Luke Wright / photo by Steve Ullathorne
Author appearances, poetry and spoken word events in London this week
Thursday 16 May: Michael Moorcock, Peter Milligan, Mike Carey, Roger Langridge and Christopher Fowler help launch TRIPWIRE 21 and an exhibition at Foyles (6.30pm, £5 / £3).
There’s a night of high energy topical comic poetry at the Canal Cafe Theatre with Elvis McGonagall and Vanessa Kisuule (7.30pm, £5 / £4).
Herne Hill Books hosts local authors Gabriel Gbadamosi and Colin Grant (6pm, free).
Storyteller / comedian Rosie Wilby looks at womanhood and feminism in the 90s, at The Exhibit (7.30pm, £3).
Barry Forshaw chairs a panel at Waterstones Piccadilly of Erin Kelly, Sabine Durrant and Alex Marwood looking at psychological crime writing (6.30pm, £5 / £3).
Antonia Fraser explains to AN Wilson how we got to the Great Reform Act of 1832, at Waterstones Hampstead (7pm, £6 / £4).
Marcel Theroux launches his new novel Strange Bodies at the Idler Academy (6.30pm, free).
Jem Rolls and Elvis McGonagall again, apparently, are the guests at Bang Said the Gun (8pm, £7 / £5).
Aaron Daniel, Phil Lawder and Abe Gibson share their love of writing and music at the Poetry Cafe (8pm, £5).
Charlie Higson talks about his books for teens at Waterstones Islington (4pm, free).
Friday 17 May: Steve Tasane, Alison Winch, Suzanne and Keith Drake and Patric Cunnane are the Dodo Modern Poets at the Poetry Cafe (8pm, £6 / £5).
Saturday 18 May: It’s Manga day at the Festival of Asian Literature: take the kids to a free manga workshop from 12pm, and there’s a series of talks and workshops for adults in the afternoon.
Bookstock hits The Green Man on Euston Road again, with Matt Haig, Lane Ashfeldt, William Ryan, Liz Harris and Seki Lynch (7pm, £6 / £7).
SJ Fowler, Ross Sutherland, Hannah Silva, Honor Gavin and Outfit are at Rich Mix for a night of Electronic Voice Phenomena, cutting edge poetry, music and performance. If you asked us, we’d simply tell you to see Ross Sutherland wherever you can (and the rest are damn fine, too). 8pm, £10 / £8.
Helen East leads a walk around Islington telling tales of dreamers, drovers and leaders. Meet at Archway Library (11.30am, free).
Sunday 19 May: Poejazzi, Not So Popular and MAP Poetry join forces to bring you poetry for a pound at The Book Club (7.30pm, £1 obvs).
Swap books and eat cake at Feed and Read, popping up in Deptford’s Bearspace Gallery (12-4pm).
Helen East is back in Islington for a storytelling walk of ghostly traces and lost places, starting at Angel tube (2pm, free).
Age Exchange in Blackheath is having a book sale 10am-2pm to raise funds for their charity work.
Monday 20 May: The London Literature Festival at the Southbank Centre kicks off with readings by some of the nominees for the Man Booker International Prize 2013: UR Ananthamurthy (India), Lydia Davis (USA), Intizar Husain (Pakistan), Yan Lianke (China), Marie NDiaye (France), Josip Novakovich (Canada) and Peter Stamm (Switzerland) (7.30pm, £12 / £10).
Another chance to see Antonia Fraser on the Great Reform Act of 1832, at Daunt Books Marylebone (7pm, £8).
There’s more Islington storytelling from Helen East, this time in a seated position at the Charles Lamb pub (6.30pm, free).
The Festival of Asian Literature offers some Burmese poetry and a discussion on the country’s future (6.30pm, £10 / £8).
Poet in the City presents an evening of Rimbaud and Verlaine at Kings Place, with David Harsent, Deryn Rees- Jones, Tim Matthews, Jack Johns, Sam Swainsbury and Lucy Tregear (7pm, £9.50).
Also at Kings Place, Charles Cumming, Rhodri Jeffreys-Jones and Peter Guttridge discuss the myths and realities behind the secret services (7pm, £9.50).
Coffee House Poetry hosts US and UK poets Margot Farrington, Claire Dyer, Joshua Weiner, Kim Moore, Kathryn Maris, Janet Rogerson, Linda Gregerson, Sarah Jackson and Henry Fajemirokun (8pm, £8 / £7).
Tall Lighthouse press hosts an open mic night at the Poetry Cafe (7.30pm, free).
Tuesday 21 May: Chris Wellbelove from Greene & Heaton literary agency is the speaker at London Writers’ Club Live (7pm, £15 / £20).
Chinese writers Ma Jian and Yan Lianke are at the Festival of Asian Literature with Boyd Tonkin and Flora Drew (6.45pm, £10 / £8).
Niall O’Sullivan hosts the Poetry Cafe‘s weekly open mic night, Poetry Unplugged (7.30pm, £5 / £4).
Poets Ken Edwards and Philip Terry read at The Blue Bus (7.30pm, £5 / £3).
Ruth O’Callaghan presents Anne Stevenson and Richard Berengarten at Lumen Poetry Series (6.30pm, £5 / £4).
Wednesday 22 May: Luke Wright (pictured) is starting a run of his Your New Favourite Poet show at Leicester Square Theatre (7pm, £10 / £8).
Melvyn Bragg launches his new novel Grace and Mary (7.30pm, £12 / £10) and take your five minute stories to Story:SLAM live (7.45pm, £8) at the London Literature Festival.
Mark Blyth argues that austerity is a dangerous idea at Daunt Books Cheapside (6.30pm, £5).
The Festival of Asian Literature closes with Tan Twan Eng in conversation with Maya Jaggi (6.45pm, £12 / £10).
Jawdance is a regular Apples and Snakes night of poetry, spoken word and film shorts at Rich Mix. No mention of who’s on, but it’s free and always good fun (7.30pm).
Toby Litt, James Miller and Gregory Normington read stories about climate change at Woolfson & Tay (7pm, free, book ahead).
Follow @LondonistLit for our pick of that day’s literary events.