ANDREW FFRENCH looks forward to the upcoming highlights of Woodstock’s own literary festival.

FOR years, book lovers in Oxford only had one major literary festival to look forward to.

But over the past five years, another books celebration has been growing steadily in West Oxfordshire.

Woodstock has hosted its own lit fest for the past five years and this year the programme is slightly extended so that it will run for the first time over five days, from September 16 to 20.

The gathering, with talks at venues including Blenheim Palace, is dwarfed by its big brother the Oxford Literary Festival, which is staged at Christ Church every spring.

But for the second year running the Woodstock event, which will feature more than 50 talks and events, is being sponsored by The Independent and The Oxford Times and is gradually establishing its reputation for an eclectic mix of speakers.

In previous years, the line-up of speakers has perhaps appealed more to older readers, with historians and gardening experts dominating proceedings.

But this year, there has been a real effort reach out to younger readers with comedienne Ronni Ancona on the bill, together with Blur bassist and cheese connoisseur Alex James and former Undertones frontman Feargal Sharkey.

Witney MP and Tory leader David Cameron, who is a patron of the festival, will be talking politics with one of his old tutors, Vernon Bogdanor, and Martin Bell, Robert Fisk and Ann Leslie will no doubt have a heated debate about the lost art of reportage.

But the signing that really caught my eye was glamorous French film star Leslie Caron, who will be in Woodstock to talk about her autobiography, Thank Heaven.

The Paris-born actress starred alongside Gene Kelly in An American in Paris and also popped up in the mid-1990s in Funny Bones with stand-up comic Lee Evans, so she should have some fascinating memories to share.

Each year, the author events attract large numbers of visitors, ensuring that hotels and restaurants are booked up weeks in advance.

Leslee Holderness, a spokesman for the festival, said: “There’s a fascinating mix of different speakers this year and they will talk on all kinds of subjects, from rock music to royalty, and from food to gardening. Talks will be held in Blenheim Palace, and at venues right across Woodstock, including the town hall, the Bear Hotel, and the library.”

A bit further down the road, Wootton-by-Woodstock, villagers have also jumped on the books bandwagon by inviting interesting people to speak at their village hall.

Last year, they welcomed spy novelist Henry Porter by building a miniature Berlin Wall as a backdrop for the stage, and the village talks committee has already made interesting signings, including Newsnight anchor Jeremy Paxman, who will speak at a date to be fixed. And All Creatures Great and Small legend Robert Hardy is due to speak on October 16.

Until 6pm on Tuesday, September 15, you can book tickets for the Woodstock Literary Festival at the Oxford Playhouse on 01865 305305 or woodstockliteraryfestival.com