TWO weeks of celebrating the country’s finest literary minds came to a glittering crescendo on Saturday.

The final events of this year’s Swindon Festival of Literature were aimed at getting more people to hone their writing skills with a workshop held at Lower Shaw Farm.

The session was chaired by festival regular Matt Harvey, a published poet, broadcaster and writer for the Guardian.

The afternoon workshop catered for seasoned storytellers and newcomers to the literary field with attendees taught different techniques for writing poetry, novels and short stories with time for talk, discussion and individual questions.

Matt claimed anyone could be taught how to write and said he enjoyed encouraging aspiring writers.

He said: “Events like these are so enriching to the community. I’ll be teaching them some techniques to enhance what they already have.

“They’re eager and willing to learn so it should be a fun day. There’ll be some fun times and some challenges so it’s exciting to see what the event brings.”

Highlights of this year’s festival included talks by Helen Lederer, Rory Bremner and Sandi Toksvig.

Matt Holland, festival director, said he was staggered by the calibre of speakers that had graced the stage this year.

He said: “It’s one of those things that have got better and better each year and I’ve never seen anything like it.

“I can’t quite believe it’s been this successful, it’s just really amazing, and it’s thanks to the people of Swindon.

“There really has been a critical mass of festival followers.

“I feel like a marathon runner who’s almost at the finish line. I can’t celebrate yet, I can hear the cheers from the crowd along the way and I’m happy and exhausted but I’m going to continue to push through to the finish line.

“It’s hard to pick a favourite moment from the two weeks.

“We started before the election to put it into perspective and since then it’s been a constant ride through so many different subjects and authors.

“This is the first year we’re had such a diverse range of subject matters and each one has brought something different to the festival, a different flavour. Some have been bitter, acerbic, some have been sweet and I can’t wait to see how it goes next year.”

The festival ended with a party held at the town hall. After organising the festivities Matt said he was looking forward to unwinding at the closing event.

He said: “I’m looking forward to letting my hair down and enjoying the finish with people who’ve attended the festival.”