BOOK lovers will flock to the city today for a sneak peek at what the Oxford Literary Festival has in store for its 19th year.

Award-winning authors, politicians, historians and journalists from across the world will join the festival between Saturday, March 21, and Sunday, March 29.

Booker Prize winner and novelist Kazuo Ishiguro will launch the annual festivities during a special preview event at Oxford Town Hall tonight.

He will talk to Financial Times books editor Lorien Kite at the St Aldate’s venue about his new novel The Buried Giant.

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Festival special advisor Tony Byrne said: “This is Ishiguro’s first novel in 10 years so this is a big event.

“He has been a great supporter of the festival and received an honorary fellowship some years ago. He is a great speaker and it looks as though the Town Hall will be completely full for it.”

More than 250 events are lined up for the nine-day festival, with 500 speakers from 20 different countries coming together.

Events will take place at Christ Church, in St Aldate’s; the Sheldonian Theatre and Bodleian Library, both in Broad Street; as well as Corpus Christi College, in Merton Street.

And last year, more than 26,000 literature fans joined the event.

Father-of-two and grandfatherof- three Mr Byrne said: “The events are all appearing in beautiful historical university buildings around Oxford. There is no environment like it in the world.

“There is a whole range of people that you will see at no other literature festival. Every topic you can imagine, the festival covers it in some way.”

Other speakers include Nobel Prize-winning scientist Professor Eric Kandel, Indian writer Amitav Ghosh, cookery writer Madhur Jaffrey, broadcaster and author Melvyn Bragg, actress Celia Imrie, wildlife presenter Bill Oddie and historian Simon Schama.

The festival will also celebrate the nation’s favourite children’s books, including a special event with Oxford-based Philip Pullman to mark the 20th anniversary of the publication of Northern Lights, the first book in his fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials.

Former Children’s Laureate Anthony Browne and Judith Kerr, creator of children’s favourites Mog and The Tiger who came to Tea, will also be celebrated.

An Alice in Wonderlandthemed family performance will close festivities.

The Oxford Mail’s sister paper The Oxford Times is this year’s official regional partner, with the Financial Times Weekend edition the event’s main sponsor.