The Isle of Wight Literary Festival has fast become a prominent event in the national arts calendar with significant figures lining up to showcase their latest works.

Slightly more bespoke than literary juggernauts like Hay, the annual event never fails in capturing the breadth of both local and national literature in a celebratory fashion and this year is no exception.

Running this weekend (October 3 to 6) predominantly in the grounds of Northwood House, the Island shall once again become host to this carnival for the imagination.

As a disabled writer, I can always rely on the inclusive atmosphere with wheelchair access in all the venues and lots of space for me to get around.

The adoption of complementary carer ticket is always a very helpful way for me to attend.

Featuring national treasure Clare Balding fresh from the Olympic and Paralympic Games alongside antiques expert Eric Knowles, it’s easy to see how the festival reflects and celebrates the trends in pop culture and remains a barometer to measure geographical cultural habits.

The festival is something I’m no stranger to and in 2018, with the release of my autobiography Adapted, I was honoured to be included in that year’s line-up.

Having known the late great John Hannam for a number of years, it was decided that he should host my session with selected readings from my PA James.

However, as a result of the unique atmosphere which the festival creates, it wasn’t long before the event turned into a question and answer session from the audience to myself.

This is when it dawned on me just what a special event the Isle of Wight Literary Festival really is and it’s not about the fame or cultural reputation of the speakers at all.

It’s about the community coming together to celebrate the magic of the Island in a learned way.

The legendary Dame Sheila Hancock told me last year that, in her opinion, literary festivals are one of the only ways to gauge the temperature of public feeling about the major issues facing our world today.

In Dame Sheila’s case, she didn’t just use her session at St Mary’s Church purely to plug her latest book.

This was suddenly more pressing and important than merely a selling opportunity, I felt like I was observing a collective release of anger against the political establishment.

Inside a local church packed with informed, culturally aware individuals, a minor rally was taking place.

What originally seemed to be a session promoting the release of Dame Sheila’s book Old Rage, something extraordinary happened.

The passionate, energetic atmosphere was palpable as the audience was encouraged to air their views.

Literary festivals aren’t always intended to attract audience emotion but Dame Sheila had stirred something that was in fact bigger than her.

So get your tickets for this weekend’s great carnival of literature and discover your own passion for the stories and themes which make up our collective cultural consciousness.