A fantastic line-up of speakers including biographer Calire Tomalin, writer and actor Simon Callow and children’s author Philip Pullman will mark the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ birth.

Events to mark the anniversary today (February 7) are taking place across the world. The Sunday Times Oxford Literary Festival will pay its own tribute with a number of events between March 24 and April 1.

Claire Tomalin will talk about her superb new biography of Charles Dickens. How did he rise from humble origins to become one of the greatest Britons?

Acclaimed actor and writer Simon Callow, pictured above left, will show how the theatrical dominated Dickens’ thinking on plot and characterisation. He uncovers Dickens’ obsession with the stage. Callow has performed as Dickens in a highly acclaimed one-man show in the West End and on Broadway.

Children’s authors Philip Pullman, pictured below right,Christopher Edge and J D Sharpe head a family event on the impact of Dickens on children’s literature.

A recent discovery that Dickens lived close to a workhouse in London has been chronicled by historian Dr Ruth Richardson. She will talk to BBC arts editor Will Gompertz about her new book.

Finally, John Crace, of The Guardian’s Digested Reads, is joined by author and critic John Sutherland for a humorous look at Dickens. Both believe literature should be fun.