Now in its 19th year, Manchester Literature Festival returns this autumn, running city-wide across a variety of venues from 4 to 20 October.

Bramhall is the place to be on 12 October as globally renowned author Jodi Picoult lands in the village to read from and chat about her latest novel, By Any Other Name.

The team at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House – just awarded official museum status – continues its deep dive into one of the famous 19th-century author’s texts: Wives and Daughters. Head online on 16 October for the next of these literary treats.

There’s lots to look forward to at this year’s Litfest Autumn Weekend, Lancaster’s literature festival running 18 to 25 October, with the fabulously accessible chance to take part either in person or virtually.

The witching hour is upon us, and, just in time for Halloween, Manchester-based Fly On The Wall Press has launched a new horror anthology, Modern Gothic, with various tied-in events – including this launch in Liverpool on 23 October, organised in partnership with Dead Ink Books.

Manchester regular Poets & Players is a must-go for lovers of words as well as music, presenting performers both established and emerging, with the latest readers Sinéad Morrissey, Charlotte Shevchenko Knight and Tim Tim Cheng. The music on 26 October comes courtesy guitarist Becky Langan.

Head online on 30 October for a spine-tingling talk beaming out of Elizabeth Gaskell’s House, where the team is inviting you to step over to the dark side (just for an hour, don’t fret!) to look at literary vampires, particularly the role of female vampires in a “blood-curdling selection of familiar classics and new favourites”.

The Portico Library’s latest exhibition, Weird As Folk, runs through to 2 November and invites you to explore and reimagine folklore via texts selected from the collection, which includes 100 books of English folklore.

Bestselling author Tracy Chevalier – best known for her second novel, Girl with a Pearl Earring – is visiting Leeds on 6 November to introduce her latest book The Glass Maker, which came out in the UK in September.

Bradford’s number-one live lit night with invited guests – the autumn season closes, on 7 November, by welcoming Jazmine Linklater, Nell Osborne, David Mullin and Edwina Attlee, launching her debut collection a great shaking.

Calder Valley reading series Poetry at the Dusty Miller is a now monthly night with invited readers, organised by Carcanet Press-published Carola Luther and Judith Willson in the Coiners’ Room in the Mytholmroyd pub – this month’s guests, on 19 November, are James Davies, Victoria Gatehouse and Rebecca Hurst.