There’s still time to book tickets for this weekend’s Dining with History literary dinner.

Taking place at Thompson@Darcy’s at 6.30pm on Sunday and 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.

The dinner is the first of several one-off events being run by St Albans Literary Festival prior to a second major 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.

The festival is once again being run with the support of the Herts Advertiser, and editor Matt Adams said: “We are proud to once again be involved in promoting literature in all its forms here in St Albans. This weekend’s dinner looks set to be an exciting launch to this year’s series of one-off events, and I’d encourage any lover of historical fiction to snap up their tickets before they sell out.”

Volunteers are still needed to join the St Albans Literary Festival management team, including 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