Two University of Cambridge authors are among the impressive line-up for a major literary festival taking place in the city this weekend (22-24 April).

Whitbread Biography of the Year winner and historian John Guy is a Fellow of Clare College, while the novelist Helen Oyeyemi is currently an undergraduate studying Social & Political Sciences at Corpus Christi College.

The big names appearing at the cambridgewordfest, now in its third year, include Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, the broadcasters and writers James Naughtie and Fergal Keane, and the novelists Graham Swift and Hilary Mantel.

Professor John Guy won the 2004 Whitbread Biography of the Year award for his fascinating account, 'My Heart Is My Own: The Life of Mary Queen of Scots'. Tonight (22 April) at 8pm, he will join Poet Laureate Andrew Motion, Man Booker Prize winner Alan Hollinghurst and Whitbread First Novel winner Susan Fletcher at Cambridge's ADC Theatre for an evening of readings from their prize-winning works.

Helen Oyeyemi wrote her highly acclaimed debut novel, 'The Icarus Girl', while studying for her A-levels and will be reading from it at the New Writers session in the University Centre at 5pm on Sunday (24 April). She will be joined there by Cambridge graduate Alexander Masters, who will read from 'Stuart', his insightful biography of a homeless drug addict he met while working for a nightshelter project.

For more information about the festival, or to obtain tickets to events, visit the cambridgewordfest website (www.cambridgewordfest.co.uk) or call the Cambridge Corn Exchange Box Office on 01223 357851. The box office is open Monday to Saturday from 10am to 6pm.

Photo of Helen Oyeyemi. Copyright Mark Pringle.

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