A MUCH-LOVED children’s author will be appearing at an inaugural literary festival this weekend – and five lucky readers could win a pair of tickets to see him for free.

The Ayot Literary Festival takes place on Ayot Green between Friday, June 24, and Sunday, June 26, and will feature a talk from Darren Shan, author of the widely popular The Saga of Darren Shan and the Demonata series.

The writer will be talking about his latest book Oceans of Blood, which continues the back story of Larten Crepsley, the vampire readers first encountered in the Darren Shan saga.

Oceans of Blood follows Larten to Vampire Mountain, where he and fellow vampire Wester train with master Seba Nile. But Larten feels like he has abandoned the human world too soon, and embarks on a journey aboard a ship bound for faraway lands, unaware of the danger that awaits him.

The WHT has teamed up with festival organisers and we have five pairs of tickets to see Darren Shan discuss the book at 10.30am on Sunday, June 26.

Just answer the following question:

What is the name of the mountain Larten trains on in Oceans Of Blood?

A) Space Mountain

B) Splash Mountain

C) Vampire Mountain

Send your answers to Ayot Festival Competition, Welwyn Hatfield Times, 31a Howardsgate, WGC AL8 6AP or email comps@whtimes.co.uk with your name, address and daytime telephone number.

The competition closes at noon this Wednesday, June 22. Normal Archant rules apply.

For details of the festival programme or to buy tickets call 01707 326865 or visit the website.