Marlborough was buzzing with literature during the fifth LitFest at the weekend, with more than 20 events for adults and children, including fiction and non-fiction, poetry and workshops.

This year’s Golding Author, Louis de Bernières, launched the festival with readings from his poetry collections to a packed town hall on Friday evening.

Chairman of the 2014 Man Booker Prize and renowned philosopher AC Grayling spoke to a sell-out audience about the philosophy of friendship and poetry during the First World War was robustly discussed by former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams in St Mary’s Church on Saturday.

Simon Garfield and Nina Stibbe talked about the importance of letters, particularly in the technological 21st century.

Journalist and writer Lynne Truss thoroughly entertained a sold out town hall audience to readings from some of her Radio 4 plays and scripts as well as talking about her new comic horror novel, A Cat Out of Hell.

Audiences were moved to tears during Helen MacDonald’s raw, emotional and heartfelt talk about grief and life in her book H for Hawk and renowned contemporary war poet Owen Sheers added to the packed sombre mood in the Merchant’s House with his eloquent readings about the horrors of war.

The LitFest once again hosted workshops for local primary schools. This year nearly 430 children came to the town hall on Friday from schools in Burbage, Ramsbury, Ogbourne St George, Woodborough, Easton Royal, Shalbourne, St Peter’s, Aldbourne, Preshute, Pewsey as well as St Francis School in Pewsey.

Children’s author Chris Lloyd engaged the children with an entertaining and instructive tour of the plays of Shakespeare with the aid of his What on Earth Wallbook of Shakespeare.

Author Caroline Lawrence gave a lively talk on her bestselling history mystery series, The Roman Mysteries on Saturday morning at the town hall. Competition winner, Olivia Carson, from St Francis School in Pewsey, won tickets to see Caroline speak and was presented with a book token by the author.

Storytelling workshops came alive for a group of children in the atmospheric 17th- century surroundings of the Merchant’s House.

With the help of creaking floorboards, experienced storytellers James Smith and Aly Stott (in full historical costume) took the children on an entertaining trip back in time to discover the history of the house brought alive through storytelling: the great fire of Marlborough, the civil war, plagues and superstition and servant's lives in 17th- century England.

Children were then encouraged to write their own stories or poems, which will be displayed on the LitFest website.

For the first time this year, the LitFest asked local businesses to name their favourite book and why.

An exhibition of the selected books and quotes from the businesses was shown in the town hall and the White Horse Bookshop stocked the chosen titles, which included Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks from Andrew Marshall at Hamptons, to Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, chosen by Deborah Reynolds at the Mustard Seed Café.

Mavis Cheek, founder patron, said: “It’s the best year ever, according to the audiences, the authors and the organisers. The town was abuzz with literature.”