Lichfield Literature

It's the season of mists and mellow fruitfulness in Staffordshire, and that means one thing: the Lichfield Literature festival is underway. There's a range of literary treats between now and Sunday, including a handful of creative writing workshops (I have my eye on Catherine Fox's Do You Have A Novel In You? on Sunday) plus visits from the likes of Jo Brand (promoting her second volume of memoirs, Can't Stand Up For Sitting Down) and Suzanne Fagence-Cooper, who comes to talk about her book on John Ruskin's wife Effie Gray. For those fans of the so-called 'bonnet drama' there's a major treat on Saturday, when Sue Birtwistle and Susie Conklin - the writers behind the BBC adaptation of Cranford - give us a talk on Elizabeth Gaskell's world and the lengths to which the BBC production team have gone to recreate the eponymous 1840s town. For those mildly surprised to see that Mrs Gaskell had obliged the nation with a two-part Christmas special last year, now's your time to meet the actual authors behind it and to find out how they went about emulating Gaskell's timeless style. (Saturday, The George Hotel, Bird Street, Lichfield, 5.15pm to 6.15pm, £5. Tel: 01543 306270).

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