The pupils at Ashcott School thoroughly enjoyed a virtual visit to their classroom from the author Abi Elphinstone this term.

Each participating child received a personalised and signed copy of Abi's latest book Jungle Drop. All this was provided by the Wells Festival of Literature.

This year has proved to be a very expensive one for the festival. The organisers were determined to put on a Covid-safe festival at Cedars Hall in Wells as usual.

This has been a costly, but necessary, undertaking. The audience at Cedars Hall is limited to accommodate social distancing.

This means a drastic reduction in ticket sales. The result of this, combined with the cost of live-streaming, means the festival shall not receive nearly as much money as usual.

The festival relies on your support, either buying tickets or registering for the live-streaming of events and making a donation.

This year's festival opens tomorrow (October 16). There is still plenty of time to buy tickets or register for live-streaming.

Events are on every day until Saturday October 24. Some authors are sold out, but you can still see them by live-streaming,

Friday October 16 features the following authors:

Ian Dale has been studying society's descent into disrespectfulness and intolerance in his book Why Can't We All Just Get Along?

Gina Miller became a target of abuse when she challenged the government's authority to trigger Article 50 without parliamentary approval. Her book Rise explores the incidents which gave her the confidence to continue.

On Saturday October 17 there is:

Jeremy Vine, renowned broadcaster and journalist talks about his first novel The Diver and The Lover, an evocative story of love, sacrifice and Salvador Dali.

Paul Lay tells the story of the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell in his book Providence Lost.

Julia Samuel studies change and its constant bedfellow choice in her book This Too Shall Pass.

Sophy Roberts' book The Lost Pianos of Siberia has been described by the explorer, Levison Wood, as "a masterpiece of modern travel with words that sing from its pages".

Chris Atkins, a documentary-maker, didn't spend much time thinking about prisons. However, after becoming embroiled in a dodgy scheme to fund his latest film, he found himself spending five years in HMP Wandsworth. His horrifying yet hilarious book, A Bit of a Stretch, portrays an unvarnished depiction of his life behind bars.

Michael Wood's Book The Story of China is a riveting grand sweep narrative which is the product of four decades of travel and filming in China.

On Sunday October 18 will be:

A joint event with Somerset Wildlife Trust. Stephen Moss, author of The Accidental Countryside, Alice Vincent who wrote Rootbound and May-Rose Craig whose blog Birdgirl is hugely popular, will be in conversation.

Max Porter's book Lanny is the book club book. This, his second novel, is a delightful mixture of fable, myth and modern life. The audience will have the opportunity to discuss the book with him.

Elly Griffiths will now be appearing alone accompanied by a spine-chilling tale of murders aplenty from her gripping page-turner The Postscript Murders.

Tom Bradbury, well-known as the current anchor of ITV's News at Ten, discusses his latest action-packed spy novel Double Agent.

All details of the events for the week, together with how to purchase tickets and register for live-streaming, can be found on the website.