THE sixth annual PENfro Book Festival will be held this year from Friday, 9 September to Sunday, 11 September.

The recent AGM of the festival heard that, as in 2015, there will also be some evening events through 2016, as well as the packed main weekend of talks, workshops and headline speakers in September.

Headline guests in 2015 included novelist and screenwriter Deborah Moggach, who spoke to a packed house on the Saturday evening, and poet Jo Bell, who delighted a capacity audience as the after-lunch speaker on the Sunday.

Many other popular writers gave workshops for writers and talks over the weekend at well-attended events. Writing competitions play an important part in PENfro Book Festival and Poetry and Memoir competitions drew many hundreds of entries in 2015. Poetry and prose will feature in competitions again in 2016.

At the AGM Jackie Biggs was elected chair of PENfro Book Festival for a second year; Sue Lewis became deputy chair; while Richard Davies was re-elected as treasurer.

Other committee members continuing for 2016 are Derek Webb, Brian John, Peter George, Susanna Capon, Glen Peters and Brenda Squires.