In the wake of the first hugely-successful St Albans Literary Festival, the organisers are promising an exciting follow-up celebration next year.

Run entirely by volunteers, the 2014 event was a four-day celebration of literature in all of its forms, from blogging and journalism to crime fiction and chick lit.

Some of the top names who appeared included Sir Terry Wogan, Jessie Burton, James Runcie, Ben Aaronovitch, Leanda de Lisle and Conn Iggulden.

But although the next weekend festival won’t be until early summer 2016, there are plans for plenty of one-off events over the coming months to whet appetites for the return of the main attraction.

The festival is once again being run with the support of the Herts Advertiser, and editor Matt Adams said: “We were overwhelmed by the success of the 2014 festival, and are looking forward to next year’s sequel, as well as a wide variety of special events in the interim.”

The excitement begins with a Dining with History literary dinner taking place at Thompson@Darcy’s at 6.30pm on July 5.

Organised by Waterstones St Albans, the event promises an evening of fine food and conversation with four acclaimed historical authors: Elizabeth Fremantle, author of Watch the Lady, has been described as “the major new voice in historical fiction” by The Bookseller; Manda Scott, the author of the bestselling Boudica series, which has been optioned for film rights, will be talking about her new book Into the Fire; Sunday Times no 1 bestselling author Simon Scarrow will be discussing his new book Hearts of Stone; and the evening’s final guest is multi award-winning author Andrew Taylor, Historical Crime Novelist of the Year and winner of the Ellis Peters Historical Dagger.

Tickets cost £25 and include the talks and a three-course dinner with an author at your table. They are available in store at Waterstones St Albans or from www.allaboutstalbans.com.

Festival director Claire Walsh said: “St Albans Literary Festival 2014 brought a number of high-profile authors to our city and we are thrilled to be able to continue this with a number of exciting smaller events this year which cherry-pick the UK’s best contemporary authors.

“Planning is underway for a larger event in 2016 but we need volunteers to help us with this gigantic task. If you’re looking to get into the publishing industry, events management, marketing or simply have a love of books we want you to join our small team of proactive and enthusiastic volunteers.”

One of the coming events is a special night in the Abbot’s Kitchen at St Albans Cathedral on September 26. Details to follow soon.

Volunteers needed to join the management team include an event manager, a director of the adult programme, a director of the children’s programme, a volunteers manager, and a sales and marketing manager. If you are interested in getting involved, email stalbansliteraryfestival@yahoo.co.uk