Award-winning best-selling author Sir Michael Morpurgo and his wife Clare will be a star attraction at this year’s Dulverton Exmoor Literary Festival, talking about their new book, Down Burrow Lane: Life and Love on the Farm.

With a glittering array of speakers, this year’s festival, the fifth, will run from November 13 to November 16.

Following a highly successful appearance at the 2023 festival, Michael and Clare will reflect on a lifetime shaped by storytelling, farming and the transformative power of the countryside.

Part memoir, part love story and part celebration of rural life, Down Burrow Lane tells the story of the couple's Devon farm and the creation of Farms for City Children, the charity they founded to give young people the opportunity to experience life on a working farm.

Filled with warmth, humour and wisdom, it is a moving testament to the enduring connection between people, the land and one another.

Michael and Clare will talk about how farming has influenced their lives, their writing and their heartfelt commitment to helping generations of urban children to discover the countryside for themselves.

The tale of life, love and farming will conclude the Festival on the evening of Monday, November 16 and will take place in Dulverton’s All Saints Church.

Michael and Clare will be in conversation with their friend, award-winning journalist, festival supporter and Times columnist Alice Thomson.

A former Children’s Laureate, Michael has written over 150 books and is the recipient of numerous awards. He was knighted in 2018 for services to literature and charity. His best-selling children’s novels include War Horse, which became a hit film.

Farms for City Children now operates three working farms in North Devon, Pembroke and Gloucestershire.

Since the charity was started by Michael and Clare in 1976, more than 100,000 children have enjoyed a taste of country life.