Author appearances, poetry and spoken word events in London this week
Daunt Books has several author events going on this week. Details below.
Plan Ahead
STOKE NEWINGTON: Stoke Newington Literary Festival takes place in June, with literary salons, writer workshops, author talks and more. Full programme here. Tickets on sale now, prebook here. 6-8 June
KEATS FESTIVAL: Booking is now open for events at the Keats Festival 2014, celebrating 200 years since Keats wrote his first poem. See full programme and book tickets here. 7-15 June
FOYLES REOPENING: When Foyles on Charing Cross Road relocates to, er, further down Charing Cross Road, there will be a Grand Reopening Festival, with the likes of Hilary Mantel, Michael Palin and Jarvis Cocker. More information here. 11 June-5 July
Thursday 22 May
RARE BOOKS: Today is the first day of the Antiquarian Book Fair at London Olympia, with thousands of rare, unusual and unique items for sale. Free when prebooked, or £10-£15 on the door, 11am-5pm
SCIENCE & FICTION: Work Gallery in King’s Cross holds a book launch and one night exhibition. The book, Science & Fiction, showcases the work of the Royal College of Art Photography Programme. The evening has a guest speaker, writer and artist Tom McCarthy. Free, prebook, 6pm
NOVEL LAUNCH: At Waterstone’s Richmond, Sarah Rayner launches her new novel, Another Night, Another Day. Sarah will be in conversation with her editor Francesca Main and £1 from every ticket sold will be donated to the charity Mind. £3, prebook, 7pm
LONDON AT WAR: London historian Jerry White launches his new book, Zeppelin Nights, which discusses the capital during the First World War. He is in conversation with journalist and critic Frances Wilson at Daunt Books in Marylebone. £8, prebook, 7pm
SECOND NOVEL: Award-winning author Andres Neuman talks about his second novel, Talking to Ourselves, at Waterstone’s Piccadilly. Free, prebook, 7pm
STORIES: The Invisible Dot in King’s Cross hosts the first event in a new season of Stories, where young poets, writers, thinkers, and speakers come together to share stories on a theme. Tonight’s performers include Liam Williams, Alex Edelman, Alfie Brown and Katy Wix. £10, prebook, 7.45pm
STAND UP POETRY: Bang Said The Gun, billed as “stand up poetry for people who don’t necessarily like poetry” takes place at The Roebuck on Great Dover Street. Tonight’s perfumers are John Osborne and The Roundhouse Collective. £7/£5, just turn up, 8pm
LYING STORYTELLERS: Crick Crack Club at Rich Mix sees performers tell a lie, a lying tale, or a story about a lie or lying to compete in The Grand lying Contest, in front of an audience and a panel of judges. £8/£6, prebook, 8pm
Friday 23 May
NORWEGIAN AUTHOR: Meet author Karl Ove Knausgaard at Waterstone’s Piccadilly. He will sign copies of the exhilarating and terrifying ‘Boyhood Island’, the third book of the ‘My Struggle’ cycle. Free, prebook, 6.30pm
WRITERS WORKSHOP: Southbank Centre hosts StorySLAM:Live, a chance for writers to impress judges with a five-minute story along the theme ’Elemental’, and get feedback on their work. It’s part of Alchemy Festival. £8, prebook, 7pm
SPANISH HISTORY: Javier Cercas, a writer specialising in modern Spanish history will be in conversation with Paul Preston, author of The Spanish Holocaust, at London Review Bookshop. Cercas’ new book, The Outlaws, is set just after the end of Franco’s dictatorship. £10, prebook, 7pm
Saturday 24 May
FUNDRAISER: The Poetry Cafe holds an open mic evening to raise funds for an Anthology to Seamus Heany. £5, just turn up, 7.30pm
Sunday 25 May
KEATS HOUSE POETRY: Keats House hosts an afternoon of poetry, with an open mic and performances from the Keats House Poets and Malika Booker. Free, just turn up, 2pm
TORRIANO POETS: At this week’s Torriano Poets meeting, Richard Skinner and Marion Tracey read their poetry. £5/£4, just turn up, 7.30pm
EDIBLE BOOK LAUNCH: At time of writing, tickets are still available to the UK’s first ever edible book launch, taking place in Shoreditch. Debut novelist Sarah Holt releases her new book, Love and Eskimo Snow, with an accompanying six course meal. Prebooking essential, 7.30pm
Monday 26 May
