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Literature & poetry

Overview Calendar

Saturday 19 September

Olly Alexander: The Future of Queer Storytelling
A man with short curly hair wearing a flower-patterned green suit

Olly Alexander: The Future of Queer Storytelling

Literature & poetry
Speech-to-Text transcribed - A transcribed performance shows live text of the dialogue and sound on screens.
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Multi-buy
BUMPAH x Future Rhythms
Three stylishly dressed people pose for a selfie near a DJ controller under bright blue lighting.

BUMPAH x Future Rhythms

Gigs
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Free

Sunday 20 September

Out-Spoken Masterclass: September
Workshop leader engaging with the class.

Out-Spoken Masterclass: September

Literature & poetry
Royal Festival Hall
Sold out
Mya-Rose Craig: Beyond the Climate Crisis
A black-and-white photo of a woman with long dark hair wearing a turtleneck jumper and big hoop earrings

Mya-Rose Craig: Beyond the Climate Crisis

Literature & poetry
Speech-to-Text transcribed - A transcribed performance shows live text of the dialogue and sound on screens.
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Multi-buy
Future Rhythms DJ Takeover
Low-angle view of a geometric ceiling with wood slats, purple neon lighting, and yellow and blue light panels.

Future Rhythms DJ Takeover

Gigs
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Free
The Future of Images in a Post-Truth Era
A piece of abstract artwork depicting the bust of a young boy in a collage style.

The Future of Images in a Post-Truth Era

Literature & poetry
Purcell Room
Multi-buy
Letters to My Younger Future Self
A woman in a white shirt stands in the centre of a theatre balcony, while the rest of the audience reach out towards here holding letters

Letters to My Younger Future Self

Literature & poetry
British Sign Language interpreted (BSL) - The performance includes a live interpreter who translates the show into British Sign Language. Speech-to-Text transcribed - A transcribed performance shows live text of the dialogue and sound on screens.
Royal Festival Hall
Multi-buy
Ash Sarkar: The Future of Relationships
A woman with long dark hair and red lipstick poses in a pinstripe blazer and gold hamsa necklace against a gray wall.

Ash Sarkar: The Future of Relationships

Literature & poetry
Speech-to-Text transcribed - A transcribed performance shows live text of the dialogue and sound on screens.
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Multi-buy
Gift to the Future
A large concrete building with colourful text decals affixed to its facade stands near a riverfront square, with the London Eye visible in the background.

Gift to the Future

Art & exhibitions
Site wide
Free

Monday 21 September

Gift to the Future
A large concrete building with colourful text decals affixed to its facade stands near a riverfront square, with the London Eye visible in the background.

Gift to the Future

Art & exhibitions
Site wide
Free

Tuesday 22 September

The Booker Prize 2026 Shortlist Announcement
Five people posing for a photo in a room with wooden floors and navy walls

The Booker Prize 2026 Shortlist Announcement

Literature & poetry
British Sign Language interpreted (BSL) - The performance includes a live interpreter who translates the show into British Sign Language. Speech-to-Text transcribed - A transcribed performance shows live text of the dialogue and sound on screens.
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Liane Moriarty: Big Little Truths
Liane Moriarty wearing a black jacket and white shirt against a black background

Liane Moriarty: Big Little Truths

Literature & poetry
Purcell Room
Gift to the Future
A large concrete building with colourful text decals affixed to its facade stands near a riverfront square, with the London Eye visible in the background.

Gift to the Future

Art & exhibitions
Site wide
Free

Wednesday 23 September

Gift to the Future
A large concrete building with colourful text decals affixed to its facade stands near a riverfront square, with the London Eye visible in the background.

Gift to the Future

Art & exhibitions
Site wide
Free

Thursday 24 September

Omar El Akkad in Conversation
Omar El Akkad wearing a white T shirt against a beige background.

Omar El Akkad in Conversation

Literature & poetry
Speech-to-Text transcribed - A transcribed performance shows live text of the dialogue and sound on screens.
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Gift to the Future
A large concrete building with colourful text decals affixed to its facade stands near a riverfront square, with the London Eye visible in the background.

