Bridport Literary Festival tickets went on sale last Friday (August 26), with some events selling out straight away.

Tickets for PJ Harvey and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, who are at Sladers Yard, West Bay, were snapped up instantly.

Other events involving big names at bigger venues – such as Dame Sheila Hancock, actor Hugh Bonneville in conversation with Lord Fellowes, politician Lord Patten and bestselling author Maggie O' Farrell, who are all appearing at The Electric Palace, Bridport – are also selling quickly.

Bridport Literary Festival director Tanya Bruce-Lockhart paid tribute to staff at Bridport Tourist Information Centre.

"They have been working flat out to meet the demand," she said. "They always go above and beyond when it comes to BridLit and we're so grateful for their fantastic support."

Highlights of this year's festival include the writer Kit de Waal, who'll be at the Electric Palace on Friday, November 11 at 6.30pm, who will be talking to Lisa Blower about her memoir, Without Warning and Only Sometimes - Scenes from an Unpredictable Childhood.

Kit, the award-winning author of My Name is Leon, has been reading from the memoir for Radio 4. You can catch up via iPlayer here. 

In a household of opposites and extremes, and caught between three worlds, Irish, Caribbean and British in 1960s Birmingham, Kit and her siblings knew all the words to the best songs, caught sticklebacks in jam jars and braved hunger and hellfire until they could all escape. Without Warning and Only Sometimes is a story of an extraordinary childhood and how a girl who grew up in house where the Bible was the only book on offer, went on to discover a love of reading that inspires her to this day. 

Dorset's very own Joanna Quinn comes to The Bull Hotel ballroom on Monday, November 7 at 3.30pm. A former reporter at the Dorset Echo, Joanna's debut novel, The Whalebone Theatre, is receiving rave reviews for the immersive coming-of-age novel set on the Dorset coast against a backdrop of two world wars. 

The festival launches on Sunday, November 6 at 10.30am at the Bull Hotel with Simon Parker and Riding Out A Journey of Love, Loss and New Beginnings, an inspirational story about how he overcame diversity by taking a 3,500-mile bike ride across Britain.

For those disappointed at missing out on PJ Harvey or Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, book lovers are urged to consider becoming a Friend of Bridport Literary Festival next year.

Friends receive an advance copy of the festival brochure, priority booking, free postal booking and no booking fee, regular events including an annual party, a twice-yearly newsletter and an opportunity to get involved, all for just £15 a year, or £30 for couples.