DETAILS of the first ever Ealing Book Festival this Spring have been announced.

Authors including Lauren Child, Jacqueline Wilson, Eleanor Catton, Bill Wyman, Sathnam Sanghera, John Boyne and Kathryn Hughes will appear alongside a range of other events including walking tours and a children’s poetry competition.

The inaugural festival, celebrating and promoting the joy of reading and art of writing, will take place Thursday to Sunday, April 11-14, at Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery.

Former children’s laureate Dame Jacqueline Wilson discusses her new book The Girl Who Wasn’t There, while Eleanor Catton, a Booker Prize winner, talks about Birnam Wood while former Rolling Stones bass player Bill Wyman tells of his career, which began with gigs at the legendary Ealing Jazz Club.

Tickets go on sale today at www.pitzhanger.org.uk.

The festival programme will also include a new Ealing walking tour offering insights into its history as a source of literary and cultural inspiration.

It will take in literary icons such as Agatha Christie and the author of the Billy Bunter series, as well as highlights from the world of film, rock music and opera.

A children’s poetry competition on the theme of Where Do I Live? invites young writers to get creative and win prizes as well as having work shown at Pitzhanger. Details to enter at https://ealingbookfestival.com/poetry-competition

For information on the full programme, go to ealingbookfestival.com

Pitzhanger Manor and Gallery, the restored house of architect Sir John Soane, sits in the Regency grounds of Walpole Park in central Ealing.