Trick or treat? The countdown has begun – no, not for Halloween – but for Wells Festival of Literature which begins in just ten days time on 27 October.

There will be plenty of treats, if no tricks, for book lovers.

One of the magical treats on offer comes from Roma Agrawal, designer of London's 34-storey Shard. There are no tall tales from her, but in her new book Nuts and Bolts the structural engineer looks at how seven simple inventions – nail, spring, wheel, lens, magnet, string and pump – have changed the world in a huge way.

Or if you're looking for things that go bump in the night, you will probably find them in Luke O'Neill's spell-binding book that boldly goes where no book has gone before.

The acclaimed immunologist – the science teacher you wish you'd had – asks a mind-boggling array of questions such as what does the warping of spacetime in a black hole look like? Or what's going on on the squillions of exoplanets (that's a rogue planet to you and me) beyond our solar system?

Not sure if he has all the answers, but his is a joyful journey into science.

You might even catch a glimpse or two of the odd ghost throughout the festival as The Wife of Bath comes to life again in Marion Turner's new account of her life and times. Chaucer's funniest naughty woman continues to cast her spell across the centuries.

And what better place than the theatre to raise yet more spectres of ghosts and ghoulies?

Dominic Dromgoole, former artistic director of the Globe Theatre, goes backstage and back in time to Renaissance Florence, to the Sex Pistols shattering Thatcherite Britain, and to Hitchcock directing Psycho. This is sure to be a theatrically thrilling event.

Tickets are selling fast – and some of the speakers are near sell-out – so don't miss out but treat yourself to a non-scary night out at Cedars Hall in Wells.

The festival starts on Friday 27 October with speakers Wes Streeting and Will Gompertz and continues all week with both daytime and evening events, coming to a close on Saturday 4 November.