Two more sleeps until the Bath Literature Festival 2009!

Now boys and girls, I'm sure you're as excited as I am in knowing that this year's Literature Festival is nearly upon us. As of this Saturday, we'll be keeping you up to date DAILY with a super-dooper blog written lovingly by our very own friend Sam, so keep-a-readin' to make sure you're on top of it all. It's mayhem here at the Emporium; we're printing, carting, reading, writing, drawing, cutting - not to mention sweating, bleeding and crying to deliver you the best festival yet.

In the last few days before it all kicks off I thought I'd cease all the rushing, have a cup of tea and tell you what's going down over the next few days of "debate, discovery, passion and inspiration." One of Saturday's highlights sure to set your ears aflame is the Big Bath Read and who have they got talking? Only tip-top titan-of-an-author Jonathan Coe! He'll be at the Guildhall between 4 and 5 discussing his most recent novel The Rain Before it Falls (sponsored by Mr B's and our friends at the soon-to-open Jika Jika Cafe). Not only can you listen and join in the hearty debate, but the following day you can hear the music that inspired the title, Flautist Theo Travis, playing to extracts of the novel at 4:30pm.

Sunday also brings many a literary delicacy for you to enjoy. If you fancy a bit of demonic, Dali-esque satire, then come along and see political cartoonist Gerald Scarfe and admire the work from Monsters: How George Bush Saved the World and Other Tall Stories. Inspired by greed, hypocrisy, power and arrogance, Scarfe tells the tales of Bill Clinton (and how he Did Not Have Sex With That Woman) Margaret Thatcher and John Major in a mad lampoon-athon of a book.

Monday's offerings include not only Chinese Poetry and an extensive workshop on how to edit your own writing for publication (listen up all Creative Writing Students!) but also, at 7:30pm the Guildhall, award-winning journalist, documentary filmmaker and all round hilariously witty man, Jon Ronson. He'll be reading from his side-splittingly funny new book, What I do: More True Tales of Everyday Craziness. As a fan, with his old Guardian column ripped out and stashed in an old trunk, I can recommend this event wholeheartedly. Also, you might be interested to know that his previous black comedy offering, Men Who Stare at Goats - a romp of a read about conspiracy in Iraq - is being made into a Hollywood movie, starring none other than Ewan Mcgregor, Jeff Bridges and George Clooney!

Right, where are we? Tuesday. Yes. Well, Tuesday provides us with a fascinating talk by Yasmin Hai and Ziauddin Sardar, authors of Balti Britain: A Journey Through the British Asian Experience and The Making of Mr. Hai's Daughter, respectively. An absolute plethora of culture and identity, wit and religion not to be missed.

Anyway, enough yapping from me. If that all sounded pretty peachy to get you started, then keep clicking on trusty Sam's blog to stay in the know for all 9 days of Lit Fest. See you at the Festival and please do comment at will with your festival experiences and comments. We'd love to hear from you!