BOOKWORMS and story lovers will be thrilled to know a Christmas book fair is coming to Leigh this Saturday.

A Storyteller's Christmas is a family-friendly book fair event, hosted by local authors and featuring works for all ages and interests.

There will be activities and talks as well as special guest appearances by some of the fictional characters themselves, including Mickey and Minnie Mouse.

It all takes place on Saturday November 18, from 10am until 4pm at Wesley Methodist Church, Elm Road.

Several key local authors will also be presenting talks about the many aspects of the creative writing process to inspire other budding writers, while others will deliver exciting readings of their work for younger audiences.

One such person is writer, Dee Gordon, who will be launch her new book Bad Girls from History: Wicked or Misunderstood .

Dee, a Southend resident for over 30 years, had always wanted to be a writer.

As a teenager Dee had written picture stories for popular magazines of the time, including Romeo, Marilyn, and Mirabelle.

Yet like so many young, aspiring writers, when Dee got what she refers to as a “proper” job in recruitment, for the more regular income it provided, she found the only way to succeed was to focus on the job and let the writing slide.

Dee did succeed, eventually launching her own recruitment business. However, on selling her business in 2000, she found she could write pretty much full time, allowing for the care of her autistic son. The first thing she did was complete her English Literature degree with the Open University, to prove she could write so much more than the training manuals and business plans she was used to.

So began a new and successful chapter in Dee’s life.

So far, her published work encompasses two novels (The latest is My Little Brother, My Little Life, about a woman with an autistic brother), a self-published poetry collection, 13 vibrant and insightful local history books and The Little Book of the 1960s (which Dee describes as "her era"!).

Other speakers and authors include: Lorraine Coverly, Colin Taylor, Simon Woodward, Ann Duggans Robson, Steve Massie, Robert Hallman, Sarah Smith and Andy Summers.

The event will be a fun day out for all the family, and an opportunity for visitors to meet authors and purchase their works. Admission is free.

Admission to A Storyteller’s Christmas is free.

For more information visit facebook.com/astorytellerschristmas