Author appearances, poetry and spoken word events in London this week
Wednesday: Audrey Niffenegger reads a new story at a Halloween special, from Waterstones, at the Prince Charles Cinema. Superstorm Sandy means Erin Morgenstern will have to appear via Skype (7pm, £8).
Seumas Milne provides an alternative history of the last 10 years at the London Review Bookshop (7pm, £7).
Christopher Brookmyre and Mark Billingham read from their new novels at Foyles (6.30pm, free but, y’know, best to try and get a ticket before turning up to this one).
Elsewhere at Foyles (in the cafe, to be precise), Salon London introduces Tali Sharot and Robert Rowland Smith (6.30pm, £12).
Head to the Ministry of Stories party at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club (7pm, £5).
Uzor Chinukwue talks about his novels and African leadership since independence, at Balham Library (6.30pm, free).
The South Asian Literature Festival officially starts tomorrow, but here’s a pre-festival event: Anne de Courcy explains how young British women used to head off to India during the Raj in search of a husband (7pm, £7).
Thursday: James Marriott and Emma Hughes are at Woolfson & Tay to talk about how oil gets to us from the Caspian Sea (7pm, free).
See Colm Tóibín talk about his life and work at Lit East (7.30pm, £7).
The wonderful Ali Smith launches her new book, Artful, at Keats House (6.30pm, £5).
Ghassan Zaqtan launches an English translation of his latest poetry collection at the Mosaic Rooms (7pm, free).
David Gaffney, Jehane Markham and Gina Wisker all read to launch Ambit 210 at the Owl Bookshop in Kentish Town (7pm, free).
An Evening with the Gruntlers sets English and Welsh poets against each other at the Poetry Cafe (7.30pm).
Friday: See a live performance of The Tale of Brin and Bent and Minno Marylebone by Ravi Thornton and Andy Hixon at Comica Festival’s opening night at Foyles (6.30pm, free).
Charlie Brooker’s signing copies of I Can Make You Hate at Waterstones Oxford Street Plaza from 12.30pm.
Discover Shakespeare’s influence on Asia – and Asia’s influence on Shakespeare – at the South Asian Literature Festival (7pm, £7.50 / £5).
Kat Francois hosts a night of Slam poetry at the Poetry Cafe (8pm, £5 / £3).
Maggie Butt, Caroline Carver, David Cooke and Pam Zinnerman-Hope are the Ward Wood Poets reading at the Camden Poetry Series (7pm, £5 / £4).
Saturday: One of our favourite writers, Christopher Fowler, is a guest at Bookstock alongside Hayley Webster, Bobby Nayyar and Lewis Harrison-Marker (7pm, £7).
Aline and Robert Crumb make their only UK appearance to launch Drawn Together at Foyles (6.30pm, £20).
There are lots of events at the South Asian Literature Festival today, including appearances from Daljit Nagra, Anjali Joseph, Bidisha and Jonathan Glancey.
Michael Rattigan reads from his debut poetry collection at the Poetry Cafe (7.30pm, free).
Sunday: Rose Tremain, Nick Coleman and Peter James are three of the Wellcome Trust Book Prize 2012 shortlisted authors, and they’re chatting with Anne Karpf at the Wellcome Collection (3pm, free).
Andy Stanton and Marianne Levy finish off half term with Scott Pack and the Kids’ Firestation Book Swap in Windsor (1pm, free).
Lots of things to see at the South Asian Literature Festival, including Mary Hamer on Rudyard Kipling, Sarfraz Manzoor, Nadeem Aslam, Niven Govinden and Marina Warner.
Pick up some cheap books and help the volunteer-run New Cross Learning (formerly New Cross Library) at their massive book sale 2-5pm.
Monday: Jackie Kay reads from her stories at the VS Pritchett Memorial Prize Evening at Somerset House (7pm, £8).
Ian Rankin celebrates Rebus’s return at Foyles (7.15pm, free but again, you should probably book).
Kate Summerscale discusses love, vengeance and the Victorians at Brook Green Festival of Books (7.30pm, £12).
Enjoy storytelling from Spark London at the Canal Cafe Theatre (7.30pm, £8).
Jacek Dehnel and Zygmunt Miloszewski are at Daunt Books in Chelsea for an evening of Polish literature (7pm, free).
Salil Tripathi, Michael Wood, Roy Moxham, Patrick French and Alex von Tunzelmann explore the issues around writing about India as an outsider, at the South Asian Literature Festival (6.30pm, £7.50 / £5).
Toby Davidson is the guest poet at Exiled Writers Ink, tonight celebrating Muslim writers from China (7.30pm, £4 / £2).
John Glenday, Richard Douglas Pennant, Huw Warren, Stuart Silver and Kona MacPhee consider what they should have said at Coffee House Poetry (8pm, £7 / £6).
Tuesday: Dreda Say Mitchell chats about her latest novel Hit Girl at Clapham Library (8pm, free).
Costa winner Andrew Miller talks to John Preston about his novel Pure and bringing the past to life at the Brook Green Festival of Books (7.30pm, £12).
Hannah Silva starts a run at the Oval House satirising the meaningless twaddle that falls from the lips of modern politicians (8pm, £14 / £10 / £8).
Alexander McCall Smith takes a train journey through Britain while remaining at Foyles (6.30pm, free).
Niall O’Sullivan hosts the Poetry Cafe‘s regular open mic night (7.30pm, £5 / £4).
Antony Lerman and Jacqueline Rose discuss Zionism at the London Review Bookshop (7pm, £7).
Follow @LondonistLit for our pick of that day’s literary events.