Book Grocer: 20-26 July

Rachel Holdsworth
By Rachel Holdsworth Last edited 152 months ago
Book Grocer: 20-26 July

The week ahead in literary London

Wednesday: Drop everything and get tickets for Philip Pullman in conversation with Maggie Gee at Queens Park Community School. Proceeds go to the campaign to save Kensal Rise Library (7pm, £10).

Owen Jones deplores the chav stereotype at Pages of Hackney (7pm, £3).

G.R.E.Ed.S hosts Jawdance at Rich Mix, in the company of Rachel Rose Reid, Gus Simonovic and Elliott Daley (7.30pm, free).

Leaving my Found Eden is an exhibition combining poetry and photography, starting today at Lewisham Arthouse.

Poets Tim Clare and John Osborne preview their Edinburgh shows (that's not a phrase we often use in the lit listings) at the Leicester Square Theatre (7pm / 9pm, £7 each).

Iraqi-born author and poet Basim al-Ansar talks about oral traditions in the Gulf region, part of the Shubbak festival, at City Hall (6.30pm, free).

The Poetry Cafe welcomes poets from Waltham Forest (Anna Johnson, John Walsh, Nigel Pollitt, Graham Clifford, Paul McGrane and Michael Shann) and North London (Timothy Ades, Liz Berry, Maggie Butt, Joan Michelson, Cheryl Moskowitz and Alison Winch) to perform (7.30pm, free).

Thursday: Jonathan Lee and Steven Hall join Scott Pack and Marie Phillips for the Firestation Book Swap (7.45pm, £5 / free with homemade cake).

Fran Landesman, Abraham Gibson, Peter Hayhoe, Sabrina Mahfouz, Gus Simonovic and Heather Taylor are at the Farrago School's Out SLAM! (7.30pm, £6 / £5).

Ritual is the book that inspired The Wicker Man - meet author David Pinner at the Big Green Bookshop (7pm, free).

David Walliams is signing copies of his children's books at Kingston Waterstone's from 4pm.

The London Québec Culture Festival hosts a reading group discussing Volkswagen Blues by Jacques Poulin and The Tin Flute by Gabrielle Roy (7pm, £5 / free).

Laura Bridgeman and Serge Nicholson celebrate Hot Pencil Press's first publication, There is No Word For It, at the Book Club (8pm, free).

Katherine Gallagher, Jeremy Page, Anne Stewart and Merryn Williams are Poetically Speaking at the Poetry Cafe (7pm, £5 / £3).

Poets Sue Butler, Yvonne Green, Valerie Jack, Fatima Al Matar, Sharon Morris and Hylda Sims perform at Lauderdale House (8pm, £5 / £3).

Ambit launch their Youth issue at the Owl Bookshop in Kentish Town (7pm, free).

Friday: Hylda Sims, Peter Litton and Melanie Mauthner provide the poetry at Fourth Friday at the Poetry Cafe (8pm, £5 / £4).

Herbarium - a book of poems about herbs and medicinal plants - launches with readings at the Urban Physic Garden (7pm, free).

Saturday: It's storytime at the Big Green Bookshop as Nadia Shireen reads from her new children's book Good Little Wolf (11am, free).

Rosie Harris tells the tale of A Roo in my Suitcase at Kings Place (2pm, £6.50 / £4.50).

There's a mini Jawdance at Rich Mix for their open weekend, with Mr Gee and Lara A King (3pm, free).

Mr Gee then heads south to host Brixtongue at the Lost Theatre Company, with Jazzman John Clarke, Mikey Smith Radical, Angela Morgan, Ursula Troche, Gambit Ace, James Messan, Elaine Musiwa, Marion Osieya, Zincfence Reggae and the London City Reggae Choir (7pm, £7 / £6).

It's poetry karaoke bingo night down at the Queen's Head on Acton Street (7.30pm, free).

Sunday: We don't know. Read a book?

Monday: Ditto. Summer must be coming.

Tuesday: Henry Hemming is at Dulwich Books to discuss how small groups can achieve big things (7.30pm, £3).

Iain Sinclair reads from Ghost Milk, his latest book, at Pages of Hackney (7pm, £3).

The British Library celebrates Mervyn Peake, with guest speakers Fabian Peake, Sebastian Peake, Clare Penate, Brian Sibley and Hilary Spurling (6.30pm, £7.50 / £5).

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

Publisher Carly Cook is at Writers' Club Live (7pm, £10).

Follow @LondonistLit for our pick of that day’s literary events

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Last Updated 20 July 2011