See the new Tom Phillips exhibition at Southbank Centre
Festivals
Battersea Literature Festival is going on until 14 September, with David Mitchell, dogs, and a woman in a window.
Thursday 4 September
007: Roger Moore is at Hatchards St Pancras, signing copies of his new book, A Last Man Standing: Tales from Tinseltown. £20, prebook, 1pm
POETRY AT 3: The Poetry Cafe has a daytime open mic for poets to share their work. Free, just turn up, 3pm
ICELAND MAYOR: Jón Gnarr is the ex-mayor of Reykjavík in Iceland and famous for his unusual policies (such as refusing to work with anyone who hasn’t watched The Wire). Tonight he is at Foyles on Charing Cross Road to talk about his book, How I Became the Major of a Large City in Iceland and Changed the World. £5, prebook, 7pm
BABY P: Ray Jones, author of The Story Of Baby P, is in conversation with Patrick Butler, editor of society, health and education policy for The Guardian, about the death of baby Peter Connelly and the social workers who were blamed. At Big Green Bookshop in Wood Green. £3, prebook, 7pm
THIS BOOK IS GAY: Gay’s The Word bookshop near St Pancras hosts the launch of This Book Is Gay by James Dawson. It’s a comical yet poignant memoir of Dawson’s experience growing up in the LGBT community. Free, just turn up, 7pm
POETRY SLAM: The Genesis Poetry Slam is back for the Autumn season at Genesis Cinema in Bethnal Green, hosted by Sam Berkson and Michelle Madsen. Free, just turn up (prebook to take part), 7pm
NINA STIBBE: Burgh House in Hampstead hosts Nina Stibbe to celebrate her first novel, Man at the Helm. Courtesy of Daunt Books. £5, prebook, 7pm
LONDON SALON: Waterstone’s Piccadilly’s London Salon focuses on Mount London. It’s a book by a collection of authors focusing on the highest points in London, from Crystal Palace to Primrose Hill. Free, prebook, 7pm
LONDON SPORT: West End Lane Books in West Hampstead hosts local author Simon Inglis to talk about his new book, Played In London. It covers the more unusual sports, venues and players of London’s sporting past. Free, prebook, 7.30pm
NAKED BOYS: Naked Boys Reading is a literary salon evening in which men read naked. It’s celebrating its second birthday at Ace Hotel in Shoreditch with an evening of book-based nudity. £7, just turn up, 8pm
TALK TO STRANGERS: The Poetry Cafe in Covent Garden hosts a spoken word night with music and comedy. £5/£4, just turn up, 8pm
Friday 5 September
MARY BERRY: Cook Mary Berry is at Selfridge’s to sign copies of her new book, Mary Berry Cooks the Perfect. Free to attend, but your copy of the book must be purchased from Selfridge’s (proof of purchase/receipt required), 1.30pm
BBC PROMS: Poets Andrew Motion and Kate Clanchy are at BBC Proms to discuss Philip Larkin and his collection, The Whitsun Weddings, which was first published 50 years ago in 1964. Takes place at Royal College of Music. Free, 4.45pm
KNAUSGAARD: London Review Bookshop hosts an evening with Karl Ove Knausgaard, author of six autobiographical novels. Takes place at St George’s Church in Bloomsbury. £12, prebook, 7pm
SPOKEN WORD: Head to Only Connect Theatre in King’s Cross for a series of spoken word performances by young people from the New Horizons Youth Centre and Somers Town Community Centre, who will recite original modern day fairy-tales based on their experiences of life in NW1. Organised by Youth Sauce. Free, just turn up, 7pm-8pm
LIPPED INK: The Poetry Cafe in Covent Garden hosts Lipped Ink, a monthly evening with poetry open mic slots, a featured poet and spoken word. £5, just turn up, 7.30pm
Saturday 6 September
BOOK FAIR: Conway Hall in Holborn hosts the Free Verse Poetry Book Fair. As well as the books on offer, there will be performances and a chance to meet people with similar book-based interests. 1oam-4.30pm
HILARY MANTEL: The author joins New Statesman contributing writer Erica Wagner for a conversation about the Tudors, the challenges of historical fiction and the story behind her literary adaptations. Takes place at Aldwych Theatre. £20, prebook, 11.30am
BOOK BIRTHDAY: East London publisher Penned in the Margins celebrates its 10th birthday at Rich Mix with readings and live sets from poets and authors including Ross Sutherland and Hannah Silva, plus DJs, roundtable discussions. £5, prebook, 6pm-1am
Sunday 7 September
WALKING BOOK CLUB: Daunt Books in Hampstead is the start point for a literary walk across Hampstead Heath, discussing William Trevor’s novel, Love In Summer. 11.30am
