MORE guest authors have been revealed in a growing line-up for the autumn Dulverton Exmoor Literary Festival.

They include two writers whose books cover the lives of Charles Dickens and his wife Catherine (Kate), and a biographer of ‘blonde bombshell’ Marilyn Monroe.

Helena Kelly, who last year appeared in the festival with her book ‘Jane Austen, the Secret Radical’, returns in November with her 2023 publication ‘The Life and Lies of Charles Dickens’, uncovering truths which the famed Victorian author tried to keep hidden.

She will be talking to Emily Howes, whose new novel ‘Mrs Dickens’ will be published in June and traces the long marriage of Kate Hogarth and Dickens ‘in all its tenderness, grief, romance, and fury’.

Also making an appearance will be award-winning biographer, novelist, and journalist Andrew Wilson with a new biography of Marilyn Monroe entitled ‘I Wanna Be Loved By You: A Life in 100 Takes’.

The book was published in February and presents the iconic actress in ‘a startling new light’, including an investigation of the conspiracy theories surrounding her death.

The literary festival is now in its fifth year and runs from Friday to Monday, November 13 to 16, in what is officially the ‘National Year of Reading’.

Some of the names already confirmed to visit Dulverton this year are Sir Michael Morpurgo, Julia Samuel, Iain Dale, Patrick Gale, Emily Howes, Mary Keen, Rachel Hore, Jonathan Dimbleby, Joe Swift, Cathy Rentzenbrink, and Philippe Auclair.

Enthusiasts can become ‘Festival Friends’ for 12 months by joining up online to be eligible for priority booking a week before the box office opens, and also to support an outreach programme encouraging reading and writing in local schools.

The festival, which is supported by Dulverton Town Council, has attracted sponsorship support from nearly 20 local businesses and organisations.