POETRY TRIBUTE: 90 York Way in King’s Place hosts a tribute to the work of Seamus Heaney, Nobel Prize winner who died in 2013. The event includes a screening and reading of his most famous poems by contemporary poets. £6.50, prebook, 7pm
EROTIC LITERATURE: Velvet Tongue, London’s erotic literature event, takes place at Bar Kick in Shoreditch, with writers Paul Ebbs, Tom Bland, Greg Mitchell and others, plus an open mic. £5/£3, just turn up, 7.30pm
POETRY READING: Coffee House Poetry has a poetry reading, Spring into Summer, with poets Lydia Macpherson, Ian House, Jennifer Wong, Alyson Hallett, Barbara Marsh, Victoria Field, Jackie Wills and special guest Louis de Bernières. Takes place at The Troubadour on Old Brompton Road. £8, just turn up, 8pm
Tuesday 27 May
SHAKESPEARE’S WOMEN: London Jewish Cultural Centre has a talk about Shakespeare and the women who influenced him, led by Helen Fry, with biographer Chris Laoutaris, and historian and biographer Susan Ronald. £30/£35, prebook, 1pm
SETH MACFARLANE: Seth MacFarlane found fame as creator of Family Guy and Ted. He’ll be signing copies of his debut novel A Million Ways to Die in the West at Waterstone’s Piccadilly. Free, just turn up (get there early as places are limited), 6.30pm
POETRY LAUNCH: Keats House hosts Templar Poetry for the launch of Damian Smyth’s poetry collection, Mesopotamia, about the streets of Downpatrick in Northern Ireland. The 2014 iShot Poetry Pamphlet, The Outsider, by Tom Weir will also be launched. Free, prebook, 7pm
DAMASCUS: Diane Darke’s new book, My House in Damascus, tells how she bought and restored an old house in Damascus. She chats with Middle East writer Barnaby Rogerson at Daunt Books in Marylebone. £8, prebook, 7pm
SNOW QUEEN: Pulitzer-prize winning author of The Hours, Michael Cunningham discusses his new novel The Snow Queen at Waterstone’s Hampstead. £5/£3, prebook, 7pm
OPEN MIC: Poetry Unplugged is an open mic night at the Poetry Cafe. £5/£4, just turn up, 7.30pm
PARIS MEMOIRS: Memoirist Edmund White is at Southbank Centre to talk about his memoirs of his time in Paris, from his book Inside A Pearl, and about how and why he wrote it.£10, prebook, 7.45pm
LGBT WRITERS: The Polari Salon at Southbank Centre provides a platform for new and emerging LGBT literary talent and showcases the very best in queer writing. Matt Cain talks about his debut novel, Shot Through The Heart. Also featured are Sarah Westwood, VA Fearon, Kevin Franke and Helen Smith. £5, prebook, 7.45pm
Wednesday 28 May
TERRY VENABLES: Legendary England manager Terry Venables signs copies of his autobiography at Waterstone’s London Wall. Free, just turn up (get there early to avoid disappointment), 12.30pm
SHERLOCK STORY: Waterstone’s Covent Garden has an evening with Mitch Cullin, author of A Slight Trick Of The Mind, which is narrated by a 93 year old Sherlock Holmes. £3, prebook, 6.30pm
POET INTERVIEW: Poet and author Kathryn Simmonds is interviewed by psychoanalyst and critic Adam Phillips at Lutyens & Rubinstein. £8, prebook, 7pm
US NAVY: Geoff Dyer will be in conversation with Alain de Botton at The Tabernacle in Notting Hill. They’ll discuss Geoff’s new book, Another Great Day at Sea, about two weeks he spent aboard the USS George HW Bush, the US Navy’s largest aircraft carrier. £20, prebook, 7pm
MINERS’ STRIKE: Settling Scores is a book coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the miners’ strike. At Housman’s, contributors to the book, including Nick Jones and Tony Harcup, come together to discuss how recently released material has shed new light on the corrupt policing and biased coverage of the miners’ strike. £3, just turn up, 7pm
POETRY OPEN MIC: Jawdance is an evening of poetry, including guest acts, an open mic and short poetry films. At Rich Mix. Free, just turn up, 7.30pm
GREED WRITING: Homework, the monthly literary cabaret night at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club, has a theme of Greed tonight, with writers preparing work on this theme, and performing it for the first time in front of the audience. £8, just turn up, 7.30pm
LITERARY SALON: Book Slam is a literary night taking place at Clapham Grand. Ned Beauman introduces his new novel Glow, funny poet Elvis McGonagall performs some of his latest work, and author Emma Jane Unsworth will also be appearing. £6/£8, prebook, 7.30pm
Follow @LondonistLit for our pick of that day’s literary events.