Author appearances, poetry and spoken word events in London this week
Sir Quentin Blake at Southbank Centre. See below for details.
Ongoing events
Jewish Book Week takes place at Kings Place from 22 February-2 March. Speakers include Alain de Botton and Josh Cohen. For full programme, click here.
The London School of Economics Space For Thought Literary Festival is on 24 February-1 March, with a theme of Reflections. Featured authors include Michael Rosen and Sebastian Faulks. For full programme, click here.
From Page To Stage Festival continues until 9 March, featuring musical and film adaptations.
Thursday 20 February
Waterstones Hampstead presents An Evening with Ben Watt, author of Romany and Tom, a look at the lives of his parents in the West End from the 1950s onwards. £6/£4, prebook, 7pm
Write It: Mic It takes place at Hackney Picturehouse. Actors, writers, comedians, sketch groups and musicians are given the opportunity to try out new material, or just sit back and watch the performances by others. £4, prebook, 7.30pm
Stand Up And Slam‘s regular performance poetry vs. stand-up comedy event takes place at The Comedy Cafe with six comedians and poets going head to head throughout three rounds, with the audience choosing the winner. £8+bf, prebook, 8pm
Anthony Anaxagorou and Emma Jones are the guests at Bang Said the Gun. £7/£5, just turn up, 8pm
Friday 21 February
The Poetry Cafe hosts Dodo Modern Poets, an evening of performance poetry from Patric Cunnane, Emile Sercombe and Amy McAllister. £7/£6, prebook, 8pm
Saturday 22 February
The Word Factory takes over Waterstones Piccadilly for an evening of readings and conversation with writers Toby Litt, Holly Dawson, Alex Preston and Cathy Galvin. £12/£8, prebook, 6pm
Sunday 23 February
Illustrator Sir Quentin Blake leads the Southbank Centre‘s celebrations of 50 years since the publication of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, recounting his tales of working with the famous author. For age 8+. £12/£6, prebook, 2pm
Monday 24 February
The Bloomsbury Institute hosts a Poetry Slam with performance poets AF Harrold and Brian Conaghan as team captains at the Water Poet pub, Spitalfields. £10/£7/£6+bf, prebook, 6.30pm
Tuesday 25 February
Big Green Bookshop hosts Hamid Ismailov, author of The Dead Lake, as part of this year’s Peirene Experience by Peirene Press. £3, prebook, 7pm
Niall O’Sullivan hosts Poetry Unplugged open mic night at the Poetry Cafe. £5/£4, just turn up, 7.30pm
Historian Kate Williams talks about her new book Josephine: Desire, Ambition, Napoleon at the London Jewish Cultural Centre. £12, prebook, 8pm
Wednesday 26 February
Who should be crowned as Queen of English Literature? Professor John Mullan fights Jane Austen’s corner while author Kate Mosse argues for Emily Brontë in this debate at the Royal Geographical Society. £30, prebook, 6.45pm
Cafe of Good Hope in Hither Green hosts Rainbow Readings, an evening of literature forming part of LGBT History Month. Money raised goes to the Jimmy Mizen Foundation. £3+bf, prebook, 7pm
Annexe Magazine hosts a double launch at Candid Arts Trust. Tom Chivers launches his poem Flood Plain, which is released as a limited edition two-tone pamphlet, and SJ Fowler launches his poem, Whale Hunt. Free, just turn up, 7pm
Paradise Press launches two new titles by gay authors, Christopher Preston and David Gee, as part of LGBT History Month celebrations. Takes place at Housmans. Free, just turn up, 7pm
Open mic night Jawdance takes place at Rich Mix, giving the public a chance to test out new poetry material. Also includes screenings of poetry film-shorts. Free, just turn up, 7.30pm
Follow @LondonistLit for our pick of that day’s literary events.