Bookworms, take note: the Shanghai International Literary Festival 2012 is coming to town, poised to unleash its bookish awesomeness from February 29 through March 18. Organizers M on the Bund are putting the final touches to the speaker list right now, so be sure to check their site for updates.

Now in its tenth edition, this year's lineup is typically and fittingly impressive. There's even royalty in the form of HRH Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands, who, when she's not, erm, reigning is the author of children's book series Mr. Finney.

Elsewhere on the already sizable list, award-winning Simpsons and Futurama cartoonist Matt Groening stands out as a highlight, as does acclaimed Israeli novelist A.B. Yehoshua. Add to that a host of photographers, journalists, curators and other luminaries and you've got the makings of a very promising festival indeed.

More details on that here.