In pictures: Todmorden Book Festival 2019

The nine-day event which started on November 1 also featured children's author and illustrator Chris Mould, neuroscientist Gina Rippon, as well as new and emerging writers.

The festival, held at various Todmorden venues, was a packed programme with nine sold-out events, and is fast becoming a permanent fixture in the town's cultural calendar.

Speaking about the festival, Kate Moreton-Deakin, Deputy Lieutenant of West Yorkshire, said: "Yet again, I've made new friends and learned something new every day.

"Vibrant, informative, emotional, and great fun."

Festival author and illustrator Mr Mould has created a unique artwork for Todmorden Book Festival, featuring Ted Hughes's The Iron Man.

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the original book, Mr Mould has updated the book to create an exciting new edition for the 21st century featuring his stunning illustrations.

In his event for the book festival, The Iron Man Reimagined, Mr Mould invited a young audience to draw alongside him.

The illustrator also visited two primary schools in the town as part of the Festival.

Todmorden Book Festival was delighted to present Walsden School with Chris's original drawing, which now has pride of place in the school library.

The Festival has also presented copies of The Iron Man, kindly donated by Faber & Faber, to Cornholme School for their library.

To mark World Children's Day on 20 November, the Festival presented Todmorden High School with copies of the anthology, A Country to Call Home, published by Unbound, which explores the experiences of young refugees, and features work by Michael Morpurgo, Eoin Colfer, Kit de Waal, and Simon Armitage, among many others.

The anthology's editor Lucy Popescu would like the book to be read widely in schools in the hope the next generation will have a kinder response to refugees and better understand some of the reasons people are forced to flee their native countries.

The donation of books was possible thanks to the generosity of illustrator Chris Riddell, who illustrated the anthology.

He gifted the original prints to Popescu who, together with Unbound, sold each of the 23 illustrations, using the funds to distribute the anthology to schools.

Todmorden Book Festival ran for the first time in November 2018.

The programme features fiction, non-fiction and poetry events for adults, young adults and children, reflecting the rich cultural heritage of the region and exploring individual and collective stories.

This year's Festival was supported by the Community Foundation for Calderdale, Calderdale Council, Todmorden Town Council, and Todmorden Civic Pride.

www.todmordenbookfestival.co.uk