Book Grocer: 25-31 May

Rachel Holdsworth
By Rachel Holdsworth Last edited 154 months ago
Book Grocer: 25-31 May

The week ahead in literary London

Wednesday: Ananda Devi, Abdulrazak Gurnah and Tabish Khair discuss writing about countries of the Indian Ocean at the Festival of Asian Literature (6.45pm, £8 / £6).

John Burnside talks about his poetry and memoir Waking up in Toytown with Adam Phillips, at Lutyens & Rubinstein (6.30pm, £5).

Donna Leon is signing copies of her latest books at Hatchards from 12.30pm.

Poetry in Translation looks to Romania, at the Poetry Cafe (7.30pm, £5 / £3).

A selection of poets read from the anthology Emergency Verse: Poetry in Defence of the Welfare State, at Housmans (7pm, £3).

Thursday: Simon Munnery and Ralph Swift are the guests for Bang Said the Gun at the Roebuck (8pm, £5).

Hanif Kureishi brings the Festival of Asian Literature to a close at The Commonwealth Club (6.45pm, £15 / £12).

Margaret Drabble and Helen Simpson mull the short story at the Free Word Centre (6.30pm, £10).

American poet C.K. Williams delivers the Poetry Society Annual Lecture at the Senate House, on the subject of Being Old (7pm, £12 / £8).

Isabel Losada is at Bookseller Crow on the Hill from 7.30pm.

Email to reserve your place at comedy storytelling night Tall Tales (8pm, £5). Robert Hudson, John Finnemore, Marie Phillips, Helen Arney, Emma Beddington, Benet Brandreth, Mike Westcott, Toby Davies, Gareth Edwards, Ian Leslie and Laurence Howarth are on the packed schedule.

There's poems and songs at St Stephen's in Dulwich from Wendy French, John Gibbens and Armorel Weston (7pm, £10 / £7), fundraising for Kids Company.

Molly Naylor starts a three night run of her show Whenever I Get Blown Up I Think of You at Battersea Arts Centre (7.30pm, £10 / £6).

Future Perfect Writers present a night of short stories, poems and songs about uncute animals at the Poetry Cafe (8pm, £6 / £4).

Even more poems and stories at Richmond's Old Ship, with Nell Phoenix, Tom Bland and Oliver Bland (7.30pm, £5).

Friday: Peter Sissions talks about his memoirs at Wanstead Library (7.15pm, £5).

Hylda Sim hosts Fourth Friday at the Poetry Cafe, with John Godfrey and Angela Kirby (8pm, £5 / £4).

John Hegley headlines Poetry on the Water at Greenwich Yacht Club (7pm, free).

Saturday: Take the kids on a picnic with Paddington Bear at Foyles Westfield (2pm, free).

If you missed him yesterday in Greenwich, catch John Hegley and guests enjoying their Elevenses at the Poetry Cafe (11am, £6/ £5), while later at the same venue Anja Konig, Karen McCarthy Woolf, Samuel Prince and Gale Burns do the Shuffle (7.30pm, £5 / £3).

Sunday: Poejazzi's on at the Volupte Bar (7.30pm, £10 / £14): Nii Aykwei Parkes, Paul Cree, Sean Mahoney and The Rubix Collective perform.

Monday: Jane Draycott, Ian House, John Froy, Susan Utting, Gill Learner, A F Harrold, Lesley Saunders and Peter Robinson are all reading at Coffee House Poetry (8pm, £7 / £6) on the theme of Reading. That's Reading (town) not reading (books).

Tuesday: Apples and Snakes hits the Soho Theatre with Jean 'Binta' Breeze, Steve Tasane and Fatima Al Matar (8pm, £8 / £6).

Blake Morrison is at Woolfson & Tay, talking about his career and whether you can actually teach writing (7pm, £6).

John Hegley's back again, this time doing his show The Adventures of Monsieur Robinet at the Southbank Centre (2.30pm, £8 / £4).

Iain Sinclair is at Foyles for Listen *Read* See London (6.30pm, free but email to reserve a place).

Niall O'Sullivan hosts open mic night Poetry Unplugged at the Poetry Cafe (7.30pm, £4 / £3).

Evelyn Juers talks about her group biography, House of Exile, at Lutyens & Rubinstein (6.30pm, £5).

Last Updated 25 May 2011