HELENA Romanes School and Sixth Form Centre is hosting a part of the prestigious Essex Book Festival for the third year running. Previous speakers at the school in Great Dunmow have been Nick Barrett, genealogist and co-author of the book accompanying the

HELENA Romanes School and Sixth Form Centre is hosting a part of the prestigious Essex Book Festival for the third year running.

Previous speakers at the school in Great Dunmow have been Nick Barrett, genealogist and co-author of the book accompanying the BBC television series Who Do You Think You Are?, and Louis de Berni�res, author of the world best selling novel Captain Corelli's Mandolin.

The guest speakers for the 2009 event are Essex based journalists, writers and biographers Francis Wheen and Simon Heffer.

Mr Wheen - whose children attend the school - broadcasts regularly on BBC Radio and is a frequent panellist on The News Quiz and BBC television's Have I Got News for You. He is author of several books, including a prize-winning biography of Karl Marx, which was translated into more than 20 languages. He writes for Private Eye and is the magazine's deputy editor.

Mr Heffer is a journalist noted for his forthright political views. He is a columnist for, and associate editor of, the Daily Telegraph. He has written biographies on such diverse characters as Enoch Powell and composer Vaughan Williams.

The theme of the evening is 'Dead or Alive: The Art of Biography' and will feature Mr Heffer and Mr Francis in conversation about biography writing and the challenges of bringing the subject to life.

The event start sat 7.30 pm (doors open from 7pm). Tickets, �6.50/�4.50 concessions, are available from the school by calling 01371 872560 ext 206.