Robert Peston and Matt Baynton at Crouch End Literary Festival

They will be joined by columnist and presenter Steve Richards and multi-award winning novelist Linda Grant for the three-day programme, which runs at Hornsey Library and other venues - including a pub, a cinema, a church and a telephone box.

Guardian film critic Peter Bradshaw and Local MP Catherine West will be grilling the interviewees at the festival, which has been put together with the help of local comedy writer and author Dave Cohen.

Local MP Catherine West will be chairing the event with Robert Peston and Steve Richards (Image: Office of Catherine West)

Chris Arnold, co-founder of the Crouch End Festival, which is behind the event, praised Cohen and said "his enthusiasm and thinking has made this possible".

He added: “Because Crouch End has so many great, and a few famous, writers we have for years been wanting to do a Literary Festival, but never had the time to integrate it with the Crouch End Festival.

"We didn’t want to have one of those stuffy old festivals, instead we wanted a dynamic, creative one.

"We have made the festival line up appealing to all ages, even those who don’t think a literary festival is something they would go to - we encourage them to come and explore. Listen, learn and be inspired is our motto."

Comic Matt Baynton (far right) stars in and co-created the Sit Com Ghosts and is a familiar screen face from Horrible Histories to the film Wonka (Image: Courtesy of the BBC)

Most of the more than 20 events are free or with a suggested donation, including talks, readings, celebrity interviews, performances, improvisation, workshops, debates, and a few quirky events.

WURDS + MUSIC is a night of spoken word and improvised experimental music at Holy Innocents Church in Tottenham Lane, and Poets in a Phone Box features legendary local verse writer and artist Alan Wolfson and guests. Knock on the door of the phone box on the green outside Hornsey Town Hall, and they’ll read you a poem.

Am-drams The Crouch End Players are performing No Quarter, a 1962 play by local fringe writer Barry Bermange that is acted in the near dark.

Cohen, who has written for comedy shows including Have I Got News For You and Horrible Histories, will run workshops on self publishing and How To Write Funny Fiction.

Orange Prize for Fiction winner Linda Grant appears at the lit fest (Image: Supplied)

Orange Prize for Fiction winner Linda Grant talks on 'How To Write A Novel,' and Catherine West interviews Robert Peston and Steve Richards on Robert's new book The Crash and Steve's book Turning Points alongside their expert analysis of what to expect in this electoral year.

Horrible Histories star and co-creator of Ghosts, Yonderland and The Wrong Mans Matt Baynton will be in conversation with Peter Bradshaw at Hornsey Library, and bestselling writer Rohan Candappa talks about How To Sell A Million Books (and then how not to.)

Or grab a pint and join the discussion at the Stapleton Tavern in Crouch Hill to hear psychoanalyst Ian Parker talk with Prof Alfie Brown on realism, identity and analysis.

Political broadcaster Robert Peston who lives in Muswell Hill will talk about his new book (Image: Wikimedia Commons)

Arnold who will speak at a Dyslexic Writers event, and play at WURDS + MUSIC, said the only disappointment is that they haven't managed to secure a sponsor for the festival.

But he added that all events are child friendly: "We are encouraging families to bring kids so we can inspire the next generation of writers."

The Crouch End Literary Festival runs at various venues from February 23-25.