Things to do in England
Visiting the Witney Book Festival

If you love books and are looking for things to do in England, then mark a big cross into the June section of your calendar and head for the town of Witney, in Oxfordshire, which hosts a three-day Book Festival from June 17-19.

The celebration of books, authors and writing will include author panels, Q&A sessions, book signings, poetry readings and writers' workshops.

Events will take place in several local venues including the Corn Exchange, Langdale Hall, Witney Library, The Fleece, Hacketts, The Plough and Costa Coffee.

Workshops and panels will cover topics such as how to write a novel, writing non-fiction and self-publishing.

Around 20 authors have signed up for the festival, which aims to be accessible to all through mostly free and low-cost events - many just costing £5 or £10 - with all profits going to charity. So if you love books and are looking for things to do in England in June - why not come and join us?

Authors at the Witney Book Festival

• Ann Granger, author of the Mitchell & Markby and Fran Varady murder mysteries.

• Caroline Graham, creator of the popular Midsomer Murders series.

• Mary Hoffman, West Oxfordshire-based writer of the successful Stravaganza novels for young adults that are set in a parallel 17th century Italy. Her new historical novel, David, is due out this year.

• Ben Jeapes is the author of 18 popular sci-fi novels for young adults, including The Vampire Plagues, Time's Chariot and His Majesty's Starship.

• Adrian Magson, Bicester-based writer who pens short stories, journalism features and crime thrillers featuring ace reporter Riley Gavin. He recently landed two publishing contracts - the first for Death in the Marais, the debut title of a new crime series set in France and the other for Red Station, the first in a spy thriller franchise.

• Juliet E McKenna, fantasy author of three series, The Tales of Einarin, The Aldabreshin Compass and The Chronicles of the Lescari Revolution, plus many short stories and articles. The Witney-based writer, who is working on a new series, The Hadrumal Crisis, will be giving tips to would-be novelists in a writers' workshop.

• Malcolm Pryce, Oxford-based creator of the Aberystwyth series of noir detective novels, was nominated last year for the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction for From Aberystwyth With Love.

• Harry Bingham, author of The Money Makers, Sweet Talking Money, The Sons of Adam and The Lieutenant's Lover. His non-fiction titles include This Little Britain, Stuff Matters and Getting Published and Staying Published. He also runs the Writer's Workshop, an editorial consultancy for first-time writers.

• Eleanor Rawling, MBE, received her honour for services to geographical education. She has researched the poetry of Ivor Gurney in the context of Cotswold landscapes for her book Ivor Gurney's Gloucestershire.

• Jo Cotterill has won critical acclaim for her series of Sweet Hearts books aimed at 9-13-year-old girls. Her latest book Model Behaviour hits the shops this spring.

• Jo Eames recently published her first novel, a historical romance entitled The Faithless Wife through Peach Publishing. Peach owns 13 pubs in the UK, including The Fleece in Witney and the Fishes in North Hinksey.

• Katharine Langrish, is a children's fantasy author. Her book The Shadow Hunt was nominated for the American Library Association's Best Fiction For Young Adults 2011. Her latest novel West of the Moon contains her three Troll books Troll Fell, Troll Mill and Troll Blood, in one volume. Troll Blood was recommended in the Top 160 Books For Boys by The School Library Association.

• Sally Nicholls is best known for her debut novel Ways to Live Forever, a poignant and thought-provoking story about an 11-year-old boy with leukaemia that won the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize. Her second book, Season of Secrets, is based on the pagan myth of the green man and combines fantasy with the problems facing a real family.

• The Write Fantastic, a group of popular science fiction and fantasy authors, will be exploring the enduring appeal of the genre - from epic tales of sorcery, orcs and dragons, through to gritty urban myth.

• Ben Molyneux is an Oxford-born writer, artist and photographer who now lives in Witney. His debut novel, Arthur Archer and the Time Traveller's Chronicles is set in the 17th century and draws on his love of history and story telling.

• Helen Peacocke is the Eynsham-based Oxford Times food writer and author of Paws under the Table and Paws for History. With her border collie Pythius, she will be offering a guide to dog-friendly walks and pubs in the Cotswolds.

• David Elliot spent 30 years working in IT before leaving to concentrate on his writing. Author of historical, supernatural thriller Clan, he lives in Abingdon.

• Pat Winslow worked as an actor before taking up writing. Her work, which includes Unpredictable Geometry, Skin & Dust and the Girl in the Iron Lung, has won many awards and competitions and she is currently writer in residence at a prison.

• David Wiseman is the Oxfordshire-based author of A Habit of Dying, a novel that combines murder, mystery and family history.

The Witney Book Festival will also launch a creative writing competition for the town's youngsters. Local pupils will be invited to enter a piece of original creative writing and Scholastic Books are providing prizes for the winners and their schools.

A book binding workshop will be held at local secondary school Wood Green and the school's library will also be the venue for a talk and Q&A session with Sally Nicholls, award-winning author of Ways To Live Forever.

Organiser Sarah Myatt said: "I love books, have always wanted to write one and love meeting authors and hearing about the ideas behind their books. Even in a recession, books can be picked up cheaply at charity shops or car boot sales and borrowed from our local libraries or shared/swapped with friends for free. Having started two book groups and seen how much enthusiasm there is here, I thought it would be a great idea to organise a festival in Witney."

For many people, book festivals are not high on their list of things to do in England, as they find the events a little intimidating. But the Witney Festival aims to dispel that myth. Many of the authors live locally, which imparts a real community feel to the event and shows budding writers that you can make your dreams a reality wherever you live and whatever your background.

Looking for other things to do in England? Check out these events:

• Trooping the Colour: Queen Elizabeth's official birthday celebration.
• The Festival of Fools at Muncaster Castle - one of the more unusual things to do in England!
• Or how about a visit to Cadbury World? A heavenly treat for the chocolate lovers in your family.
• And for one of the craziest things to do in England we proudly present: The Cotswold Olimpicks!