Follow @LondonistLit for our pick of that day’s literary events.
The people behind Richmond Literary Festival firmly advocate book igloos
Ongoing
Richmond Literature Festival is going on throughout November in Richmond-upon-Thames. Take a look at the festival calendar for a full list of events.
For those who want to venture slightly outside of London, Chorleywood Literature Festival begins on 10 November, with names such as Jodi Picoult, Tracy Borman and Sheila Hancock taking part. Various prices, prebook, until 16 November
Thursday 6 November
DYSLEXIA AWARENESS WEEK: Bloomsbury Institute in Bedford Sqaure hosts an event in partnership with the British Dsylexia Association. Children’s authors Tom McLaughlin and Sally Gardner explore dyslexia, its links with creativity and how it impacts on their ideas and their writing. They will be interviewed by Dr. Kate Saunders. £10/£7/£6, prebook, 6pm
GALLERY POETRY: The William Morris Gallery in Walthamstow stays open late tonight. As well as art, music, food and drink, Walthamstow-based Forest Poets and Sarah Doyle, the Pre-Raphaelite Society’s poet-in-residence, will explore the poet’s preoccupation with metre, rhyme and metaphor with readings in the Gallery’s Acanthus Room. Free, just turn up, 6.30pm
POLITICAL CARTOONS: Head to Waterstones Trafalgar Square for an evening celebrating the publication of The Best of Britain’s Political Cartoons 2014. Editor Tim Benson, the UK’s leading political cartoon expert, will be in discussion with some of the cartoonists whose work is included in the collection about the images that defined the year. Free, prebook, 6.30pm
LITERARY DISSIDENT: London School of Economics hosts a discussion and film screening about the story of China’s first literary dissident’s Kafkaesque journey through the prisons of the Cultural Revolution. Free, prebook, 6.30pm
SIMON ARMITAGE: The poet discusses and reads from Paper Aeroplane, a selection of his own work over the last 25 years. It draws upon all of his award-winning collections, from his debut Zoom to his latest uncollected work. At Daunt Books in Marylebone. £8, prebook, 7pm
FANTASY FICTION: Graham Hancock, author of the War God series of books is at Foyles on Charing Cross Road to talk about his new fantasy fiction novel, Return of the Plumed Serpent. £5, prebook, 7pm
GREAT WAR: The Working Men’s College in Mornington Crescent hosts a literary night focused on the Great War. Timothy Adès will be reading poems in translation about The Great War. Judith Allnatt will be reading from her latest novel The Moon Field, Pete Ayrton will be reading from No Man’s Land, an international anthology of First World War fiction, plus more readings. Free, prebook, 7pm
IN PRAISE OF BEES: Elizabeth Burchell, author of In Praise Of Bees, is at Hatchard’s on Piccadilly to explore the bee’s place in human society from prehistoric cave paintings and inscribed clay tablets through to our contemporary world. £5, prebook, 7.30pm
BANG SAID THE GUN: Expect poetry, spoken word, and an open mic at Bang Said The Gun. Tonight’s performances are by Ross Sutherland and Amy McAllister. At The Roebuck in Borough. £7/£5, just turn up, 8pm
Friday 7 November
VON FURSTENBERG: Fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg is at Hatchard’s on Piccadilly to sign copies of her new book, The Woman I Wanted To Be. 1pm
CRICKET AUTOBIOGRAPHY: Meet cricketer Sachin Tendulkar at Waterstones Canary Wharf Jubilee, where he’s signing copies of his autobiography, Playing It My Way. 1pm
FLEETWOOD MAC: Meet Mick Fleetwood, drummer and co-founder of Fleetwood Mac, at Waterstones Piccadilly. He’s signing copies of his autobiography, Now, Then, And Fleetwood Mac. 5pm
CULT COMICS: What makes a cult comic? That’s the topic of debate at Foyles on Charing Cross Road, part of Comica Festival. £8/£5, prebook, 6.30pm
FIRST FRIDAYS: Poetry in London’s second live event takes place at the Poetry Cafe with open mic spots, a surprise feature act, a discussion on this month’s theme, the media, and the opportunity to network. Either come up with a short solo poem or team up with another poet and produce a 1 minute piece to be shared on the night. £5/£7, prebook, 7.30pm
Saturday 8 November
C20 SOCIETY: The Simpson Building, now home to Waterstones Piccadilly, represents 1936 in 100 Buildings 100 Years, a new book by C20 Society. The store celebrates the book with an illustrated talk by C20 on the streamlined and sophisticated architecture of the 1930s. Free, prebook, 2pm
WAR POETRY: Some of the finest poetry ever produced came from the devastation and bravery witnessed during the First World War. This afternoon’s readings by the Keats House Poetry Ambassadors at Keats House in Hampstead will focus on the unique perspective of women writers. Free with admission, just turn up, 3pm
Sunday 9 November
FEMALE WAR POETS: On Remembrance Sunday, Southbank Centre runs an event to give the public a chance to learn more about female war poets. Join experts, including Jane Potter and Angela K Smith, to explore the work of some the First World War’s greatest writers. Chaired by Judith Palmer, Director of The Poetry Society. Free, just turn up, 6.45pm Other Remembrance events at Southbank Centre include a dramatic reading by Neil Bartlett and a reading of Wildred Owen’s Dulce et Decorum Est by Andrew Motion.
