THE REGION’S biggest and oldest book festival returns tomorrow (Tuesday, October 6), with Philip Pullman, Bill Bryson and Lauren Laverne among the top names lined up.

The 2015 Durham Book Festival will also feature ‘Queen of Shops’ Mary Portas talking about her memoir Shop Girl, former Business Secretary Vince Cable talking about his time in coalition government and new book After the Storm, and Caroline Criado-Perez, reflecting on her feminist campaigning.

The 12-day event begins with a school day tomorrow (Tuesday), when author and illustrator Simon Bartram, Squishy McFluff author Pip Jones and the award-winning Linday Newbery will be at Durham Johnston, in Durham City.

Claire Malcolm, chief executive of New Writing North and the Durham Book Festival, said: “Every year we’re excited about our line-up and hugely relieved when we get some of the people we want. We work very hard every year to keep up the standard.

“The audience for the Book Festival is growing and people really enjoy it when they come along.”

Last year’s festival attracted nearly 7,000 people. This year, that record could be beaten – and organisers have given away 3,000 copies of Philip Pullman’s Northern Lights, the first book in the phenomenally successful His Dark Materials trilogy, free to schools, libraries, hospitals, leisure centres and community centres.

Bill Bryson, returning to Durham having been the University’s chancellor, will talk about his new travel book The Road to Little Dribbling; Philip Pullman will discuss his writing career; and broadcaster Lauren Laverne will discuss the Yves Saint Laurent exhibition at The Bowes Museum.

There are also new commissions. Notes from Underground is a cycle of songs by poet Sean O’Brien and composer Agustin Fernandez and will be performed by the Royal Northern Sinfonia.

There is a Light That Never Goes Out features author Richard Benson and photographer Keith Pattison exploring life in County Durham’s pit villages over the last 60 years through the story of the Handy family of Easington.

Ms Malcolm said: “We want to make a fantastic festival but our mission is also to get more people reading creatively as part of life. There should always be time for books.”

For more information, visit durhambookfestival.com