ASK many people which is their favourite English city … the answer will often be Bath. It’s hardly surprising – a pearl of fine Georgian stone houses, terraces, circuses, crescents and streets, set in a spectacular valley, with some of the country’s finest Roman remains and a history of art, culture and literature. A roll call of the writers, novelists and poets who have drawn inspiration from its elegant architecture and long history ranges in subject matter from horror to high comedy … from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein to Jane Austen’s Persuasion and many many more.

Hardly surprising, then, that the city hosts not one but two of the country’s leading literary festivals – the Literature Festival in May and the children’s event in the autumn.

The line-up for this year’s Bath Literature Festival is suitably stellar, to celebrate the festival’s 30th anniversary. It runs alongside the music festival, this year from Saturday 17th to Sunday 25th May. The music festival, founded in 1948, which for some years had Yehudi Menuhin as artistic director, has been a highlight of the city’s calendar for more than seven decades.

Devised and curated by festival director John McLay and guest curator Joe Haddow from BBC Radio 2 Book Club, this year’s festival is a celebration of books, ideas and creativity, welcoming speakers on poetry, gardening, art, animals, exploration, nature, politics, history, humour, memoir and, because of its special place in Bath’s heart, rugby.

There is, literally, something for everyone!

Authors coming to Bath this year represent a vast range of styles and subjects. They include Ruth Jones, of Gavin and Stacey fame, poet Ben Okri, gardener Carol Klein, Lionel Shriver, known for the challenging themes of her novels, broadcasters Emma Barnett and Jeremy Vine, writer and comedian David Baddiel, politician Sayeeda Warsi, novelist (Chocolat and so many more) Joanne Harris, actor and animal lover Martin Clunes, environmental and landscape writer, philosopher and poet Robert Macfarlane, crime writer Ann Cleeves (of Shetland and Vera fame), novelist and broadcaster Rev Richard Coles, journalist and romantic novelist Jojo Moyes, historian Max Hastings, comedian Ivo Graham, politician turned author Alan Johnson, novelist Kit de Waal, rugby star Mike Tindall and journalist and BBC newsreader Reeta Chakrabarti.

With more than 50 events to choose from, including the chance to meet your favourite authors face to face, Bath Literature Festival’s 30th birthday promises to be memorable.

For more information visit bathfestivals.org.uk

Pictured: Ann Cleeves, Robert Macfarlane, Lionel Shriver and Ben Okri.