Author appearances, poetry and spoken word events in London this week
Wednesday 5 December: Michael Morpurgo talks about his life, work and new autobiographical short story at the National Theatre (6pm, £4 / £3).
The fabulous Ross Sutherland revives Every Rendition on a Broken Machine, a performance incorporating computer generated poetry and Clarissa Explains It All, at the Camden People's Theatre (9pm, £10 / £8).
PCS union leader Mark Serwotka, Oxford philosopher David Wiggins and Professor Jo Edwards from UCL are at Housmans to discuss the crisis facing the public sector (7pm, £3).
Colm Tóibín chats with Hungarian writer László Krasznahorkai at the London Review Bookshop (7pm, £10).
Ruth O'Callaghan, Claire Booker, Will Burns and Michael Wyndham are just some of the poets reading at the launch of South Bank Poetry Issue 14 at the Poetry Cafe (7.30pm, £5.50 / £4.50, includes magazine).
Head to Europe House for an evening of Poems on the Underground with David Constantine and music by Bach and Bartok (7pm, free).
Eyewear celebrates Christmas and two new poetry collections – Dangerous Cakes by Elspeth Smith and Eighteen Poems by Simon Jarvis – at the Oxfam Bookshop in Marylebone (7pm, free).
Thursday 6 December: Howard Jacobson is talking about Zoo Time at the Bloomsbury Institute (6.30pm, £25 including book).
Hear short stories about the Overground at Brick Lane Bookshop (7pm, free).
Philip Pullman launches his Grimm Tales at the Southbank Centre (7.30pm, £15 / £12), followed by Francesca Beard and Ayanna Witter-Johnson giving a contemporary spin on fairytales (9pm, free).
Penned in the Margins launches Where Rockets Burn Through, an anthology of sci-fi poetry, at Toynbee Studios (7.30pm, free).
Alice Malin, Colette Sensier, Xanthi Barker, Devawn Wilkinson and Hannah Tuson launch Things That Have Happened, with Shaun Levin and Bernardine Evaristo, at Keats House (6.30pm, £7 including book).
Kate Mosse is signing copies of Citadel at Waterstones London Wall from 1pm.
Friday 7 December: Ben Goldacre talks about his latest book Bad Pharma at the Southbank Centre (7.45pm, £10), followed by science and rationalist comedy from Robin Ince (9.15pm, free).
Kat Francois hosts Intimates, a night of Slam Poetry at the Poetry Cafe (8pm, £5 / £3).
Ruth O'Callaghan presents Lumen/Camden Poetry competition winners Bob Cooper, Zelda Chappell, Peter Kennedy and Eleanor Vale at the Trinity United Reform Church (7pm, £5 / £4).
Seema Anand performs tales from Mughal epic the Hamzanama at the British Library (6.30pm, £7.50 / £5).
Saturday 8 December: Poetry and comedy go head to head with Apples and Snakes's Stand Up & Slam at the Gallery Cafe. Rob Auton, Emma Jones and Keith Jarrett take on Dan Schreiber, Barry Ferns and Laura Lexx, plus Tim Clare, Paul Sweeney and Dan Simpson (7.30pm, £5).
Andy Stanton, author of the Mr Gum books, is signing copies at the Big Green Bookshop (11am-1pm).
Anne Applebaum talks about the Iron Curtain at the Southbank Centre (4pm, £10), then at 7.45pm you can catch Pat Barker discussing her latest novel Toby's Room (£10).
Sunday 9 December: Gather at Daunt Books in Hampstead for a ramble on the Heath while discussing Elizabeth Taylor's novel Mrs Palfrey at the Claremont (11.30am, free).
Adam Gopnik debates how our concept of 'winter' came about, at the Southbank Centre (2pm, £10).
Andrew Motion is reading at the Kentish Town Community Centre (7pm, £5 / £3).
Malika Booker, Rachel Rose Reid, HKB Finn and Keith Jarrett are all performing at Jazz Verse Jukebox (7.30pm, £8).
Monday 10 December: Ali Smith, Essie Fox, Joe Stretch and Tania Hershman are all reading at The Book Stops Here's Christmas special in Denmark Street (8pm, free).
Helen Smith, Bethan Roberts and Diriye Osman are guests at the ever-popular Polari at the Southbank Centre (7.45pm, £5).
Tuesday 11 December: There's stories of Angels and Demons at Liars' League at the Phoenix (7.30pm, £5).
If you missed Adam Gopnik on Sunday, catch him talking about winter at Daunt Books in Marylebone (7pm, £8).
Caitlin Moran, Clare Balding and Yotam Ottolenghi are three of the authors at Waterstones Piccadilly's evening of festive fun from 5pm.
Niall O'Sullivan hosts the Poetry Cafe's open mic night from 7.30pm (£5 / £4).
Follow @LondonistLit for our pick of that day’s literary events. Photo is of the TASCHEN tree at Belgraves Hotel in Belgravia.
