ZOE Sharp is up there among the thriller writing elite and offers chapter and verse on her literary life in the opening event of Furness Litfest.

As a novelist, success first came in 2001 with Killer Instinct, the first book to feature her ex-Special Forces heroine, Charlotte 'Charlie' Fox, a self-defence instructor with a slightly shady military background and a painful past. Zoe's 13th and latest venture into the action-packed world of Charlie Fox is Bad Turn.

Zoe is joined on Saturday, November 2, for the Furness Litfest opener at Dalton-in-Furness Community Centre (9.30am) by Helen Phifer, a bestselling crime and horror novelist, author of the Annie Graham and Lucy Harwin series. Her debut novel, The Ghost House, reached number one on the Amazon Contemporary Horror charts, apparently pushing her hero Stephen King off the number one spot.

Furness Litfest runs over the weekend of November 2-3. Dalton-in-Furness remains the festival’s hub but there are also events at Art Gene in Barrow and Ulverston's Coronation Hall. The Saturday is packed with workshops and interviews with writers from around the UK, a book market for local writers to sell their books, stories for children and an open mic and ceilidh to round off the day. "We’re expanding because our first event was so successful, " said Ron Creer, the festival’s director. "The weekend very much builds on our first festival but we have more workshops and more evening events where we’re working with local partners Poem and a Pint at the community centre with music courtesy of Furness Tradition.

One of the region's most successful writers, Zosia Wand, plays a part running a workshop for budding scriptwriters. Also among the literary line-up will be Ann Grant and Kate Davies, who will host a poetry workshop at Barrow's Art Gene. Caroline Gilfillan, author of The Terrace, will be leading a workshop on self-publishing, and food lovers can check out cook and writer Julie Jones, who has appeared on BBC Television’s Yes Chef. Julie will be joined for the festival's Foodies Forum by Maria Whitehead of Hawkshead Relish.

The final chapter in the sumptuous weekend of scribes ends with Tales from the Coro on Sunday, November 3, the culmination of Furness Litfest's storytelling project. For further details and tickets visit furnesslitfest.co.uk.