And a big helping of TV sauce from Andrew Davies.

Maria da Souza, co-ordinator of Sheffield's Off the Shelf literary festival is talking the Diary through the line-up.

"It's very literary this year," she says, somewhat surprisingly about a literary festival, "with a lot of journalists."

There's campaigner John Pilger, the BBC's Jeremy Bowen with his book War Stories - the Off the Shelf team have not deleted his e-mail saying their letter of invitation was so charming he could not possibly refuse - James (The People's Act of Love) Meek and Ms Adie.

It's a return visit for her, talking about her book Into Danger.

"She was brilliant last time. She's a good speaker. In a very tight pencil skirt and stilettos she looked very glamorous. She absolutely captivated the audience," says Maria.

This is the 17th Off the Shelf, which starts officially on October 11 although Sheila Hancock comes to Hallam University three days earlier.

This year it will have 209 different events, cost around £55,000, expects to break even and attract an audience of, on last year's figures, over 17,000 people. Britain is not short of lit-fests but Sheffield has established itself as one of the biggest in the north.

Maria knows it's arrived when publishers and agents ring up to see if they can put their authors in the schedules.

Or, in the case of award-winning poet Simon Armitage, ring up themselves to get a booking. He will be talking about his collection of poems, The Not Dead, at the Showroom.

It's not just a question of booking writers. Maria and the rest of the team - Su Walker and Lesley Webster - have to work out the logistics.

They have to book a taxi to take playwright Sir Arnold Wesker from his remote rural fastness in Wales to the nearest railway station. He'll be discussing his plays Roots, Chicken Soup with Barley and Chips With Everything.

Then some will need looking after, perhaps being taken out to dinner, while others will just want to be left alone.

Maria expects a lot of interest in Hannah Hauxwell, now 80, made famous by the TV documentary Too Long a Winter about her harsh life in the Dales.

Andrew Davies, dubbed King of the TV Adaptors, should also draw them in talking about bringing Bleak House, Tipping The Velvet and the sexed-up Pride and Prejudice to the screen.

There's a lot more. To take a lucky dip from the festival programme, there's David Guterson, who wrote the international hit Snow Falling on Cedars, Roger Llewellyn bringing to life Sherlock Holmes, Fran Sandham telling how he walked solo across Africa and Roy and Lesley Adkins talking about life in Nelson's navy.

And there are plenty of workshops for would-be writers and poets.

It's taken Maria and Co nine months to organise."We always start out with a wish list but it's very organic and it's never as we imagine it," she says.

- Off the Shelf runs from October 11-November 1. Brochures are at public libraries or visit www.offtheshelf.org.uk

More features