The week ahead in literary London
Wednesday: This year's LSE Literary Festival kicks off with readings from Rabindranath Tagore's short stories (6.30pm, free).
Apples and Snakes head back to Rich Mix for Jawdance in the company of Richard Marsh, Kemi Taiwo, SuperPennie, Ronald Olaibi and Jonny Fluffypunk (7.30pm, free).
Literary Death Match moves to Shoreditch House for a post-Valentine Love Hurts dust-up. Esther Freud, Julie Mayhew, Sunjeev Sahota and Guy Folligrey are the contenders; Rowland Rivron, Simon Hickson and Sam Leith pass judgement (7pm, £5 / £8).
Daunt Books in Chelsea celebrate crime fiction with Barry Forshaw (6.30pm).
David Parry and guests invite you to spend An Evening with the Gruntlers at the Poetry Cafe (7pm, £5 / £3).
Mary Michaels launches her new prose poetry collection at Rudolph Steiner House (7pm).
John Gibbens, Armorel Weston and Aiden Andrew Dun perform poetry at the German Gymnasium (6.30pm, free).
Thursday: Jessica Ruston and Sarra Manning are the guests on the sofa for the Firestation Book Swap. Hosts Scott Pack and Marie Phillips hand round the cake and ask questions (7.30pm, £5 or free with homemade cake).
Over at the LSE, David Davis MP and Professor Conor Gearty discuss rights (12.30pm), Jon Courtenay Grimwood, Paul McAuley and Ken McLeod talk about politics and society in science fiction (1.15pm), Dr Shakuntala Banaji, Professor Andrew Burn and Blake Morrison look at adapting the book (5pm) while John Thompson and Andrew Franklin wonder what makes a bestseller (6.45pm). Everything's free.
Bang Said the Gun invites George Chopping and Anti Poet, who may annihilate poetry on contact, to join the regulars (8pm, £5).
Roger Moorhouse talks about life in Berlin under the Nazis at the Travel Bookshop (7pm, £5).
New magazine The White Review holds an evening of readings, discussion and debate at the Wapping Project Bookshop (7.30pm, £5, tickets must be reserved).
Friday: Back at the LSE, Timothy Garton Ash examines the border between journalism and history (12pm), Steve Bell and Bryan Talbot look at the power of the comic strip (12.30pm), Laurence Rees reflects on the ethics of interviewing people who have committed terrible acts (5.15pm) and Elif Shafak talks about writing in a culture of conflict (7pm). All events at the festival are free.
Zolan Quobble (this may be a pseudonym), Maggie Oke, Liz Cruse and Patric Cunnane celebrate at fizzling February with Dodo Modern Poets at the Poetry Cafe (8pm, £6 / £5).
Saturday: We told you about YARNfest earlier, and now it's here. Today there's a zine workshop and Illustrationarium at The Book Club (12pm).
On the final day of the LSE Literary Festival, Ursula Chowaniec, Izabela Filipiak and Grazyna Plebanek discuss women's writing in Poland (10.30am), Geoff Dyer, Robert Hudson and David Shields consider the role of truth in art (11am), Donna Thomson and Geraldine Bedell talk about disability and how philosphers thought a good life should be lived (12.30pm), Brian Chikwava, Abdulrazak Gurnah and Olumide Popoola are invited by Granta to think about diaspora and place (1pm), Francis Spufford describes Soviet Russia in the 50s and 60s (2.30pm), Sam Leith, Lionel Shriver and Nigel Warburton look at new technologies and the book (3pm), Tahmima Anam and Mirza Waheed discuss conflict in writing (4.30pm), Senay Özdemir and Naema Tahir talk about literature and Islamophobia (6.30pm) and the RSL brings Andrew Motion to talk about his life and work (7pm). All events are totally free.
Winners of the Foyles Young Poets 2010 head to the Poetry Cafe for a showcase night (6.30pm, free).
Treadwell's have moved to Store Street and are having a housewarming from 7pm. You'll need to RSVP in advance; call them on 020 7240 8906.
Sunday: Tamsyn Murray and Michelle Harrison join Scott Pack for a special Junior Firestation Book Swap (2pm). It's free entry, but don't forget to bring a book to exchange.
The Illustrationarium (12pm) is on again at YARNfest, followed by a live event with storytellers and illustrators Chris Cleave, Helen Smith, Rachel Rose Reid, Neil McFarland, Carlos Garde-Martin and Luke Waller (6pm, £3). Alternatively, try out the pub quiz from 3pm (£3).
Eve Pearce introduces Liz Lochhead to Torriano Poets (7.30pm, £5 / £3).
Monday: Back at YARNfest, four illustrators try to create the best cover for Hanif Kureishi's Buddha of Suburbia (7.30pm, £5).
Elif Batuman discusses Cervantes, Balzac and double-entry book-keeping at the British Museum (6.30pm, £10 / £8).
Colin Thubron chats about his travels in Tibet at Daunt Books in Marylebone (7pm, £8).
Mayakovsky in Hollywood is a new play being read at the Poetry Cafe (8pm).
Tuesday: American short story writers Jarred McGinnis and Sam Taradash join Tom Basden in bringing their show The Special Relationship to YARNfest (7.30pm, £5).
Niall O'Sullivan presents regular open mic night Poetry Unplugged at the Poetry Cafe (7.30pm, £4 / £3).
Translators Sarah Ardizzone and Ros Schwartz talk about the best-selling French book of all time, The Little Prince, at Daunt Books in Chelsea (7pm, £5).
Rack Press launch four new poetry pamphlets, from Christopher Reid, Roisin Tierney, Angela Topping and Nicholas Murray (6.30pm, free).
