Book Grocer: 14-20 September

Rachel Holdsworth
By Rachel Holdsworth Last edited 150 months ago
Book Grocer: 14-20 September

The week ahead in literary London

Wednesday: As we mentioned the other day, there are three 'salon' events happening tonight:

  • Salon X has Ian Leslie, Mary McCaughey and Chris Watson at the Adam St Club (7.30pm, £10)
  • arrive early at the Shoreditch House Literary Salon to be sure of getting in to see Jon McGregor, Ulrika Jonsson, Janice Galloway and a surprise guest (6.30pm for 7pm start, free)
  • Miranda Sawyer is among the guest judges at Literary Death Match; also passing judgement are Julie Mayhew and Hardeep Singh Kohli, while Neil Forsyth, Femi Martin, Ben Brooks and Tiffany Anne Tondut are the authors aiming to please (7pm, £6 / £8)

It's science night at the Lewisham Literary Festival, as Skeptics in the Pub present Michael Brooks, Manjit Kumar and Jenny Rohn (7.30pm, £4).

Lee Rourke, Vikram Kapur and Carl Tighe are the guest readers at Ambit's monthly night at the Betsey Trotwood (7pm, free).

Ali Smith and Jackie Kay - what a double bill! - are at Foyles tonight (6.30pm, free but reserve a place in advance).

Alex Wheatle talks about his work and the 30 years that have passed since the Brixton Uprising, at Housmans (7pm, £3).

Agnes Meadow hosts Loose Muse, for women writers of all genres, at the Poetry Cafe (8pm, £5 / £3).

Thursday: It's Londonist's turn to host some literary events, with the Lewisham Literary Festival! M@ chats to Iphgenia Baal, Mark Mason and Paul Talling about Londony books at Lewisham Library (8pm, free) while Lindsey hosts brilliant performance poets Ross Sutherland, Nikesh Shukla, Janett Plummer, Nii Ayikwei Parkes, Ronnie McGrath, Jacob Sam-La Rose and Liz Bentley (St Swithun's church hall, 7.30pm, £4).

Madeline Miller is at Clerkenwell Tales talking about her debut novel (6.30pm, free).

Bang Said the Gun is back after their summer break! Will Stopha, Katie Bonna and Richard Marsh join the regular crew (8pm, £5).

Hilary Spurling, Tash Aw and Victoria Glendinning discuss Sybille Bedford's life, work and legacy, at Daunt Books Marylebone (7pm, free but reserve a place in advance).

Philippa Gregory launches her new book, The Lady of the Rivers, at Kings Place (7pm, £6.50).

Firestation Book Swap hosts Scott Pack and Marie Phillips welcome Isabel Losada and Conor Woodman to the sofa (7.45pm, £5 / free with homemade cake).

The New Libertines and Helen Smith are the guests at the Poetry Cafe's Literature Lounge (8pm, £5 / £4).

Find out more about Mahler at Dulwich Books, from his biographer Norman Lebrecht (8pm, £2).

Lucy Worsley kicks off the Chiswick Book Festival at Chiswick House (7pm, £20).

Friday: Whip the kids to Foyles after school to meet Ally Carter as she signs copies of her new book (5pm).

Comedy storytelling from Tall Tales closes the Lewisham Literary Festival, with Robert Hudson, John Finnemore, Toby Davies, Hannah Jones, Helen Arney, Toby Davies, Mike Westcott, Ian Leslie and Susannah Pearse (7.30pm, £4).

Michael Morpurgo (5pm, £3) and Kate Mosse (7.30pm, £5) are the authors lighting up the Chiswick Book Festival.

Poet in the City and the British Museum celebrate the life of Chaucer, with Patience Agbabi, Gail Ashton, Robert Swanson, Helen Cooper and Rosalie Jorda (7pm, £5 / £3).

New Zealand performance poet Gus Simonovic shares his work and talks about his new project Printable Reality, at Birkbeck (6pm, email to reserve a place).

