The Londonist Literary List appears every Tuesday. If you’d like to bring an event to our attention, please email [email protected].
It's a good week — Macmillan is pledging to publish unknown authors, Peter Akroyd is making an appearance (even though he's presumably the sidekick in this particular show), we've got a new Victorian novel (and you can never have enough of those), some Welsh poetry (which actually scares us a little bit), and a windfall of new releases...
Events Around London:
Tomorrow (the 5th), Dannie Abse and Owen Sheers get together for a night of Welsh poetry. 6:30pm. The British Library, 96 Euston Road. £7.50/£4 concessions.
On Thursday (the 6th), Lee Jackson celebrates the publication of his latest novel, The Last Pleasure Garden, with a recounting of the story of Cremorne Gardens. 6:30pm. Kensington Central Library. FREE.
Also on Thursday, Peter Akroyd and Peter Boxall, who wrote 1000 Books to Read Before you Die, gather to discuss the books that made the list, as well as some notable omissions. 6:30pm. Foyles Bookstore, 113-119 Charing Cross Road. £5/£4 concessions.
On Friday (the 7th), Macmillan is celebrating the launch of the exciting new imprint, Macmillan New Writing, which publish first novels only, with a reading by the first six novelists to be published on it. In a publishing world where the big names are celebrated regardless of the quality of the writing associated with them, we find Macmillan's effort truly refreshing. 7pm. Pan Bookshop, 158-162 Fulham Road. FREE.
New Releases:
A Village Feud, by Rebecca Shaw
The Observations, by Jane Harris
Strivers Row, by Kevin Baker
White Blood, by James Fleming
Seeds of Greatness, by Jon Canter
A Conversation on the Quai Voltaire, by Lee Langley
North, by Brian Martin
Dark Rain, by Conor Corderoy
Taking Comfort, by Roger Morris
Selfish Jean, by Cate Sweeney
Across the Mystic Shore, by Suroopa Mukherjee
The Manuscript, by Michael Stephen Fuchs