Mary Portas and Tom Bradby are among headliners at this weekend's Scarborough's Books by the Beach - full line up

Regular interviewers Helen Boaden, Gerry Foley and Alan Johnson will be returning to the event based at Queen Street Methodist Church Hall which runs from Friday June 5 to Sunday June 7.

The festival is launched by Bronte scholar Deborah Lutz on Friday June 5 at 10am.

Deborah is flying in from the USA to share her new biography on Emily Bronte’s short but momentous life. Gothic novelist Essie Fox follows Deborah at 12.30pm, when she introduces her retelling of Wuthering Heights. Essie Fox’s new novel Catherine is being hailed as a classic in its own right.

Festival audiences welcome nature writer Sally Coulthard at 3pm. Sally will be opening our eyes to the magical in-between world of dawn and dusk. Her new book, The Secret World of Twilight blends natural history, folklore, science and personal diary.

There’s ‘crime afoot’ as murder mystery writer Tim Sullivan takes to the stage at 5.30pm.

Tim’s acclaimed crime series features persistent DS George Cross who is on the autistic spectrum. Tim’s latest novel, The Bookseller, is out in paperback now.

Friday at 8pm features award-winning broadcaster Tom Bradby. Tom is best known as ITV’s News at Ten anchor and is also a novelist, screenwriter and journalist.

He is the author of 10 previous novels, including bestselling spy thriller Secret Service, which has just been screened on ITV starring Gemma Arterton. At the festival he will be discussing his new thriller, Red Scorpion with host Gerry Foley.

Award-winning food writer Felicity Cloake gets things under way on Saturday Jne 6 at 10am.

Felicity is the author of The Guardian’s How to Cook the Perfect … recipe series. Now she’s turned her hand to novel writing and The Underdog is a restaurant-set romcom about a rejected 36-year-old woman who abandons a top career to pursue her dream of becoming a chef.

Historian Sinclair McKay is ‘marching’ to the coast to discuss his new book, Dad’s Army at 12.30pm.

With the threat of invasion from Hitler’s forces looming in 1940, men and women of all ages and backgrounds assembled under the banner of the Home Guard. These volunteers trained on top of their everyday jobs, with a spirit of defiance yet maintaining an essential good humour.

Books by the Beach is excited to welcome Traitors star Harriet Tyce at 3pm. Harriet practised as a criminal barrister in London for nearly a decade before turning to writing.

Her first thriller, Blood Orange, was published to critical acclaim and subsequent novels were all bestsellers.

Harriet will be sharing her new book Witch Trial at the festival. It’s alegal thriller revolving around the death of a teenager,and the trial of her two best friends charged with her murder.

It’s the turn of RNLI volunteer Dominic Gregory at 5.30pm. Dominic shares his memoir, Lifeboat at the End of the World – a g story of being part of a RNLI crew who give up their time, livelihoods and safety to rescue anyone in distress at sea.

He will share the emotions of the ‘shout out’, the heart-in-mouth experiences of night launches plus the teamwork which is always needed by the crew. His lifeboat team is based in Dungeness on the English Channel, many from families who have crewed for generations. Dominic’s story is an inspiring one which resonates in Scarborough where there is a RNLI crew.

The Queen of Shops Mary Portas will be sharing her new memoir I Shop, Therefore I Am at 8pm.

The setting is the 1990s and British fashion is ripe for reinvention. Mary will share the success story of how she created an era-defining global brand destination in Harvey Nicks and how her life altered alongside her career. An entertaining evening of wit, humour and frank conversation.

Wannabe rock star Alan Johnson launches Sunday June 7 events at 10am in the YMCA Theatre, St Thomas Street.

Alan charts his remarkable story from growing up in a condemned area of West London to the corridors of power but with a musical soundtrack.

He recalls a vanished world of dance halls, flower power and platform shoes. His delightful take on post-war Britain is played back to the soundtrack of Dylan, Springsteen and his beloved Beatles. Alan’s nostalgic but unsentimental tales will keep the audience hooke.

Let’s talk politics when Alan returns to the festival hub at 1pm to share stage with historian David Torrance when they discuss David’s new book The Edge of Revolution. On Tuesday 4th of May 1926, two million workers downed tools in the only nationwide strike ever held in Britain. It lasted only nine days but left a legacy that has impacted on modern-day politics. The Edge of Revolution is published this year to mark the centenary of The General Strike.

Join worldwide best-selling author Sir Alexander McCall Smith at 3pm.

The master storyteller will entertain audiences with tales from his many series of books, including the 44 Scotland Street novels and the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.

He will also be celebrating the publication of the latest Isabel Dalhousie Novel, The Subtle Pleasures of Indiscretion, and reading poems from his new poetry collection, The Kind Company of Others.

Award-winning Annabelle Thorpe has written two UK travel books and four novels. On Sunday 7 Jun at 5.30pm Annabelle will take audiences on a 400 year journey through the history of British holidays – from the early spa break to the age of the global nomad. Weaving together history, social change and personal anecdotes this event is its own Grand Tour, hosted by festival patron Helen Boaden.

The festival finale on stars Mary Beard, one of the most acclaimed classicists working today. Mary shares her new book, Talking Classics: The Shock of the Old at 8pm. What’s exciting about a piece of bread 4,000 years old? Or some pots of paint abandoned in the eruption of Pompeii? Why should we be bothered with the distant past anyway? What’s the point?

Mary will discuss such questions and more, making surprising connections between antiquity and the present. Sharing lively stories, curious facts and good gossip- a memorable finale is promised.

Join her and Alan Johnson to discover why the Classics still matter.

Tickets for all Books by the Beach events are on sale online at booksbythebeach.co.uk

and in-person at the YMCA Theatre box office, St Thomas Street, Scarborough.

Call: 01723 506750. The box is open from Monday to Friday from 10am to 9pm and Saturday from 10am to 4pm.

Day tickets, covering five events, are also available.