THE bilingual Gŵyl Lyfrau Aberaeron Book Festival returns from a Covid- enforced break tonight (Friday) at the Black Lion Hotel, continuing through Saturday and Sunday at the Memorial Hall.

More than twenty authors will be involved with book launches, signings, talks, writer panels and interviews, all free to attend, and at the centre of activities is a book fair with hundreds of new titles on display.

There is also a series of creative writing workshops run by leading tutors and places can be booked at £5 per workshop on the Gwisgo Bookworm website, at the shop on Alban Square or at the hall on the day.

Samantha Wynne-Rhydderch, Dominic Williams, Kathy Miles, Dave Urwin, Jackie Biggs and Karen Gemma Brewer head Friday’s poetry night and there are open mic opportunities for people to perform their own work or a favourite poem.

Check out the festival Facebook page or contact the shop to book your slot.

The festival will be open at the Memorial Hall 10.30am-5pm on Saturday 10am to 4pm on Sunday.

The opening address is to be given by author, screenwriter and columnist Manon Steffan Ros who works in Welsh and English.

Manon will also be interviewed about the book and her own English translation, Blue Book of Nebo. Caryl Lewis, another headline author working in Welsh and English, will be discussing the differences and challenges of writing in two languages, for adults and children, books, film and TV.

She will also read from her new children’s book published by Penguin, The Boy Who Dreamed Dragons, her novel Drift – Aberaeron’s top selling hardback of the year and her Pan MacMillan published pumpkin adventure Seed, published as Hedyn in Welsh by Y Lolfa.

Lucy Hope and Sarah Todd Taylor will discuss writing for children, Val Jones will look at the specific needs of children with autism and there will also be sessions on how to get published.

Fiction and non-fiction for adults features heavily over the two days.

One highlight will be the award of Aberaeron Book of the Year.

Current holder Cynan Jones, of Aberarth, won with his climate change set Stillicide, a haunting and poetic series of interlocking stories forming a whole that is both global and deeply personal.