The week ahead in literary London
Wednesday: David Quantick, John Butler, David Whitehouse and Dan Simpson are the readers battling for the approval of judges Emma Kennedy, Gareth McLean and Rick Edwards at Literary Death Match tonight (8.15pm, £5 / £8).
John Cooper Clarke brings his legendary spoken word to the Southbank Centre, along with John Otway, as part of Meltdown (7.30pm, £17.50 / £15).
A.N. Wilson talks about Dante at Daunt Books in Chelsea (7pm, £5).
AC Fume, Musa Okwonga and the Spring Poets are mixing it up for Jawdance at Rich Mix (7.30pm, free).
David Parry hosts An Evening with the Gruntlers at the Poetry Cafe (7pm, £5 / £3).
Maurice Riordan, Philip Gross, Samantha Wynne-Rhydderch and Liz Berry read at the Poetry London Summer 2011 Launch, at Foyles (6.30pm, free).
The winners of the Eric Gregory Award for poets under 30, will be reading at the Betsey Trotwood from 8pm (£5).
Thursday: Ali Smith reads from and discusses her new novel at Keats House (7pm, £5).
Discover the Women's Library's zine collection - going back to the 70s - in a guided tour (7pm, free but book to reserve a place).
Husband and wife team Sam Baker and Jon Courtenay Grimwood join Marie Phillips and Scott Pack for cake and chat at the Firestation Book Swap (7.45pm, £5 or free with homemade cake).
Nathan Penlington (whose show Uri and Me we very much like) and Dan Simpson, fresh from Literary Death Match, join the regulars at Bang Said the Gun (8pm, £5).
John Constable performs poems and songs from The Southwark Mysteries and talks about Secret Bankside at Woolfson & Tay (7pm, £5 / £3).
Christopher Reed discusses art and homosexuality at Gay's the Word (7pm, free).
Paul Chandler, John Smallshaw, Gary Groves and Wilfredo spend the evening with a shy yeti and other animals, at the Poetry Cafe (8pm).
Hannah Silva, Gemma Seltzer, Jack Underwood and Siddhartha Bose perform at the latest Penned in the Margins event, at Aubin and Wills (7pm, free).
Richard Meier and Caroline Natzler read at Swiss Cottage Library from 6.15pm (free).
Friday: The London Review Bookshop's World Literature Weekend kicks off today with Najat El Hachmi, Teresa Solana and Carles Casajuana talking about Catalonia (2pm, £9, British Museum); Cees Nooteboom in conversation with A.S. Byatt (4.30pm, £9, British Museum); and Tim Parks, A.S. Byatt and Carles Casajuana considering how writers shape history (7pm, £9, London Review Bookshop).
Patric Cunnane hosts Dodo Modern Poets at the Poetry Cafe, with Keith and Suzanne Drake (8pm, £6 / £5).
Poets Unlimited launch their anthology Ordinary Magic at Lumen (7pm, free but book ahead).
New Zealand poet Brian Turner reads and answers questions at Birkbeck (6pm).
Isobel Dixon, Swithun Cooper, Tim Wells, Marianne Burton, Samuel Prince and Kirsten Irving present poems around the theme of four, at the Betsey Trotwood (7.45pm, £5).
Saturday: World Literature Weekend continues with a series of translation workshops; Manuel Rivas talking about his work (11am, £9, British Museum); judges and a shortlisted author from the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize talking about the award (2pm, £9, British Museum); Javier Cercas and Paul Preston on the attempted coup in Spain in 1981 (4pm, £9, British Museum); and Ruth Padel chatting with Ramsey Nasr (7pm, £9, London Review Bookshop).
Order your own poem from the Poetry Takeaway, rocking up at Stoke Newington International Airport this afternoon and evening, or enjoy some Shakespeare Pick n Mix from 7.30pm.
Emilia Haugovà, Ivan Štrpka, Marcus Slease, Tamarin Norwood, Jonty Tiplady, Colin Herd and James Wilkes read at Maintenant Slovakia at Rich Mix (7pm, free).
Sunday: Start your Sunday off with coffee, cake and literary chat from Meike Ziervogel and Stefan Tobler at the London Review Cake Shop (10am, £5). World Literature Weekend finishes up with a live translation event (11am, £9, British Museum); Karin Alvtegen and Håkan Nesser discussing crime fiction (2pm, £9, British Museum); and Daniel Kehlmann in conversation with Benjamin Markovits (4.30pm, £9, London Review Bookshop).
Stewart Lee talks about his book, How I Escaped My Certain Fate, with Michael Rosen at Stratford Circus (6pm, £6).
There's poetry with a travelling theme, from Robert Louis Stevenson, John Masefield, Jack Kerouac and John Keats, at Keats House (3pm, £5 / £3).
Monday: Jon Ronson, Mark Haddon, Sarah Bakewell, Anthony Sattin, Judith Owen and Lisa Appignanesi have 15 minutes to tell a tale at 5x15 (6.45pm, £20 / £15).
Simon Armitage, Colette Bryce, Heather Phillipson, Chris Riddell, Nick Hayes and Philippa Johnson are some of the poets and illustrators at Kings Place, exploring the relationship between the two art forms (7pm, £9.50).
Julian Stannard, Sam Riviere, Suzanne Conway and Deborah Levy all read at another Ambit night at the Betsey Trotwood (7pm, free).
Tuesday: Brian Aldiss, John Clute, Michael Moorcock and Norman Spinrad are at the British Library, talking about their work (6.30pm, £7.50 / £5).
Evan Davis ponders Britain's economic past, present and future at Foyles (6.30pm, free but reserve in advance).
Niall O'Sullivan hosts open mic night Poetry Unplugged at the Poetry Cafe (7.30pm, £4 / £3).
Ruth O'Callaghan presents Roddy Lumsden and Simone Mansell Broome at the Lumen Poetry Series (6.30pm, £5 / £4).
Celebrate the summer solstice with Iain Sinclair, John Wilkinson, Emily Critchley and Rob Stanton, at converted church The Nave (7.30pm, £6 / £7).
Follow @LondonistLit for our pick of that day’s literary events
