Yes, yes. There, there. All of you literary lovers out there now have a new reason to visit Londonist every Tuesday. It is here, yes, right here, on this Tuesday and on every Tuesday to come, that Londonist will be bringing you the very best and the very greatest of literary releases and readings and happenings around London. Yes, even writers have to get out of the flat every so often. Even bookworms need a little social interaction once in a blue moon. And we’ll show you how, with this comprehensive synopsis of everything literary in the land of London. Even alliterations. As long as someone is making an event out of them…
Events Around London This Week:
If you want to get in on the big time literary action this week, it looks like you’ll have to get out of London, because Scotland’s hoarding everyone who’s anyone for the Edinburgh International Book Festival. The festival kicks off on Saturday with readings, talks, and workshops throughout the day. It continues through August 29th with over 600 events, including readings and talks with such heavy hitters as Margaret Atwood, Michael Cunningham, Zadie Smith, and Salman Rushdie.
For those staying in London, may we suggest that you head over to the British Library, which is currently running an exhibition on Hans Christian Andersen (pictured). The show looks at Andersen's sometimes "dark" life, and how it nonetheless produced some of the most enduring chidren's stories of all time. If you've already seen it, head over anyway. Otherwise there'll be nothing to do but sit around wishing you were in Edinburgh.
Notable New Releases:
John Irving – Until I Find You
Michael Cunningham - Specimen Days
James Meek - The People's Act of Love (released a couple of weeks ago, but still worth a mention here)
Other News:
The 2005 Booker Prize longlist will be announced tomorrow (August 10th). As Jason Cowler notes in the Guardian, this has been a big year for British fiction, so the prize ought to be hotly contested, making even the longlist a tough honour to procure for the UK's top authors.