Keith Armstrong launches his poetry collection The Month of the Asparagus at Friday Night Writers, plus open mic for poetry and short fiction (6.30pm, free).

June English, Katherine Gallagher and Kaye Lee perform at the Poetry Cafe (7.30pm, check for price).

Saturday: Free events for children at Chiswick: Laura Hambleton, creator of the Chameleon board books (10.30am), Emma Kennedy (11.15am) and Karen McCrombie (11.35am), then poet Brian Moses (12pm) and a young people's poetry competition and creative writing workshop (12.30pm).

For grown-ups at Chiswick, with a £5 day pass: Daisy Goodwin (12.15pm), Katie Fforde and Kate Lace (1.30pm), Helen Castor and George Goodwin on medieval queens (2.30pm), poet James Priestman (2.45pm), debut novelists David Miller, Mark Ellis, Lorraine Bateman and Paul Cole (2.45pm), Isla Blair (3.45pm), Kate Colquhoun, Kate Summerscale and Jane Robins (4pm), Matthew Lyons on Walter Ralegh (5pm), Andy McNab (5.45pm, £5) and Paul Slack performs his one-man portrayal of D H Lawrence (7.45pm, £12.50).

Michael Laskey, Nina Boyd, Simon Currie and Jane Routh read for the Poetry Cafe's Big Poetry Day (7pm, £6 / £5).

Sunday: Back in Chiswick, it's £5 for a day pass to: Rosamund Lupton and Shireen Jilla (11.45am), Tracy Borman on Queen Matilda (11.45am), Downton Abbey cast Phyllis Logan and Lesley Nicol plus Jessica Fellowes (1pm), Elizabeth Noble and Fiona Neill (1.45pm), a creative writing workshop (2pm), Vanessa Redgrave and Graham Holderness ask who Shakespeare was (2.30pm) and Private Eye contributors Nev Fountain, Tom Jamieson, Marcus Berkmann and Louis Barfe (3.45pm).

As one festival closes, another opens... enter the SW11 Literary Festival and poetry cabaret with Yemisi Blake, Aoife Mannix, Comfort and Richard Marsh (7pm, £3).

Roddy Lumsden and Kate Potts are the Torriano Poets (7.30pm, £5 / £3).

Monday: Polari's back at the Southbank Centre, with Maureen Duffy, North Morgan, Justin David, Helen Smith, Jonathan Kemp and Mark Simpson (7.45pm, £5).

Still at the Southbank Centre, Margie Orford reads from her new novel Daddy's Girl (7.45pm, £8).

Fiona Mountain and Tracy Borman consider history in fact and fiction in SW11 (7pm, £4).

AS Byatt, Misha Glenny, Simon Baron Cohen, Lucy Worsley and Alexander Masters are all talking for 15 minutes at 5x15 (7pm, £20 / £15).

Emma Fleming, Stephanie Gerra, Stephanie Goldberg, Irving Jones and Stephen Keyworth are the Future Perfect writers at the Poetry Cafe (7.30pm, £6 / £4).

Tuesday: Book Slam is back at the Clapham Grand, with Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Nick Mulvey and Inua Ellams (7.30pm, £6 / £8).

Award nominated Emma Craigie discusses her debut novel Chocolate Cake with Hitler at the SW11 Literary Festival (7pm, £4).

Literary agent Jo Unwin is the guest of the London Writers' Club (7.30pm, £10).

Niall O'Sullivan hosts Poetry Unplugged open mic night at the Poetry Cafe (7.30pm, £5 / £3).

Michael Richmond discusses his allegory of depression and mental health, at Woolfson and Tay (7pm, free).

Persephone Books founder Nicola Beauman is at England's Lane Books (7.30pm, £5).

Nigel Warburton is demystifying philosophy at Foyles (6.30pm, free but reserve a place in advance).

Chris Considine, Steve Griffiths and Christine Webb from Cinnamon Poets Press are at the Lumen Poetry Series (6.30pm, £5 / £4).

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

Last Updated 14 September 2011