POETRY: Owen Lowery performs his poetry, and Poet in the City present poetry in sign language at Southbank Centre. £8, prebook, 2pm
TORRIANO POETS: This week’s poetry reading at Torriano Poets Meeting House in Kentish Town features Roisin Tierney and Martin Malone, introduced by Lisa Kelly. £5/£4, just turn up, 7.30pm
LITERARY SALON: The inaugural East End Literary Salon takes place at Ophelia in Dalston. See rehearsed readings of plays by five upcoming playwrights including James Paul Avery and George Brant. Pay what you can, prebook, 7.30pm
Monday 8 September
ROBERT FROST: Matthew Hollist, who has written about the friendship between American poet Robert Frost and Anglo-Welsh poet Edward Thomas, is joined by Frost’s biographer Jay Parini to discuss Frost’s work. Part of BBC Proms, takes place at the Royal College of Music. Free, 5.15pm
WITCHING HOUR: Foyles on Charing Cross Road hosts authors Deborah Harkness, Karen Maitland and Katherine Clements to discuss their new novels, all of which have a witchcraft or supernatural theme. £5, prebook, 7pm-8pm
ALLSORTS: The open mic night returns to Rich Mix in Shoreditch with spoken word artists, rappers, singers, comedians and more all taking to the mic. Free, Tweet @Allsortz1 to gain entry, 7pm
CLARE BALDING: The TV journalist is at RIBA on Portland Place to talk about her book, Walking Home: My Family and Other Rambles, about a journey with her brother across the 71 mile long Wayfarer’s Walk. £20-£31.50, prebook, 7pm
MOVIES: 4 Minutes Movie is an open mic / filming session for poets, storytellers and comedians at the Poetry Cafe. Perform one single piece, four minutes in length. £4, 7.30pm
POLARI: Southbank Centre’s LBGT literary salon, Polari, hosts author Joanna Briscoe talking about her latest novel, Touched. Briscoe is joined by writers including Carole Morin, Trudy Howson, Collin Kelley and Juliet Jacques. The shortlist for the Polari First Book Prize 2014 is also announced tonight. £5, prebook, 7.45pm
Tuesday 9 September
TOM PHILLIPS: A new exhibition at Southbank Centre tracks Tom Phillips’ A Humument through its recent incarnations across digital platforms and allows readers to randomly seek advice from the pages of the book. Free, just turn up, until October
POETRY RECITAL: There is a free recital of the work of famous poets including Rupert Brooke, Evelyn Underhill, A.E. Houseman, Siegfried Sassoon, John Mcrae, Wilfred Owen and Isaac Rosenberg, alongside a clarinet recital. Takes place at Wesley’s Chapel on City Road. Free, just turn up, 1pm
AMERICAN WILD: The latest issue of Granta is launched at Foyles on Charing Cross Road, with the theme of the American Wild. Stories on this topic have been contributed by several authors. £5, prebook, 7pm
THEATRE PLATFORM: Author Mark Haddon and Olivier-Award winning playwright Simon Stephens are the subjects of a National Theatre Platform, about their work on bringing Haddon’s book The Curious Incident Of The Dog In The Night Time to the West End stage. £4/£3, prebook, 5pm
LIARS LEAGUE: The Phoenix on Cavendish Square hosts the monthly Liars League. Actors and authors stand up to tell stories they have written along the theme of High & Low. £5, just turn up, 7.30pm
MICHAEL PALIN: To celebrate the publication of his third volume of diaries, Michael Palin presents his new one-man show at Southbank Centre. £14.75-£29.50, prebook, 7.30pm
NEVER MIND THE FULLSTOPS: Team captains Dan Simpson and Paula Varjack, plus guests Amy McAllister, Emma Jones, Sam Berkson and Gary from Leeds go head to head battling with verse at Hackney Attic. £5/£4, prebook, 7.30pm
Wednesday 10 September
EARL BIOGRAPHY: Alex Larman, biographer of The Earl of Rochester is at Hatchards on Piccadilly to talk about his book, Blazing Star: The Life and Times of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester. Free, prebook, 1pm
SHORT STORIES: Author Graham Swift is in conversation at Foyles on Charing Cross Road, discussing England and Other Stories, his first short story collection in over 30 years. £5, prebook, 7pm
LOOSE MUSE: The regular event for female writers is back, featuring an open mic slot. At The Poetry Cafe in Covent Garden. £5/£3, just turn up, 8pm
POETRY LAUNCH: Go to The Prospect of Whitby in Wapping for the launch of Chimene Suleyman’s debut collection, Outside Looking On, set in and round Canary Wharf. There’ll be readings from Joshua Idehen, Musa Okwonga and of course Chimene Suleyman. Free, just turn up, 7pm
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