Jeremy Paxman, Melvyn Bragg, Kate Adie, Billy Bragg and John Mortimer are some of the names appearing at this year's Ilkley Literature Festival.

Regarded as one of the country's top arts festivals, the two-week programme features more than 100 events including discussions, workshops, cabaret, literary walks, a children's weekend and something called, intriguingly, quantum poetry.

The line-up announced so far also includes Jenni Murray, presenter of BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour; poet laureate Andrew Motion; novelist Sarah Waters; West Yorkshire poet, playwright and novelist Simon Armitage; broadcaster Sue MacGregor; and television journalists John Simpson and George Alagiah.

Valerie Laws, a disabled poet and playwright, has been announced as this year's poet-in-residence.

"I'm very excited as it gives me chance to try some new and exciting poetry projects, and as a writer, I feel strongly rooted in my northern heritage," she says. "I often write in celebration of unlikely subjects, my disability informs my work without limiting its scope and I like to break down boundaries between art, poetry, and science (I have a degree in mathematics and theoretical physics)."

Valerie's poetry books include Moonbathing and Star Trek the Poems and her plays include Hadaway. Her Arts Council-funded Quantum Sheep spray painting poetry onto live sheep reflecting of principles of quantum physics received worldwide media attention and led to many commissions, including writing anatomical poetry windows at St Thomas' hospital in London.

Ilkley Literature Festival began in 1973, the brainchild of Michael Dawson, the first director of the newly formed Yorkshire Arts Association.

After two years of planning and fundraising the first festival was launched by WH Auden in 1973, in his last public appearance. By 1988, it was an annual event.

Since it started three decades ago, the festival has drawn scores of famous writers to Ilkley, from international figures and Nobel prize winners to poets like Ted Hughes and novelists like Fay Weldon.

Today the Festival is supported by Arts Council England Yorkshire, West Yorkshire Grants and Bradford Council, which also provides organisers with an office in a listed Victorian cottage in the grounds of Ilkley's Manor House Museum.

Events take place in a variety of venues across the town including Ilkley Playhouse, Craiglands Hotel and Kings Hall.

The Children's Festival runs at All Saints C of E Primary School and there are projects and residencies involving local schools and community organisations across town as well as a lively Fringe Festival.

Fringe events, which include experimental new material and are staged by writers and performers from across the region.

Last year's Fringe events included Lollipop Hero of the Highway, a comedy story-telling show for families; poems and prose extracts written in hospital from a variety of writers; a journey "from normality to the labyrinth of the mental health system" from controversial poets Barry Tebb and Brenda Williams; Open Wide, a collaboration between writer Kath McKay and visual artist Janis Goodman examining mythologies about teeth; and Multiversity from Yorkshire Arts Circus mixing poetry with film, photography, history, hypermedia, music and dance.

Now in its 33rd year, Ilkley Literature Festival has a new main sponsor, Skipton Building Society, which sponsored last year's children's weekend events.

"It's a great testament to the festival that we can attract not only leading figures from literature but also the support of a company of the calibre of Skipton Building Society," says festival director Rachel Feldberg. "They share our ambitions for the festival and, as a result, we have managed to raise the bar again this year with a fantastic line-up of authors and events."

Matthew Cox, corporate communications manager at Skipton Building Society adds: "Ilkley Literature Festival is a perfect fit for us. Events which matter to our members matter to us and as last year's sponsorship of the children's events in the festival was such a hit with our customers, we were keen to get further involved. We are lucky to have such a prestigious national event on the doorstep and Skipton Building Society is in a strong position to help the festival grow and reach ever wider audiences across Yorkshire."

l Ilkley Literature Festival runs from September 29 to October 15. Tickets go on sale from August 29 and are available on (01943) 816714 or online at www.ilkleyliteraturefestival.org.uk