Gift to the Future

Art & exhibitions
Site wide
Free

Friday 25 September

Gift to the Future
A large concrete building with colourful text decals affixed to its facade stands near a riverfront square, with the London Eye visible in the background.

Gift to the Future

Art & exhibitions
Site wide
Free

Saturday 26 September

Gift to the Future
A large concrete building with colourful text decals affixed to its facade stands near a riverfront square, with the London Eye visible in the background.

Gift to the Future

Art & exhibitions
Site wide
Free

Sunday 27 September

Brutal(ism) Love and Hate
Black and white image of the Southbank Centre showcasing its brutalist architecture.

Brutal(ism) Love and Hate

Literature & poetry
Purcell Room
Book Now

Last few tickets

Gift to the Future
A large concrete building with colourful text decals affixed to its facade stands near a riverfront square, with the London Eye visible in the background.

Gift to the Future

Art & exhibitions
Site wide
Free

Saturday 3 October

Vikki Heywood & Francis Spufford: Hidden London

Vikki Heywood & Francis Spufford: Hidden London

Literature & poetry
Purcell Room
Emily St John Mandel: Exit Party
Emily St John Mandel wearing a black top against a navy background.

Emily St John Mandel: Exit Party

Literature & poetry
Purcell Room
Book Now

Last few tickets

Sunday 4 October

About Us! Artists' Scratch Showcase
Charlotte, a Black women artist smiles as she reads her own poetry in front of a yellow screen.

About Us! Artists' Scratch Showcase

Gigs
The Clore Ballroom
Tickets Free

Wednesday 7 October

Special Edition: Shanzhai Lyric Runway Reading
A pile of colourful T-Shirts randomly arranged.

Special Edition: Shanzhai Lyric Runway Reading

Literature & poetry
National Poetry Library

Friday 9 October

Rug Rhymes: Autumn
Painted puppets

Rug Rhymes: Autumn

Literature & poetry
National Poetry Library
Sold out

Thursday 15 October

Iconic Women of the Hayward Gallery
Bharti Kher wearing a black blazer in a gallery.

Iconic Women of the Hayward Gallery

Literature & poetry
Purcell Room

Friday 16 October

Rug Rhymes: Autumn
Painted puppets

Rug Rhymes: Autumn

Literature & poetry
National Poetry Library
Sold out
Nussaibah Younis: Fundamentally
Nussaibah Younis wearing a blue dress sitting at a blue table.

Nussaibah Younis: Fundamentally

Literature & poetry
Purcell Room

Tuesday 20 October

Michael Lewis: Blockers
Man wearing a blue shirt sitting at a wooden table with a notebook against a background of red curtains.

Michael Lewis: Blockers

Literature & poetry
British Sign Language interpreted (BSL) - The performance includes a live interpreter who translates the show into British Sign Language. Speech-to-Text transcribed - A transcribed performance shows live text of the dialogue and sound on screens.
Royal Festival Hall

Wednesday 21 October

The Children's Bookshow with Katherine Rundell
Author Katherine Rundell smiles while holding her book

The Children's Bookshow with Katherine Rundell

Literature & poetry
Queen Elizabeth Hall
This is a schools event
Ta-Nehisi Coates & Tareq Baconi: On Freedom
A side-by-side portrait showing a man with short grey-flecked hair wearing a light blue button-down shirt on the left, and a man with wavy dark hair wearing a dark grey t-shirt on the right.

Ta-Nehisi Coates & Tareq Baconi: On Freedom

Literature & poetry
Speech-to-Text transcribed - A transcribed performance shows live text of the dialogue and sound on screens.
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Hernan Diaz: Ply
A close-up portrait of a man with short buzzed hair looking into the camera, wearing an olive-green buttoned jacket.

Hernan Diaz: Ply

Literature & poetry
Purcell Room

Thursday 22 October

Service95 Book Club: Nadia Murad in Conversation
A three-quarter portrait of a woman with long, wavy brown hair looking forward, wearing an asymmetrical terracotta dress.

