Jenni Murray, David Starkey, John Hegley and our own Dave Flett... There will be lots on offer at next year’s York Literature Festival, reports STEPHEN LEWIS.

NEXT year's York Literature Festival will continue its efforts to reach people other literary events can't reach.

Yes, there will be some big names from the worlds of literature and the arts. BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour presenter Jenni Murray and TV historian David Starkey are already confirmed, along with historical novelist Lindsey Davis and acclaimed poet Paul Farley.

But Festival Director Miles Salter will also be reaching out to different audiences.

So the week-long festival – which will run from March 19 to March 29 – will also feature comedian John Hegley teaming up with York band Blackbeard's Tea Party for an afternoon of music and comedy; and an evening of stories about York City Football Club, hosted by The Press's own football reporter Dave Flett, Radio York's Sharon Shortle, and former York City legend Chris Jones.

The York City evening is an attempt to build on the success of one of the events at this year's festival, which focused on cycling ahead of the Tour de France, says Miles. "We had a room full of blokes, whereas we normally have female audiences."

At next year's event Murray – who began working on Women's Hour in 1987 – will talk about her life and career in an 'Audience With...' event. Starkey, meanwhile, will be talking about York's place in history.

"He'll be explaining how York became, at one point, one of the major towns in England," Miles says. It should be a great event, he says. "He's a really interesting guy – sometimes quite controversial."

The full festival line-up will be announced in January. But it is already promising to be a "wide-ranging festival that will celebrate York's diverse culture, and engage people from York and beyond," Miles says. There will be more than 40 events across 11 days, at venues ranging from York St John University and St Peter's School to the Friends Meeting House, the York Museums Trust and City Screen.

As usual, it is all being done on a shoestring.

In 2013 and 2014, Miles managed to get some Arts Council funding to help stage the festival, which he reckons costs about £30,000 a year.

His bid for Arts Council funding for 2015 was unsuccessful, although he has pledged to try again in future years.

He has, however, received £9,000 from the city council's Community York fund, which gives grants to voluntary organisations, as well as support from York St John and support in kind from organisations such as St Peter's.

The 2015 event isn't under threat, therefore – and in fact, the festival continues to grow in appeal. "There's a real sense of people wanting to be involved."

But he could really do with a sponsor to come forward to secure the long-term future of the festival, he says.

He'll apply again to the Arts Council in future years and he's also hoping to get the festival charitable status, which would unlock a few doors.

"But ideally I would like to get £80,000 from somewhere to get us through the next two to three years."

Tickets for some 2015 York Literature Festival events are already on sale, and tickets for Jenni Murray go on sale from Monday. Visit yorkliteraturefestival.co.uk for more information or to book.

If you'd be interested in sponsoring the Festival, meanwhile, contact Miles Salter at milesinyork@hotmail.com