David Nicholls, Roddy Doyle and Michael Morpurgo headline the seven-day festival
A Soho awards night with David Nicholls, a very special Harry Potter screening at the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel London and conversations with Michael Morpurgo and Roddy Doyle lead the eclectic line-up of this year’s London Book & Screen Week (13-19 March 2017).
Produced by The London Book Fair, the seven-day, citywide festival celebrates books – and the films, games, plays and TV programmes they inspire – shining the spotlight on the critical role books play in our creative industries. This year’s programme celebrates the 20th anniversary of the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and 200 years since the death of Jane Austen.
David Nicholls, one of the UK’s leading figures in literature, TV and film, will champion the specially curated programme of events as the Ambassador of this year’s London Book & Screen Week. Roddy Doyle will be in conversation at House of St Barnabas – thirty years after the publication of his novel The Commitments.
St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel London will be the spellbinding setting for a very special Harry Potter film screening. All-star comedy troupe Austentatious will return to Leicester Square Theatre to perform an improvised show based on audience suggestions. The show will be preceded by a panel of special guests from the literary world, who will divulge and share their own love for Jane Austen’s work.
Acclaimed children’s author Michael Morpurgo will be in conversation with Owen Sheers, and Deborah Moggach will introduce a screening of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, which was adapted from her novel These Foolish Things.
With Britain in the grip of Hygge fever, Waterstones Piccadilly are putting on a Scandi crime screening, and bringing together Hygge experts Bronte Aurell (The Scandi Kitchen), Signe Johansen (How to Hygge), Louisa Thomsen Brits(The Book of Hygge) and Trine Hahnemann (Scandinavian Comfort Food) to provide wisdom on how to live more Danishly.
The fitness stars of Instagram – who have become publishing sensations – come together for a talk about fitness in the digital age: Faya Nilsson (Fitness on Toast), James Exton (LDN Muscle) and Alice Living (Clean Living Alice).
London’s award-winning LGBT literary salon Polari returns once again to The Light Lounge in Soho for a night of chat and cocktails hosted by Paul Burston, with joyous readings from Sophia Blackwell, Christopher Fowler and VG Lee. The Irish Literary Society are hosting a bumper series of events to showcase some of Ireland’s finest writers.
Jacks Thomas, Director of The London Book Fair and London Book & Screen Week, said:
“It’s wonderful to be working with partners across London to celebrate writers and their work in all its different formats. The line-up of this year’s London Book & Screen Week once again demonstrates the range and depth of London’s creative talent, and how vital books are for all our creative industries.
In 2017, we are particularly proud to present the CAMEO awards in their inaugural year. The Creativity Across Media: Excellence and Originality Awards will identify the individuals who create some of the most successful film, stage, TV and game adaptations, telling inspiring, gripping, life-transforming stories here and across the globe.”
London Book & Screen Week is run in partnership with some of the capital’s highest-profile brands, including London & Partners, the Mayor’s official promotional company for London, which attracts businesses and visitors to the capital and operates VisitLondon.com, the official city guide for London.
The launch night at Soho House, central London (13 March), will also see the awards ceremony for the inauguralCreativity Across Media: Entertainment & Originality Awards (CAMEO).
The festival combines specially curated events with an open sourced strand that anyone can submit to online at www.londonbookandscreenweek.co.uk. To find out more, and book event tickets, visit www.londonbookandscreenweek.co.uk.
LONDON BOOK & SCREEN WEEK 2017
Programme Highlights
Monday 13 March
AUSTENTATIOUS: A SPECIAL EDITION
At Leicester Square Theatre – 7 pm
Austentatious returns to its London home in resplendent fashion. In this special edition, powered by London Book & Screen Week, enjoy a pre-show ample with some special guests from the literary world as they divulge and share their own love for Austen’s work. Panellists include Oxford professor and Jane Austen expert Kathryn Sutherland (Teenage Writings), a member of the Austentatious cast, and more.
Tickets: £12.50: https://leicestersquaretheatre.ticketsolve.com/#/shows/873569690
POLARI LITERARY SALON
At The Light Lounge, Soho – 6.30 pm
London’s award-winning LGBT literary salon returns once again to The Light Lounge in Soho for London Book & Screen Week. Polari began in November 2007 in the upstairs room of a pub in Soho. It is now based at the Southbank Centre, where events are held every month. It tours regularly across the country, and hosts Polari Prize for Fiction, an award handed annually to the best first book by an LGBT author in the UK.
Tickets £5: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/polari-soho-special-tickets-31751988051
Tuesday 14 March
LIVING DANISHLY: AN EVENING OF COSINESS AND SCANDI CRIME
At Waterstones Piccadilly – 6 pm
London Book & Screen Week is collaborating with Waterstones Piccadilly to put on a special film screening, followed by a How to Hygge discussion with Hygge experts Louisa Thomsen Brits (The Book of Hygge), Bronte Aurell (The Scandi Kitchen), Signe Johansen (How to Hygge) and Trine Hahnemann (Scandinavian Comfort Food). Light refreshments will be provided.