Service95 Book Club: Nadia Murad in Conversation

Literature & poetry
Purcell Room
Book Now

Last few tickets

Kwame Dawes: Afro-Style School & Kinships
A black and white, motion-blurred photograph captures the silhouettes of a large group of dancers mid-movement in a bright dance studio.

Kwame Dawes: Afro-Style School & Kinships

Literature & poetry
National Poetry Library

Friday 23 October

Joseph Coelho & Friends
Poet Joseph Coelho in a brightly coloured outfit falling from the sky

Joseph Coelho & Friends

Literature & poetry
British Sign Language interpreted (BSL) - The performance includes a live interpreter who translates the show into British Sign Language. Speech-to-Text transcribed - A transcribed performance shows live text of the dialogue and sound on screens.
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Fill out form
Out-Spoken: October
A three-panel split image showing headshots of a woman with short brown hair, a man with glasses and a goatee, and a man in a dark button-up shirt.

Out-Spoken: October

Literature & poetry
British Sign Language interpreted (BSL) - The performance includes a live interpreter who translates the show into British Sign Language. Speech-to-Text transcribed - A transcribed performance shows live text of the dialogue and sound on screens.
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Indie Night: October
Two peoples profiles are grey and collaged with an image of piles of books and a dotted square.

Indie Night: October

Literature & poetry
Purcell Room

Saturday 24 October

Poetry Day!
A person in a lime green shirt browsing a selection of poetry books

Poetry Day!

Literature & poetry
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Free
A Celebration of British Somali Poetry
A three-quarter portrait of Momtaza Mehri looking upward, wearing a black hijab and matching black linen jacket.

A Celebration of British Somali Poetry

Literature & poetry
Purcell Room
Orwell's England: 85 Years Later
British author and screenwriter Nikesh Shukla wearing a black shirt and leaning on the back of a chair

Orwell's England: 85 Years Later

Literature & poetry
Royal Festival Hall
Book Now

Last few tickets

Service95 Book Club: Authors of the Estate
Seven people standing spread out on some grass in front of a late-20th century housing estate. The central person is reading from a book.

Service95 Book Club: Authors of the Estate

Literature & poetry
The Clore Ballroom
Free
Dua Lipa & Zadie Smith: White Teeth
Author Zadie Smith wearing hoop earrings and a red shirt

Dua Lipa & Zadie Smith: White Teeth

Literature & poetry
British Sign Language interpreted (BSL) - The performance includes a live interpreter who translates the show into British Sign Language. Speech-to-Text transcribed - A transcribed performance shows live text of the dialogue and sound on screens.
Royal Festival Hall
Book Now

Last few tickets

Words In, Words Out: A Night in With Koestler Arts
Five volumes of poetry from Koestler Voices

Words In, Words Out: A Night in With Koestler Arts

Literature & poetry
Royal Festival Hall
Poems on the Underground: 40th Anniversary
A man in a peaked cap reading a poem on a tube train

Poems on the Underground: 40th Anniversary

Literature & poetry
Purcell Room
The 2026 Forward Prizes for Poetry Ceremony: Live Stream
Audience members in the Southbank Centre\'s Queen Elizabeth Hall

The 2026 Forward Prizes for Poetry Ceremony: Live Stream

Literature & poetry
Speech-to-Text transcribed - A transcribed performance shows live text of the dialogue and sound on screens.
Online Events
Free
The 2026 Forward Prizes for Poetry Ceremony
Five smiling award winners stand in a row holding blue booklets against a black, yellow, and blue curtain backdrop.

The 2026 Forward Prizes for Poetry Ceremony

Literature & poetry
British Sign Language interpreted (BSL) - The performance includes a live interpreter who translates the show into British Sign Language. Speech-to-Text transcribed - A transcribed performance shows live text of the dialogue and sound on screens.
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Dua Lipa & Mustafa: Nour
A black and white close-up portrait of a man looking over his shoulder while seated inside a vehicle, gripping a backpack strap.

