London Book And Poetry Events: 28 August-3 September 2014

Laura Reynolds
By Laura Reynolds Last edited 115 months ago
London Book And Poetry Events: 28 August-3 September 2014

Catch an adaptation of the Rime of the Ancient Mariner at Southbank Centre

Thursday 28 August

SOVIET GHOSTS: Fine art photographer, Rebecca Litchfield is at Waterstone's Croydon for the signing of her newly published book, Soviet Ghosts, which shows historical locations that were once part of the Soviet Union. 6pm

GLITTERATI: A new literary event taking place at the Grosvenor House. Tonight's panel consists of authors Ali Harris, presenting her latest release Written in the Stars, Paige Toon with Thirteen Weddings and Jane Costello with her new book, The Time of Our Lives. £25, prebook, 6.30pm

WRITING FOR TEENS: Maureen Johnson and Sarah Rees Brennan are at Waterstone's Piccadilly to talk about their work for young adults and answer questions. £4/£3, prebook, 6.30pm

GRAHAM SWIFT: Booker Prize winner Graham Swift is at Waterstone's Hampstead to introduce his latest collection of short stories. England And Other Stories. £5/£3, prebook, 7pm

PHILOSOPHY NOVEL: Author Lars Iyer is at London Review Bookshop in Holborn to discuss his latest novel, Wittgenstein Jr, about a group of Cambridge philosophy students, deeply under the influence of their teacher, nicknamed ‘Wittgenstein’. Iyer will be reading from his work, and discussing it with the philosopher and Wittgenstein biographer Ray Monk. £10, prebook, 7pm

Friday 29 August

BBC PROMS: Novelist Martin Amis discusses The Zone of Interest, his 13th novel, in which he revisits the Holocaust for the first time since his controversial book Time's Arrow. At The Royal College of Music. Free, 5.45pm

ANCIENT MARINER: Coleridge's epic poem, the Rime of the Ancient Mariner is performed in a musical adaptation by theatre group The Tiger Lillies at Southbank Centre.  £20-£30, prebook, until Sunday

Saturday 30 August

HARUKI MURAKAMI: Following the release of his much-hyped new novel, Haruki Murakami is signing copies of it at Waterstones Piccadilly. Free, but get there early, 11am

Sunday 31 August

POETRY SALON: London Review Bookshop in Holborn has a Sunday Poetry Salon. Poets Kayo Chingonyi and Sarah Howe will be in conversation over afternoon tea. £15, prebook, 2pm

TRAVEL POETRY: Keats House in Hampstead has an afternoon of travel poetry with Laila Sumpton, looking at what people seek to find on holiday, what they hope to get away from and what they gain from new experiences. Free, prebook, 2pm

Monday 1 September

LITERATURE FESTIVAL: Battersea Literature Festival begins today with a host of events based around the Battersea and Clapham Junction areas. Various prices, prebooking recommended, until 15 September

LONDON MEMOIR: Daunt Books in Holland Park hosts the launch party of PP Wong's first novel, The Life of a Banana. PP Wong is the first British born Chinese novelist to be published and her debut novel is inspired by her own experiences growing up in London. Free, just turn up, 6.30pm

FOODIE: Chef Rachel Allen is at Waterstone's Piccadilly to celebrate the publication of her new book, All Things Sweet. There's a live cookery demonstration in Café W and there will be an opportunity to ask questions and have books signed. £5/£3, prebook, 6.30pm

IAN MCEWAN: Head to Cadogan Hall to hear author Ian McEwan talk about his new novel The Children Act, which explores the conflict between science and religious conviction. £18-£30, prebook, 7pm

WORDS AND MUSIC: There's an evening of Words and Music at The Social on Little Portland Street, with poets offering previews of their forthcoming pamphlets, an author discussing his new graphic novel and Marcus O’Dair previews his new biography of Robert Wyatt. £6/£8, prebook, 7pm

EXILED INK: The monthly gathering of writers exiled from their homeland takes place at the Poetry Cafe, hosted by Jennifer Langer. £4/£2, just turn up, 7.30pm

Tuesday 2 September

BOOK SIGNING: David Mitchell, author of Cloud Atlas, releases his new book, The Bone Clocks, today. He's at Foyles on Charing Cross Road to sign copies. The event is free, but expected to be popular, so prebook, 5pm. See also tomorrow's events.

MOVIE WRITING: Greg Mosse leads a creative writing workshop on movie structure as part of Southbank Centre's Creative Writing School. £15, prebook, 6.30pm

ALI SMITH: Novelist Ali Smith is at London Review Bookshop in Holborn t0 read from her novel, How to be Both, and discusses it with Alex Clark of The Guardian. £10, prebook, 7pm

FAMILY MEMOIR: Waterstone's Hampstead has an evening with biographer Lyndall Gordon where she will discuss her new memoir, Dreams Of A Mother And Daughter. £5/£3, prebook, 7pm

1940s AMERICA: Amy Bloom talks about her new novel Lucky Us, set across the 1940s in the United States. She'll be with Anita Sethi at the Society Club in Soho. Free, prebook, 7pm

OPEN MIC: There's a poetry open mic at Poetry Cafe, hosted by Niall O'Sullivan. £5/£4, just turn up, 7.30pm

Wednesday 3 September

DEBUT NOVEL: Nina Stibbe, best known for her memoir Love, Nina, is at Waterstone's Covent Garden to discuss her debut novel, Man at the Helm. £3, prebook, 6.30pm

DAVID MITCHELL: Following on from yesterday's appearance, David Mitchell reappears today. At 12pm he is at London Review Bookshop to sign copies of The Bone Clocks. Free, prebook, 12pm. He's then hotfooting it over to The Royal Geographical Society in Kensington for the official UK launch event of the book. £20/£33.50, prebook, 7pm

POETRY SALON: Poet Dean Atta makes an appearance at Waterstone's Piccadilly, reading from his collection of poetry which  has been long-listed for the Polari First Book Prize. Also performing are performance poet Keith Jarrett and short-story writer Yrsa Daley-Ward. Free, prebook, 7pm

DO BOOKS: Artist and designer James Victore is at Rough Trade East at the Truman Brewery in Brick Lane, talking about his work creating the visual identity for East London indie press, Do Books. Free, just turn up, 7pm

BOOK SLAM: The Clapham Grand hosts literary club night Book Slam. Authors Mark Watson and Simon Rich are the headliners, poetry is by Sophia Thakur, and there's music too. £6/£8, prebook, 7.30pm

DISABILITY ARTS: At Southbank Centre, Debjani Chatterjee MBE, Hilary Porter, Frank Bangay and John O'Donoghue read selections of poetry at a collaborative event between Disability Arts Online (DAO) and Survivors Poetry. Free, prebook, 8pm

NEW AUTHOR: PP Wong is at Clapham Books reading from and talking about her new novel, The Life of a Banana. Free, just turn up, 7.30pm

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Book ahead for your chance to see TV presenter Clare Balding in conversation in conversation with authors such as David Nicholls (One Day), Kate Mosse and Caitlin Moran.

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

Last Updated 27 August 2014