Tickets £5: https://www.waterstones.com/events/living-danishly-an-evening-of-cosiness-and-scandi-crime/london-piccadilly
AN EVENING WITH RODDY DOYLE
At The House of St Barnabas – 7 pm
Roddy Doyle is the author of eleven novels, two collections of stories, two books of dialogues and Rory & Ita, a memoir of his parents. He has written seven books for children and has contributed to a variety of publications including The New Yorker, McSweeney’s, Metro Eireann and several anthologies. He won the Booker Prize in 1993, for Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha.
Tickets £15: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-evening-with-roddy-doyle-tickets-31889474276
THE BEST EXOTIC MARIGOLD HOTEL: A VERY SPECIAL SCREENING
At The Charlotte Street Hotel – 6.30 pm
This screening of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel will be preceded by a special interview with Deborah Moggach, whose novel These Foolish Things, was adapted into the hit film. Deborah’s latest novel, Something to Hide, is set in Beijing, Texas, a fictitious African country and Pimlico. She will be talking about the meaning of settings and the writer’s view behind adaptations with the biographer, lecturer, and journalist Anne Sebba, author of nine critically acclaimed books of non-fiction, most recently Les Parisiennes, about Paris from 1939-49 through women’s eyes.
Tickets £18.43: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-best-exotic-marigold-hotel-a-very-special-screening-tickets-31827938220
Wednesday 15 March
MICHAEL MORPURGO IN CONVERSATION
At Bush Hall, Shepherds Hall
Michael Morpurgo, OBE, is the former Children’s Laureate and best-selling author of over 140 books, including Private Peaceful, Kensuke’s Kingdom, The Butterfly Lion, and War Horse, which first performed at the National Theatre in 2007. In this exclusive London Book & Screen Week event, Michael will be joined by Owen Sheers, author, poet and playwright, as they delve into the world of adaptions. This intimate dialogue will see the prolific authors discuss what it means to see the words and world you so carefully composed being lifted from the page and onto the stage and beyond.
Tickets £17.05: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-story-books-screen-stage-michael-morpurgo-talks-narrative-adaptation-with-owen-sheers-tickets-31991195527
FROM FIGHTING FANTASY TO THE WITCHER: HOW NARRATIVE DESIGN IN GAMING ENHANCES STORYTELLING
At BAFTA – 6.30 pm
In the world of storytelling, gaming is unique. Giving over control, it allows gamers to define their own journey within a malleable landscape. This inspires a new growing generation of storytellers in the 21st century across all media. With video game sales in the UK at an all-time high – what is the next chapter? And what is gaming’s mandate as a creative platform in the world of storytelling? Join us for a panel discussion featuring Ian Livingstone, co-creator of Fighting Fantasy gamebooks, Andrzej Sapkowski, the author of the Witcher novels, the writer and digital producer Meg Jayanth, and Chris Gardiner, Narrative Director at Failbetter Games.
Tickets available soon: http://www.londonbookandscreenweek.co.uk/events/
Thursday 16 March
OLGA TOKARCZUK AND DEBORAH LEVY
At London Review Bookshop – 7 pm
One of the most acclaimed Polish writers of her generation, Olga Tokarczuk has won multiple prizes, most recently for her novel The Books of Jacob, which explores an important moment in 18th-century Polish history. Two recent novels, The Books of Jacob and Flights, will shortly be published, for the first time in English, by Fitzcarraldo Editions. Tokarczuk will be in conversation with The Man Booker shortlisted novelist Deborah Levy.
Tickets available soon: http://www.londonbookandscreenweek.co.uk/events/
Friday 17 March
IRISH LITERARY SOCIETY
At Bloomsbury Hotel
The Irish Literary Society are putting on three events at the Bloomsbury Hotel specially for London Book & Screen Week. The Irish Literary Society was established in London in 1892. Among its founders were W B Yeats and Douglas Hyde and other leaders of the Irish Literary Revival.
The object of the Society is to promote the appreciation of Irish literature and culture and to provide a forum for intellectual and social activities in connection with these interests.
Tickets available soon: http://www.londonbookandscreenweek.co.uk/events/
Saturday 18 March
FITNESS IN THE DIGITAL AGE
At SF Studios, Hampstead – 10 am
Now that we’re all making a #fitspo to spread #motivation to our #fitfam, ‘Fitness in Our Digital Age’ will bring together some of the biggest stars in the fitness scene who have built dedicated followings on Instagram and blogs such as Fitness on Toast. In the tranquil setting of SF Studios, north London’s leading movement studio, we host a unique panel discussions featuring an amazing line-up including fitness expert Faya Nilsson and the co-founder of LDN Muscle, James Exton. Their discussion will be followed by an audience Q&A and book signings.
Tickets £13.25: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fitness-in-a-digital-age-tickets-31997576613
Sunday 19 March
CELEBRATE 20 YEARS OF HARRY POTTER: FILM SCREENING AT ST PANCRAS RENAISSANCE HOTEL LONDON
At St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel London– 6 pm
Grown up Potter fans, rejoice: London Book & Screen Week are putting on a Harry Potter film screening in the spellbinding St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel London. Celebrate the 20th anniversary of the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in a setting straight out of Hogwarts. Expect free popcorn on arrival and themed cocktails at the bar. Wands, wizarding robes, hats and broomsticks are welcome.
Tickets: £18.43: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/celebrate-20-years-of-harry-potter-film-screening-at-st-pancras-renaissance-hotel-london-tickets-31874274814