Book, poetry and spoken word events in London this week
Wednesday: Alex Walker performs extracts from Louis Aragon's A Wave of Dreams, at Housmans (7pm, £3).
Lunchtime Doodles by Dan Lucas launches at The Book Club (7pm, free) with DJs and paper for your own doodles.
Kate Grenville talks about Sarah Thornhill, her sequel to The Secret River, at the Southbank Centre (7.45pm, £8).
Over in the Poetry Library there's a book launch for St Brigid's Day with Carcanet poets Moya Cannon, Sasha Dugdale and Olivia McCannon, introduced by David Constantine (8pm, free).
Thursday: Gemma Seltzer is at Dulwich Books talking about speaking to strangers in London, with poetry from Tom Chivers (7pm, free).
Granta 118 launches at Foyles (6.30pm, free but email to reserve a place). This issue takes the theme of exit strategies and has work from Aleksandar Hemon, Claire Messud, John Barth and Susan Minot.
While away your lunch hour today and tomorrow with storytelling from Nell Phoenix at Selfridges (11am-1pm, free).
Author of Born Liars, Ian Leslie, hosts a discussion on lying, appropriately, at the School of Life (7pm, £20.50).
Poet Salena Godden, English PEN director Lisa Appignanesi and screenwriter John Foster are getting some dark romance at Salon XIV (8pm, £10).
Newsnight economics editor Paul Mason heads to the Southbank Centre to explain why it's kicking off everywhere (7pm, £10).
Storyteller Vanessa Woolf and folk singer Nigel of Bermondsey look over the Cuming Museum's Edward Lovett collection (6pm, free).
George Craig and Dan Gunn talk about Samuel Beckett's letters at the London Review Bookshop (7pm, £7).
Nathan Penlington and Christian Watson join Bang Said the Gun for some stand up poetry (8pm, £5).
Friday: Alixe Bovey takes a look at the illustrations on medieval manuscripts at the British Library (6.30pm, £7.50 / £5).
An exhibition of Syrian poet Adonis's work launches at the Mosaic Rooms with the poet himself and Khaled Mattawa (7pm, £8 / £5).
Kat Francois hosts a night of Intimates poetry SLAM at the Poetry Cafe (8pm, £5 / £3).
Leah Fritz, Hannah Lowe, Marie-Elizabeth Mali and Lorraine Mariner all perform at the Camden Poetry Series, in aid of Cold Weather Shelter for the Homeless (6.30pm, £5 / £4).
Saturday: It's National Libraries Day! Find an event near you.
Rachel Rose Reid takes the storytelling reins at Selfridges (11am-2pm, free).
Sophia Blackwell, North Morgan and Bobby Nayyar talk about writing and austerity at the Whitechapel Ideas Store (3pm).
Competition winners from Poetry Space read at the Poetry Cafe from 7pm (free).
Sunday: There's a full day of events for small people from Jewish Book Week: Andy Stanton, creator of the Mr Gum series, is doing crazy things from 10am (£5), catch a film of Where the Wild Things Are animations and from other Maurice Sendak stories (11.30am, £4), join the Golem box workshop (11.30am, £5) or see what James Mayhew keeps in his magic suitcase (12pm, free), play with Jewish poetry (12.45pm, £5), quiz the children's literature expert Daniel Hahn in the Book Clinic (1pm, free), hear Vanessa Woolf tell the tale of the Golem of Wapping (2pm, £5), and Francesca Beard rounds things off with some rip roaring poetry (3.30pm, £5).
Nell Phoenix is back on storytelling duty at Selfridges (12-2pm, free).
Jumoke Fashola presents Life Stories at Pizza Express Dean Street, with jazz and special guest guest HKB Finn (8pm, £15).
Monday: Poet Sean O'Brien gives the Sebald Lecture at Kings Place, following readings from the annual translation prizes (7pm, £9.50).
Paul Koudounaris is talking death across cultures at Waterstones Trafalgar Square (7pm, £3).
Polari is graced by the talents of Tiffany Murray, Faarea Masud, Catherine Hall, Jack Scott, Vicky Ryder and Max Wallis at the Southbank Centre (7.45pm, £5).
Foyles and the Museum of London join forces to mark the MoL's Dickens exhibition with a Bleak House book club (6.30pm, free).
Alwyn Marriage, Michael Swan, Ann Kelley, Robert Stein, Ann Segrave, Christopher North, Joan McGavin and Graham High all read at Coffee House Poetry (8pm, £7 / £6).
Helen Oswald and Melinda Walker do a bit More Poetry at The Coffee Shop near Liverpool Street (7.45pm, £1).
Exiled Writers Ink host work about being persecuted for religious belief from Adnan al-Sayegh, Pete Godismo and Yvonne Green, at the Poetry Cafe (7.30pm, £4 / £2).
Tuesday: Laurie Penny is at Housmans discussing the issues raised in her recent books (think feminism, protest, youth politics) from 7pm (£3).
Poet in the City host their regular drop-in at Waterstones Piccadilly (please book).
Head down to the Poetry Cafe to test out your own words at their open mic night Poetry Unplugged, hosted by Niall O'Sullivan (7.30pm, £5 / £4).
Follow @LondonistLit for our pick of that day’s literary events
