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.