The Stratford Literary Festival has announced its most ambitious autumn festival yet with a packed programme that includes household names, bestselling authors, important conversations and hands-on storytelling fun for families.

The line-up, which runs from Thurdsday 29 October to Sunday 1 November, includes biography, outstanding fiction and conversations on world affairs with experts in their fields covering topics as diverse as the rise of the right, a world post America and the power of hormones.

National treasure and Celebrity Traitors icon Celia Imrie headlines the festival, as she journeys back in time and shares the most memorable adventures of her life from her new memoir The Elegant Hustler: My Life In Adventures. BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show host and Radio 4 Rewinder presenter, Greg James, discusses his recent book All The Best for the Future. Countryfile and former The One Show presenter, Matt Baker, celebrates his life with dogs. Marina Litvinenko, widow of the poisoned Russian defector, shares her campaign to get justice for his death, and the leading theatre director, Sir Nicholas Hytner, shares a life in stages.

Brilliant fiction features large this autumn with bestselling authors Harriet Tyce, Bonnie Garmus, John Boyne, Victoria Hislop, Nick Harkaway, Joanne Harris, Bella Mackie and Sarah Moss – who also leads the Festival’s second Writers’ Weekend. This is two days of exclusive workshops sessions, with 50% of places subsidised so income is not barrier to access.

A strong history strand is lead by the leading historians Sir Max Hastings and Damien Lewis, while Dennis Sewell considers George Downing, the elusive Civil War spy; Amy Jeffs retells the legend of King Arthur and Sophie Shorland describes the race to try and wed the Virgin Queen, Elizabeth I.

Current affairs and politics take a central place, as always, in the festival line-up. Baroness Minette Batters, former NFU chair, debates the importance of farming.

Sir Robin Niblett, commentator and former Chatham House director, considers America’s role on the world stage. Sir Jeremy Hunt outlines how Britain can restore economic prosperity, whilst writers Nigel Biggar and Brian Harrison take a look at the narrative we tell ourselves as a nation.

Politican and Life Peer, Dame Margaret Hodge, explains why she earned the name Battleaxe, and the poet Alycia Pirmohamed considers migration and what we mean by home.

Music features strongly with the Haircut 100 star, Nick Heyward, on the band’s comeback. Biographers Peter Ormerod and Alexander Larman consider the life and legacy of David Bowie ten years after his death. The festival rounds off with a celebration of the brilliant lyricism of Stephen Sondheim with the English Musical Theatre Orchestra.

There’s comedy with stand-up Lucy Porter on middle-aged women, and the comedian and Radio 4 stalwart, Alexei Sayle, talks about his life trying to change the world. The acclaimed screenwriter, Andrew Davies, looks back at his colourful life and the vociferous LBC presenter, Iain Dale, shares the highs and lows of a life at the forefront of current affairs and broadcasting.

Queen of Shops herself, Mary Portas, also shares the highlights of her life transforming retail, and the actor and grief campaigner, Greg Wise, talks about why how we handle loss is so important.

There’s plenty of conversations about gardens this autumn too with the artist Matthew Rice, writer and Shakespeare scholar Sir Jonathan Bate, who explores the history of gardens, and the writer, Gavin Stoneystreet, who’ll take us round the gardens that were inspiration for the artist William Morris. The artist Claude Monet is also celebrated in his letter, read by the actor David Troughton.

Health issues are addressed by the doctor and Radio 4 What’s Up Docs? broadcaster, Dr Xand van Tulleken, and the Stratford-based menopause specialist, Dr Louise Newsom. Plus the oddities of life are explored by V&A East Director, Gus Casely-Hayford (on objects), physicist and broadcaster, Jim Al-Kalili (on time), the poet David Larbi (on happiness) and the writer Simon Garfield (on the history of the pen).

Other events include the natural world with leading film makers James Aldred and Justin Anderson, and the private lives of Marylin Monroe and Daphne du Maurier are discussed with biographer Gail Crowther and Du Maurier’s grandson, Paul de Zulueta.

As aways festival-goers can learn new skills with workshops in memoir and play writing, crosswords, craft and table-top storytelling, and young people from age 4 to 18 can get stuck in to free Halloween crafting, comic making, manga, Dungeons & Dragons, Warhammer, and the crazy Donut world of the best-selling comic artist, Neill Cameron.

The Festival is in media partnership with The Week magazine and Pragnell is its lead sponsor. It runs an extensive outreach programme year-round in schools, prisons and the community.

Tickets are on general sale at stratlitfest.co.uk on Friday 14 August.