Author appearances, poetry and spoken word events in London this week
Alexei Sayle talks about his autobiography, Stalin Ate My Homework.
Festivals
Cityread London 2014 takes place throughout April, with events including workshops, quizzes, film screenings, competitions and more. See the website for events schedule.
North London Lit Fest takes place 2-3 April. Authors in attendance include David Nicholls and Tom Chivers, plus up and coming writers will have a chance to participate in a speed-pitching session. See website for full programme.
Thursday 3 April
CANADIAN LITERATURE: Canadian short story authors Alice Munro and Mavis Gallant talk at the Canadian High Commission, chaired by Dr. Catherine Bates, research Fellow in English. Free, prebook, 10.30am
BOOK LAUNCH: First time author Timur Vernes launches his book, Look Who’s Back, about the celebrity media obsession. At Waterstones London Wall. £3, prebook, 6pm
AWARD-WINNING AUTHOR: Eleanor Catton, youngest ever winner of the Man Booker prize, is interviewed by Robert MacFarlane at Union Chapel. £12/£9, prebook, 6pm. Can’t make tonight? Eleanor Catton is heading to Kings Place on Tuesday — details below.
SLAM!: The Farrago Showcase and Haiku SLAM! is at the Poetry Cafe, with visiting New York poet Tantra Zawadi, Niall O’Sullivan, Anna Kahn, Marlon Balraj, Sophie Rammy and John Paul O’Neill. £6 / £5, 8pm
LOCAL INTEREST: Head to Swiss Cottage Library to hear author David Burke talk about his new book, The Lawn Road Flats, which tells the story of the local landmark and the people drawn to it. £5, prebook, 6.30pm
MAGAZINE LAUNCH: Head to Dogstar in Brixton for the launch of the second issue of hybrid art magazine Verse Kraken. Includes readings from contributors such as Alex Dally MacFarlane and Yvonne Reddick. £2/£1, just turn up, 7pm
POETRY VS. COMEDY: The comedians take on the poets at another Stand Up And Slam face-off at the Comedy Cafe. Team leaders are Dan Simpson (Canterbury Poet Laureate) and Paul Sweeney (Doc Brown tour support). Is it a comedy night? Or is is a poetry reading? Who knows. £8, prebook, 8pm
STAND-UP POETRY: Bang Said The Gun‘s weekly stand-up poetry shindig takes place at The Roebuck in Borough and this week features Bohdan Piasecki and Francesca Beard. £7/£5, just turn up, 8pm
Friday 4 April
POETRY CAFE: Lipped Ink is a monthly event at The Poetry Cafe with poetry open mic slots and a featured poet. Hosted by Mark “Mr T” Thompson, founder of The Cultural Chameleon Press and Sarah Thompson. £5, just turn up, 7.30pm
POETRY PALOOZA: Big Green Bookshop’s Poetry Palooza is hosted by performance poet Anne Meryt and also features poet Kate B Hall, actress Eve Pearce, and more. £3, prebook, 8pm
STORYTELLING FOR ADULTS: The Tea Box in Richmond hosts a storytelling event, and evening of tales for adults with unexpected twists. £6, prebook, 8pm
Saturday 5 April
THEATRE BOOK SIGNING: Twitter celebrity and theatre critic, West End Producer, will be at the National Theatre Book Shop on South Bank signing copies of his book, Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Acting (But Were Afraid to Ask, Dear). Free, just turn up, 1-3pm
KEATS POETRY: Keats House hosts an afternoon of poems along the themes of love and death, two topics often linked by Keats himself. Includes extracts from his letters and narrative poems such as Isabella and Lamia. Free, just turn up, 3pm
Sunday 6 April
TORRIANO POETS: This week’s Sunday Poetry Reading at Torriano Meeting House features Anna Selby and Hannah Lowe. £5/£4, just turn up, 7.30pm
Monday 7 April
SHELF HELP: Words on Monday at Kings Place hosts Shelf Help with Tim Parks, with the author discussing his book Teach Us To Sit Still, which he wrote after overcoming illness. £9.50, prebook, 7pm
DAWN O’PORTER: Television presenter and journalist Dawn O’Porter will be in conversation with Glamour magazine editor Jo Elvin, discussing her novels Paper Aeroplanes and Goose. Takes place at Waterstones Piccadilly. £3/£4, prebook, 7pm
STORYTELLING: Best Of Spark London gives a handpicked group of London-based storytellers a chance to perform at the Canal Cafe Theatre. All artists have performed previously at open mic nights around London. £8, prebook, 7.30pm
INTERNATIONAL POETRY: Exiled Writers Ink is a monthly gathering of writers exiled from their homeland with featured performances, hosted by Jennifer Langer. Takes place at The Poetry Cafe. £4/£2, just turn up, 7.30pm
Tuesday 8 April
WRITING TIPS: Southbank Centre Creative Writing School hosts a session on female crime writers. Lesley Thomson, author of The Detective’s Daughter, offers tips on writing detective fiction. £15, prebook, 6.30pm
AUTHOR MINGLING: Literati gives the public a chance to interact with leading authors in an elegant setting at Grosvenor House. This month’s author is Santa Montefiore who will present her new novel, Secrets of the Lighthouse, ahead of its UK release. £20, prebook, 6.30pm
KINGS PLACE: Following on from her appearance at Union Chapel on Thursday, author Eleanor Catton speaks at Guardian Review Book Club at Kings Place. The event is hosted by John Mullan, professor of English at UCL. £9.50/£11.50, prebook, 7pm
COOKBOOK LAUNCH: London Review Bookshop celebrates the publication of The Bloomsbury Cookbook, giving an insight into the world of the Bloomsbury group. £25, prebook, 7pm
COOKBOOK SAMPLING: Diana Henry talks about her new cookbook, A Change Of Appetite, at Waterstones Hampstead. Plus samples from her recipes will be available to try. £5, prebook, 7pm
CRIME FICTION: Crime fiction author Donna Leon talks about her latest novel, By Its Cover, at Daunt Books in Marylebone. £8, prebook, 7pm
SPEAKEASY: Drink Shop Do in Kings Cross host a Speakeasy evening, with stories performed against the clock, on a theme chosen by the audience. Authors attending include Essie Fox, Naomi Wood, Jason Hewitt and Claire McGowan. Free, just turn up, from 7pm
POETRY UNPLUGGED: The Poetry Cafe hosts Poetry Unplugged, a weekly open mic night. Anyone is welcome to sign up. £5/£4, just turn up, 7.30pm
SHAKESPEARE STORIES: Liars League takes place at The Phoenix on Cavendish Square. Listen to stories along the theme of Sling And Arrows (to celebrate the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth), and take part in the famous half-time book quiz. £5, just turn up, 7.30pm
Wednesday 9 April
CHARITY TALK: Novel and short fiction writer Kate Mosse gives a talk at Cadogan Hall, followed by a Q&A session. All proceeds go to the Parkinson’s Society. 11am
PHOTOGRAPHY: To celebrate the third volume of their Photobook series, Martin Parr and Gerry Badger are in conversation at Foyles on Charing Cross Road. £3, prebook, 6.30pm
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL TALK: At Housmans, author Alexei Sayle talks about his autobiography, Stalin Ate My Homework, recounting growing up within a Jewish atheist communist family in Liverpool. Followed by a Q&A session. £3, just turn up, 7pm
WOMEN WRITERS: Loose Muse is an event for female writers of all genres, with an open mic spot. At Poetry Cafe. £5/£5, just turn up, 8pm
Follow @LondonistLit for our pick of that day’s literary events.