PENfro Book Festival 2015 kicks off on March 5 – World Book Day -- with the first in a series of lectures by a range of top local writers.

There will be four evening lectures through the year, as well as a packed weekend of workshops and talks on September 11 to 12. All events are held at Rhosygilwen, in north Pembrokeshire.

The evening lecture series has been set up by PENfro committee member Brian John, who hosts the first one on Thursday, March 5, from 8pm.

Titled ‘Greenland: real and imagined’, this will be a lavishly illustrated talk, suitable for all ages, about the history and landscape of Greenland. Brian will talk about some of the great events in the history of this huge ice-covered island, including the mysterious disappearance of the Viking settlement, the activities of the tiny Greenland Army during the Second World War, and the involvement of Greenland in the Cold War. He will also talk about the representation of this exotic and dangerous wilderness in his new novel, ‘Acts of God’.

Tickets, £5, are available now from the Rhosygilwen website: http://rhosygilwen.co.uk/events/penfro-lecture/

The other three lectures in the series are:

Spring Lecture: Thursday, May 14. Helen Carey, on ‘Women at War’. The author of the best-selling Second World War ‘Lavender Road’ novels explores the enduring appeal of researching and writing wartime fiction. The talk will include insights into the writing of Helen's new novel ‘London Calling’, which will be published this year.

Summer Lecture: Thursday, July 9. Chris Grace, ‘From SuperTed to Shakespeare’. Founder of the Shakespeare Schools Festival, Chris will talk about what is now the largest youth drama festival with 35,000 children performing in 130 theatres each autumn. He will use animated film and school cameos to illustrate a rollercoaster of a 35-year journey that began with the flying bear - SuperTed.

Autumn Lecture: Thursday, November 19. 'Stars and Steel: Port Talbot’s Illustrious Actors’. November 2015 marks the 90th anniversary of Richard Burton’s birth. He, Anthony Hopkins, Michael Sheen, Rob Brydon and many other actors come from Port Talbot. The historian Angela V. John, herself a native of the town, explores how and why this much-maligned steel town has produced so many famous actors. Her book ’The Actors’ Crucible: Port Talbot and the Making of Burton, Hopkins, Sheen and All the Others’ will be published by Parthian.

All these event will be at Rhosygilwen, and all start at 8pm, tickets £5. For more information visit http://rhosygilwen.co.uk/events/penfro-lecture/7.