A retail guru, an anti-plastic expert and a former Labour minister will head to Stroud later this year to tell the town about their new books.

The directors of Stroud Book Festival have revealed the first round of authors set to appear at the literary feast, which takes place from Wednesday, November 7 to Sunday, November 11.

Mary Portas, the retail guru renowned for her starring role in such TV series as Mary, Queen of Shops and What Britain Buys will be in conversation about her new book Work Like a Woman, described as a manifesto for women in business which aims to redefine what we mean by success in a future world of work.

Also on the list is Will McCallum, head of oceans at Greenpeace, who will be telling bookworms how to give up plastic, as explained in his new guide, How to Give Up Plastic: A Guide to Changing the World, One Plastic Bottle at a Time.

Acclaimed novelist and screenwriter, Patrick Gale, will be talking about his new novel Take Nothing With You about a young boy whose life is transformed when his mother signs him up for cello lessons.

Also on a musical note, former Labour Home Secretary Alan Johnson will be at the festival to riff on his latest memoir, In My Life, in which he details the music that inspired him - including his lifelong devotion to The Beatles.

And in the 70th birthday year of the NHS, Christie Watson, author of The Language of Kindness: A Nurse’s Story - recently a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week - will discuss what it means to devote your life to care for your fellow human beings with Sam Guglani, Cheltenham oncologist and author of short story collection, Histories.

Stroud Book Festival will also stage an event entitled Refugee Tales in support of Gatwick Detainees Welfare Group and of displaced people everywhere, at which Patrick Gale and Bernardine Evaristo will read their compelling retellings of real refugee stories.

For younger readers, award-winning illustrators Tony Ross and Michael Foreman will be joining Stroud Book Festival for a very special event to make the centenary of the First World War Armistice.

The Festival is also staging a designated Schools Day for the first time on Thursday, November 8, with a programme of events aimed at primary school children across the Five Valleys.

Supported by the Authors Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS), further details will be released very soon, organised have said.

Stroud Book Festival’s artistic director Caroline Sanderson said: “Our ambition with this year’s programme is not only to include events for all types of reader, but also to reflect the diverse range of interests which makes Stroud such a lively, creative and stimulating place in which to live.

“A huge thank you to the authors and sponsors who have lent their support so far to our still young Festival.

“We urge you to get the Festival dates in your diary, and to watch this space for further event news very soon”.

The five-day Festival will be held at venues across Stroud from 7 until 11 November 2018. Tickets will be on sale in early autumn 2018.