The Londonist Literary List appears every Tuesday. If you’d like to bring an event to our attention, please email [email protected].
Yeah, it's now officially Holiday Season, which means we shouldn'y expect much from the literary world for the next month or two. With that in mind, this week is a pleasant surprise. We're about to have a slew of "Best of 2005" lists to plough through: The New York Times is way ahead of the game with its comprehensive list, while the Guardian already has some more specialized picks on offer. There's also the Encyclopedia of Renessaince Literature being released this week, and that's basically a best-of list as well — of the 16th century. And then London goes and shocks us with a couple of worthwhile live events, and all of a sudden we're happy to be book nerds again!
Events Around London:
Tonight, the author of the Rough Guide to Cambodia, Beverley Palmer, is talking about the country she knows so well over at Foyles. We mention this mainly because they are serving free beer. 113-119 Charing Cross Road. 6:30pm. FREE.
On Wednesday (the 30th), Salman Rushdie is back in town to promote his novel, Shalimar the Clown, at South Bank Centre. 7:45pm. £8.50 (looks to be sold out).
On Thursday (the 1st), South Bank Centre is hosting another interesting event, as five poets compete for a £10,000 prize in an event called The Contenders. Yes, it's essentially a poetry reading, but things are always fun when there's money on the line. South Bank Centre. 7:45pm. £8.50.
New Releases:
The Divide, by Nicholas Evans
Tenderloin, by Luca Romano
Sunshine and Showers, by Rosie Harris
Encyclopedia of Renaissance Literature, by James Cook
People I Wanted to Be, by Gina Oschner
Malambo, by Lucia Charun-Illescas
Small Island, by Andrea Levy
Other News:
The Longlist for the Bad Sex in Fiction Award has been announced and you can read the passages that earned the nominated writers their nods here. And we thought literary award season was over...
