A host of literary alumni will help the University of East Anglia celebrate its 50th anniversary when it holds its annual Arthur Miller Centre Literary Festival.

The first speaker at the seven-week festival will be UEA chancellor and former BA English literature graduate Rose Tremain, whose latest novel Merivel: A Man of His Time, is a sequel to Restoration and was shortlisted for the Wellcome Trust book prize. She will appear on Wednesday, October 2.

The remaining six events will each see two authors, including Naomi Alderman, who was listed as one of Granta Magazine's best young British novelists this year, and Andrew Cowan, who wrote Pig, on October 9. Young Bond creator Charlie Higson, will join Skellig novelist David Almond on October 16.

Booker Prize-winning Anne Enright and Adam Foulds, will appear on October 23, while The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas writer John Boyne will join Pure author Andrew Miller on October 30.

On November 6, Tracy Chevalier, will join Glenn Patterson, winner of the Rooney Prize for Irish Literature, and Ian McEwan will be in conversation with Nobel Prize winning scientist Sir Paul Nurse on November 13.

A free Booker Prize Foundation event, also arranged to celebrate the university's 50th anniversary, follows the festival on November 20 when The Remains of the Day author Kazuo Ishiguro comes to UEA.

Tickets go on sale on Monday.

Festival organiser Prof Chris Bigsby said: 'This year's Arthur Miller Centre Literary Festival is a special one, bringing back not only internationally successful and renowned authors but a complete line-up of authors who have graduated from our own university.'

Contact the UEA Box Office on 01603 508050 or see www.ueaticketbookings.co.uk/events. Registration for the free Kazuo Ishiguro event is at www.kazuoishiguro.eventbrite.com. Visit www.uea.ac.uk/litfest for details.