The line-up for the University of East Anglia's Spring Literary Festival has been announced.

Running from February 6 to May 28, the festival will feature musician-turned-author Tracey Thorn, formerly of Everything but the Girl, and Charles Darwin's great-great-granddaughter, the poet Ruth Padel.

Other speakers include poet Kathleen Jamie, whose most recent work has been shortlisted for the TS Eliot prize, and illustrator and cartoonist Posy Simmonds, whose Tamara Drewe comic strip inspired the film. It ends on May 28 with a talk by Irish author Colm T�ib�n.

The festival is hosted by the UEA's Centre for Creative and Performing Arts.

Festival organiser Prof Lavinia Greenlaw said: 'This year we have a wonderfully varied line-up for the festival – three poets, a thriller writer, a cartoonist and a former pop star. We attract the best writers from all over the world and have the best audiences a writer could hope for.'

Lee Child opens the festival on February 6, and is followed by Kathleen Jamie (February 12), Tracey Thorn (February 19), Michael Symmons Roberts (March 5), Ruth Padel (March 12), James Meek (April 16), Posy Simmonds (April 23), Tessa Hadley (May 7), Colm T�ib�n (May 28).

Season tickets are �49 (�42 concessions) or �7 individually and available from 01603 508050 or at www.ueaticket bookings.co.uk /events

See www.uea.ac.uk/litfest for details.