The tickets rush for this year’s Ilkley Literature Festival gets under way next week.

With top names due in town this autumn including Monty Python legend Michael Palin, Clare Balding, Jack Straw, Michael Portillo and Jeremy Vine, demand is expected to be high.

Tickets will go on general sale online and by telephone from 9am on Tuesday, and also at Ilkley Visitor Information Centre and The Grove Bookshop, where queues have formed from the early hours in the past. The festival will run at venues across Ilkley from September 28 to October 14, when authors and poets will give audiences an insight into their work.

Many associated fringe events, all free of charge, will also be taking place.

More than 200 events are lined up as part of the 2012 festival.

Other headliners this year are Sandi Toksvig, Paddy Ashdown, Benjamin Zephaniah, Michael Morpurgo, Andrew Motion, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, John Suchet, Sandy Gall, Pat Barker, Richard Ford, Peter Hook, John Suchet, Boff Whalley and Lemn Sissay.

Festival director Rachel Feldberg said: “After the excitement of the Olympics we are thrilled to welcome Clare Balding to Ilkley Literature Festival, along with Michael Portillo, Pat Barker, Richard Ford and scores more.

“The great thing about this year’s festival is that there is so much room to be adventurous. You could see a talk from a household name like Michael Palin or Pru Leith, enjoy dazzling Art Deco evening dresses from Agatha Christie’s era, or listen to experimental young poets.

“Whilst there is always terrific demand for big draw names, I think one of the pleasures of the festival is hunting through the programme to find a writer that’s new to you tucked in among the hundreds of events on offer.”

For more information, visit ilkleyliteraturefestival.org.uk.