/groups/unputdownable

Website: www.unputdownable.org