TORRIANO POETS: This week’s poetry reading at Torriano Poets Meeting House in Kentish Town features Jennifer Johnson, John Snelling, Richard Leigh and Murray Shelmerdine. £5/£4, just turn up, 7.30pm
Monday 10 November
THE BONE CLOCKS: Waterstones Piccadilly hosts an evening with David Mitchell. The author of Cloud Atlas will be in conversation with Sam Leith, discussing the Booker Prize longlisted The Bone Clocks. £8/£6, prebook, 6.30pm
INFORMATION IS BEAUTIFUL: David McCandless, data journalist and designer, and author of the best-selling Information is Beautiful, is the subject of tonight’s Guardian Live event at One Canada Square. He’ll be presenting some of his new infographics on a range of topics. £20, prebook, 7pm
WORDS ON MONDAY: Poet Wendy Cope marks the publication of her prose collection of a lifetime of published and unpublished work, at King’s Place. £9.50, prebook, 7pm
SCOTLAND: Kathleen Jamie is at London Review Bookshop in Bloomsbury to read from new and forthcoming work, and to talk about the fate of Scottish writing in the aftermath of the referendum. £10, prebook, 7pm
AMERICAS POETRY: Poet in the City is at King’s Place for an evening of Poetry From The Americas. Adélia Prado is one of Brazil’s most important living poets and award-winning Thomas Lux has had work published widely in the USA. Hear them both reading in this one-off intimate event.£9.50, prebook, 7pm
HOCKNEY: Christopher Simon Sykes talks about the life and work of Hockney, Britain’s most popular living artist, following the publication of the second volume of his biography. At Hatchard’s on Piccadilly. £8, prebook, 7.30pm
CRICK CRACK CLUB: Soho Theatre hosts an evening of Performance Storytelling by Xanthe Gresham, combining wigs, Irish mythology, wild deities, on-line dating and the city of London. £9/£7, prebook, 8pm
NEW STEPHEN KING BOOK: Head to Waterstones Piccadilly to celebrate the launch of Stephen King’s new book, Revival, and the exclusive opportunity to be one the first to get your hands on a hardback copy of Revival in the UK at midnight, and enjoy some surprise treats. The first 50 in the queue will also be able to purchase a special limited edition of Revival. 11.30pm
Tuesday 11 November
FOXGLOVE SUMMER: Ben Aaronovitch signs copies of Foxglove Summer at Hatchard’s in St Pancras. In the fifth of his best-selling series Ben Aaronovitch takes Peter Grant out of whatever comfort zone he might have found and takes him out of London — to a small village in Herefordshire. 1pm
GRAYSON PERRY: Artist Grayson Perry will be signing copies of his new book, Playing to the Gallery, at Waterstones Piccadilly. 5.30pm
LITERATURE PRIZE: The Royal Society of Literature’s V.S. Pritchett Memorial Prize is presented tonight. Writer A.L. Kennedy is in conversation with Paula Johnson, who reads from her work and explores the craft of the short story. After the announcement and presentation of the V.S. Pritchett Prize for 2014, the winning entry will be read by its author. £8/£5, prebook, 7pm
HOW TO WRITE: Journalist, broadcaster and comedy writer David Quantick is at London Review Bookshop in Bloomsbury to present his new book, How to Write Everything. £10, prebook, 7pm
FASHION ON FLEET STREET: Felicity Green, ex-Mirror fashion journalist, and Penny Vincenzi discuss Green’s new book, Sex, Sense and Nonsense at Daunt Books in Marylebone. £8, prebook, 7pm
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 Vice & Virtue. £5, just turn up, 7.30pm
POETRY PANEL SHOW: Never Mind The Full Stops at Hackney Picturehouse is a poetry comedy panel show. two teams compete with couplets and score with sonnets to see who will make victory from their verse. £5/£4, prebook, 7.30pm
LAST POST: Alwyn W Turner is at Hatchard’s on Piccadilly to talk about new book, The Last Post, which looks at the origins of the traditional Remembrance bugle call in 1919. £5, prebook, 8pm
POEJAZZI: The Elgar Room at Royal Albert Hall is the venue for Poejazzi, a night of music and spoken word from established and up-and-coming talents. Speculative fiction author/Orange Prize Long-list nominee Leone Ross tells humorous tales and spoken word artist and activist Anthony Anaxagorou will be performing poems from his critically acclaimed EP, I Will Come To You. £14.26, prebook, 8pm
Wednesday 12 November
SIR ALEX FERGUSON: No, not the man himself. Professor Damian Hughes is at Waterstones on Trafalgar Square to talk about his new book, How To Think Like Sir Alex Ferguson. £3, prebook, 7pm
DUNKIRK: Sinclair McKay is the author of The Secret Life of Bletchley Park. In his new book he draws on interviews with Dunkirk veterans, illuminating letters and a host of fascinating archival material to explore the evacuation from the beaches of Dunkirk. He’s at Hatchard’s on Piccadilly to talk about the book. £8, prebook, 7.30pm