The stars of the new film will be reading extracts from Alice in Wonderland, there will be an appreciation of the Alice stories by writer Will Self, discussion with legendary producer Richard Zanuck and co-producer Joe Roth of Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland, and a screening of the earliest film version from 1903, recently restored by the BFI and shown with a live piano accompaniment.

The event will be hosted by Mark Salisbury, editor of the definitive Tim Burton interview book Burton on Burton who has chronicled the life and films of Tim Burton extensively. He is also the author of the visual companions for Burton's Alice In Wonderland and other films.

Prior to the event there will be a chance to visit a new display containing highlights of the British Library’s Alice material, showcasing the original manuscript, hand written and illustrated by Lewis Carroll in 1862, as well as unique original costume designs for the new Tim Burton film by two-time Academy Award winning designer Colleen Atwood. Other treasures on show are Lewis Carroll’s diaries, the ‘Wonderland’ Postage Stamp-Case designed by Lewis Carroll and illustrations of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Salvador Dali. This will be open on the night until 18.00 and during all Library opening hours.

Helen Broderick, Curator of Modern Literary Manuscripts at the British Library, said: “The appeal of Alice, the White Rabbit and the Mad Hatter are as strong today as ever and the British Library is delighted to be able to highlight the rich variety of Alice material that we hold dating from the story’s initial creation in the 1860s through to different translations, parodies and editions created in the 20th century by artists and writers as diverse as Salvador Dali, Mervyn Peake and Vladimir Nabokov.”

For more information please visit: www.bl.uk/alice

Disney’s new film Alice In Wonderland opens nationwide in 3D and 2D on 5 March. To view the trailer, go to: www.disneymovies.co.uk/alice