Author appearances, poetry and spoken word events in London this week
Competition
Before we start: have you seen our competition to win a pair of tickets to a Thames Festival Cruise with Andrew Motion? Submit a few poetic lines about the Thames in the comments over here (not on this article!) by 5pm on Wednesday 4 September.
Thursday 29 August
DBC Pierre, Michael Smith, Salena Godden, Matt Okine and Thabo & The Real Deal are all at Book Slam in Clapham. Francesca Beard hosts (7.30pm, £6 / £8).
Gemma Seltzer has spent the summer Speaking to Strangers around Bankside. Pick up a free copy of the limited edition project from 1pm at Tate Modern.
Journalist and co-author of Undercover Rob Evans, and lawyer Harriet Wistrich, talk about undercover policing, at Southbank Centre (7pm, £8).
Keep an eye out around Soho (try the Dog and Duck, Soho Square, Bar Italia or the Star Cafe) for free CDs of Nuala Casey reading from her new novel Soho 4am.
Friday 30 August
Margaret Atwood is signing copies of MaddAddam at Waterstones Gower Street between 4.15-5pm. We recommend arriving early.
There are still a few slots free to meet Julia Donaldson at Dulwich Books. Book a space for 2.30-3pm or 3.30-4pm.
The CLR James Library in Dalston has free events all day. Sarah Hadland from Horrible Histories talks to authors who write about the past from 2.30pm, plus create your own pop-up book, illustration workshop and singalongs.
Saturday 31 August
Ella Berthoud and Susan Elderkin, authors of The Novel Cure, are offering free bibliotherapy sessions at Foyles Royal Festival Hall (1pm-5m).
The Poetry Takeaway will write poems to order at the Dalston Children’s Festival (12-6pm).
Sunday 1 September
Brian Docherty, Bruce Carson, Catharine Scholnick, Jenni Christian, Chris Burroughes and Jack Wilkes perform at Torriano Poets (7.30pm, £5 / £3).
Go for a ramble on Hampstead Heath and discuss Tove Jansson’s The Summer Book with Daunt’s Walking Book Club (11.30am, free).
Monday 2 September
Mark Miodownik and Steven Connor are talking about “stuff” at Woolfson & Tay (7pm, £3).
Alex Hopkins and Annie Player are the writers at erotic literary soiree Velvet Tongue at Bar Kick (7.30pm, £5 / £3).
Exiled Writers Ink brings Serbian poetry and prose in English to the Poetry Cafe; writers are Sonja Besford, Nikola Čobić and Vesna Goldsworthy (7.30pm, £4 / £2).
Tuesday 3 September
Ed Howker and Shiv Malik discuss The Jilted Generation and Britain’s shafted younger folk, at the Southbank Centre (6.30pm, £8).
Hannah Kent talks about her novel Burial Rites at Waterstones Covent Garden (6pm, £4 / £3).
Wednesday 4 September
Fabulous children’s authors and illustrators Sarah McIntyre and Philip Reeve launch Oliver and the Seawigs at Daunt Books Marylebone (6.30pm, free but reserve in advance).
Geraldine Monk introduces Tim Allen, David Annwn, Ian Davidson, Alan Halsey and Frances Presley reading poetry that’s inspired them, at the launch of CUSP: Recollections of Poetry in Transition. Head to the Poetry Library at the Southbank Centre (8pm, free).
Sir Andrew Motion, Jo Shapcott and Sam Guglani discuss poetry and medicine in Keats’s work, at Keats House (7pm, £5).
Comedian Matt Greene launches his debut novel Ostrich at West End Lane Books (7.30pm, free, RSVP via info@welbooks.co.uk and mark your email ‘Matt Greene’).
Patrick Ness is talking about and signing copies of More Than This at Waterstones Piccadilly (6.30pm, £5 / £3).
Laura Wilson is chatting about her locally set crime novel The Riot, at Waterstones Notting Hill Gate (7pm, £5 / £3).
Follow @LondonistLit for our pick of that day’s literary events.