A new chapter in the massive Kendal Mountain Film Festival success story is unveiled next month as it aims for fresh peaks and an even bigger and better week-long event.

This year's momentous showcase of breathtaking vistas and high altitude adventures also features a book festival.

The literary side includes Survivors Tales, Jamie Andrew's story of survival and rescue after five nights trapped 10,000 feet up on an Alpine mountain in a ferocious storm. He gives his account to a gathered audience at K Village Outlet Centre on Wednesday, November 17 (7.30pm)

Also billed are Women Mountain Words, a group of women who give a voice to the female experience of mountains, and features work by Judith Brown, Sarah Kekus, Jan Levi, Eileen Neil, Dorothy Russell and Rosemary Scott.

They share their stories at the Brewery on Friday, November 19 (5pm).

And climber, writer and broadcaster Dermot Somers reads from, and discusses, his newly published Collected Short Stories at Kendal Town Hall on Saturday, November 20, at noon.

The day after (Sunday), at the Riverside Hotel, Kendal, associate editor of The Independent, Richard Askwith, celebrates the agonies and camaraderie of fell running and dips into his first book, Feet in the Clouds.

Meanwhile, headlining the world-class film event, which runs at Kendal's Brewery Arts Centre and Kendal Leisure Centre from November 13-21, as well as some screenings and talks at Rheged, at Penrith, is American climbing icon Yvon Chouinard, renowned for his high altitude exploits in Yosemite and pioneering big-wall climbs around the globe.

He appears at the leisure centre on Saturday, November 20 (8.30pm), as does Heinz Zak (2pm), regarded by many as the greatest photographer of modern rock climbing.

To tie in with his Kendal visit, Heinz Zak's stunning images are dotted throughout the Brewery, no doubt providing some of the many staggering highlights of the festival one of the largest on the planet that brings thousands of visitors to Kendal and the region.

The Mountain Bikes and White Water Evening features films plus lecture by Maria Coffey and Dag Goering at the Brewery on Wednesday, November 17 (7pm-10.30pm), including amazing journeys on water and land - another of the vast amount of exhilarating attractions on offer.

For full details of the extensive list of lectures and films contact www.mountainfilm.co.uk Tickets available for both the book and film festivals from the Brewery box office on 01539-725133.