London Literature Festival

“Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read.” Groucho Marx

Truer words have never been spoken.

And to celebrate this fact, the London Literature Festival is gearing up to mark its 15th year of excellent prose-worshiping events.

It’s all taking place at the Southbank Centre over an eleven-day stretch of late October, which will be stuffed full of talks, debates, performances, masterclasses, readings, and livestreams. The lineup is so well curated that essentially everything feels like one of the highlights, but here are a choice few picks to give you an idea of what’s on offer:

1. An evening with Graham Norton

Credit: Sophia Spring

Building on his success as a novelist, Norton will be hosting a convivial evening to chat about his new book, Forever Home.
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2. An Evening with the 2022 Booker Prize Winner

We don’t know who the Booker Prize Winner is going to be, that’ll be announced on the 17th of October. But whoever they are, they’ll be on stage to soak up their newfound fame.
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3. Josh Widdicombe & Rob Beckett: Parenting Hell

Inspired by their mutual aptitude for comedy, and their mutual ineptitude for parenting, Josh Widdicombe & Rob Beckett will talk about their new book on child-rearing.
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4. Nick Cave & Seán O’Hagan: Faith, Hope and Carnage

Nick Cave is a singer, songwriter, poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, composer and occasional actor. And he’ll be wearing at least two of those hats when he talks frankly about his inner life for this event.
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5. Malorie Blackman: Just Sayin’

Malorie Blackman has written a LOT of books, nd won a lot of awards to go with them – and she’s going to chat about her life, times, and latest story here…
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6. Minnie Driver: Managing Expectations

Minnie Driver’s led quite a life, and she’s written down the best bits in her new book, which she’ll be unpacking onstage.
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7. Greta Thunberg: The Climate Event

Copyright: Kim Jakobsen To

The showstopping event of the festival will see Greta Thunberg onstage for the global launch of The Climate Book.
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To reiterate, these are but a few choice canapés in an extremely large feast of literature that you’ll be able to tuck into when the festival rolls into town later this year – providing you’ve secured tickets in advance.

NOTE: The London Literature Festival takes place from Thursday 21st – Sunday 31st October 2021 at the Southbank Centre. Tickets are on sale now, and can be booked right HERE.

Southbank Centre | Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX

If you’re there over the weekend and happen to need sustenance… you should pop into the Southbank Centre Food Market.