Author appearances, poetry and spoken word events in London this week
Thursday 25 July
Michael Frayn’s talking about his career as a novelist and playwright at the Bloomsbury Institute (6pm, £10).
Elizabeth Crawford discusses the fight for women’s suffrage, at the Big Green Bookshop (7pm, free).
Ben Aaronovitch is signing limited edition copies of his new Peter Grant novel at Waterstones Covent Garden (12.30pm). Then in the evening, Ben is at Waterstones Piccadilly chatting with Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, who reads the audiobook versions (6.30pm, £5 / £3).
Chris McCabe and Colin Fenn are taking people on a free tour of the West Norwood poets in West Norwood Cemetery from 1pm.
Discover ancient poet Horace with Harry Eyres at the Idler Academy (7pm, £15).
Laura Martin Simpson, Sean Wai Keung, Roy Canty, Tom Bland and host Irina Jauhiainen perform some Poetry in the Basement of the Poetry Cafe (7.30pm, £5 / £4).
Friday 26 July
Come Rhyme With Me celebrates its third birthday with poetry and food at Cottons Restaurant in Islington (7pm, £7.50 / £12.50 inc dinner).
Hylda Sims hosts Fourth Friday’s summer party at the Poetry Cafe, with Racker Donnelly and music from Simon Prager and Alan Glen (8pm, £7 / £5).
Missed Ben Aaronovitch on Friday? Catch him signing copies of Broken Homes at Waterstones Leadenhall Market from 12.30pm.
Saturday 27 July
Owen Sheers, Sophie Hampton and Paul McVeigh are the guests at Word Factory #13, held at the Society Club (6pm, £10).
Heavily acclaimed Christopher Reid, perhaps best known for The Song of Lunch, is at Poetry East (7.30pm, £8).
Amy Key, Jacqui Saphra and Gale Burns host The Shuffle at the Poetry Cafe, with guests Lucy Hamilton, Roisin Tierney, Abigail Parry, Paul McGrane, Harry Mann and Norbert Hirschhorn (7.30pm, £5 / £3).
Have tea and cakes and poetry with the editors of Long Poem magazine at the Poetry Cafe between 2pm-6pm (free).
Jacob Sam-La Rose comperes spoken word, poetry and music from Apples and Snakes, Spread the Word, Entelechy Arts and the Albany Uncover Young Music Company at the Southbank Centre‘s Deptford weekend (6.30pm, free).
Sunday 28 July
Feed & Read is running a book swap with courgette cupcakes for sustenance, at the Southbank Centre’s Deptford weekend (11am-5pm, all weekend, free).
Tuesday 30 July
Niall O’Sullivan hosts Poetry Unplugged open mic night at the Poetry Cafe (7.30pm, £5 / £4).
Wednesday 31 July
The Homework team – including Joe Dunthorne, Ross Sutherland, Luke Wright, John Osborne and Tim Clare – reveal the lengths they’ve gone to research their work. Properly fun night at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club (8pm, £5).
Hear poetry from Croydon’s Poets Anonymous at the Poetry Cafe (7.30pm).
Follow @LondonistLit for our pick of that day’s literary events.