The Cotswold village of Hawkesbury Upton will host a day for festive bookworms this Saturday (December 2nd) with the aim of inspiring Christmas shoppers on the hunt for literary gifts.

The event, at the Bethesda Chapel on Park Street (from 2pm until 5pm) offers a chance to meet local and regional authors and find must-reads for friends and family.

The festive-themed event comes as an addition to the village's annual Literature Festival (HULF) which is organised by author Debbie Young who lives in the village and who has penned the successful series of novels, "Sophie Sayers Village Mysteries."

Ms Young told Punchline-Gloucester.com: "After the success of our festive event last year, we've devised another light-hearted Christmas Special - many people told us how much they enjoyed the readings of favourite Christmas poetry and prose last year, so we're delighted to welcome back Gerard Boyce and Michael Macmahon to perform seasonal classics."

The readings at the event will include an extract from Dylan Thomas's "A Child's Christmas in Wales" and "Mr Pooter's Christmas", from George and Weedon Grossmith's "The Diary of a Nobody".

Also in attendance will be an array of writers who are on hand to sign their latest publications, including Kat Ailes with with her hilarious cosy mystery, "The Expectant Detectives", Ali Bacon, who'll be sharing "Robert Louis Stevenson's thoughts on Christmas," Steve Berry with anecdotes from his Himalayan travels, Lucienne Boyce on what suffragettes did for Christmas, Tiggy Greenwood with her trilogy set in an old country house and Stefania Hartley on Christmas traditions in Sicily.

Michael Macmahon will also share his thoughts on how to get back into the black after Christmas, while Alice Rosewell has advice on self-care for dark days.

More authors and writer will also be in attendance, while the event will also see the launch of Debbie Young's latest addition to her work: "Christmas with Sophie Sayers".

She added: "It's a collective of feel-good festive stories set in a Cotswold village not unlike Hawkesbury Upton!"

● Tickets can be bought here  at £5 per head and include include tea, coffee and cake, plus a £2 book voucher valid at the event.