Dua Lipa & Mustafa: Nour

Literature & poetry
British Sign Language interpreted (BSL) - The performance includes a live interpreter who translates the show into British Sign Language. Speech-to-Text transcribed - A transcribed performance shows live text of the dialogue and sound on screens.
Royal Festival Hall

Sunday 25 October

Creative Future Writers' Day
People browse books at tables in a large, wide brutalist hall with exposed concrete pillars and warm wooden ceiling lights.

Creative Future Writers' Day

Literature & poetry
Speech-to-Text transcribed - A transcribed performance shows live text of the dialogue and sound on screens.
Purcell Room
Free
Creative Future Writers' Day: Live Stream
Speakers seated onstage at Creative Future Writers Day

Creative Future Writers' Day: Live Stream

Literature & poetry
Speech-to-Text transcribed - A transcribed performance shows live text of the dialogue and sound on screens.
Online Events
Free
Out-Spoken Masterclass: October
Group of people sat around a long table all writing onto paper

Out-Spoken Masterclass: October

Literature & poetry
Royal Festival Hall
Sold out
Debut London Literature
Author Eden McKenzie-Goddard wearing a grey & white jumper, leaning against a tree

Debut London Literature

Literature & poetry
Royal Festival Hall
Dua Lipa & Patti Smith: Bread of Angels
A black and white portrait of Patti Smith raising her hand with palm facing out, leaning against a wooden fence.

Dua Lipa & Patti Smith: Bread of Angels

Literature & poetry
British Sign Language interpreted (BSL) - The performance includes a live interpreter who translates the show into British Sign Language. Speech-to-Text transcribed - A transcribed performance shows live text of the dialogue and sound on screens.
Royal Festival Hall
Book Now

Last few tickets

V. E. Schwab: Victorious
A woman with reddish-brown hair and glasses smiles while sitting in a dimly lit room surrounded by houseplants.

V. E. Schwab: Victorious

Literature & poetry
Speech-to-Text transcribed - A transcribed performance shows live text of the dialogue and sound on screens.
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Go All In: Gaming and the Power of Story
Artwork from the game Directive 8020. A person wearing a space helmet standing in front of a derelict building with smoke and red lighting

Go All In: Gaming and the Power of Story

Literature & poetry
Purcell Room

Wednesday 28 October

The Smeds and the Smoos
A colorful children's illustration of a red alien and a blue alien holding hands on a desert planet under a huge moon.

The Smeds and the Smoos

Family
Queen Elizabeth Hall
The Smeds and the Smoos
A colorful children's illustration of a red alien and a blue alien holding hands on a desert planet under a huge moon.

The Smeds and the Smoos

Family
Queen Elizabeth Hall
Creative Encounters: Manifesto Library
Rows of books line illuminated white shelving units above tiered wooden seating steps.

Creative Encounters: Manifesto Library

Courses & workshops
The Clore Ballroom
Free
Michael Douglas: One Helluva Ride
Michael Douglas with grey hair wearing a black leather jacket and a green turtleneck

Michael Douglas: One Helluva Ride

Literature & poetry
British Sign Language interpreted (BSL) - The performance includes a live interpreter who translates the show into British Sign Language. Speech-to-Text transcribed - A transcribed performance shows live text of the dialogue and sound on screens.
Royal Festival Hall
Service95 Book Club: Translated Fiction Showcase
A woman with long wavy dark hair sits thoughtfully with her fist under her chin against a warm brown background.

Service95 Book Club: Translated Fiction Showcase

Literature & poetry
Purcell Room
Book Now

Last few tickets

Malorie Blackman: Noughts & Crosses at 25
Portrait of author Malorie Blackman. She sits in a garden wearing a patterned blue top and a lace cover up.

Malorie Blackman: Noughts & Crosses at 25

Literature & poetry
Speech-to-Text transcribed - A transcribed performance shows live text of the dialogue and sound on screens.
Queen Elizabeth Hall

While you're with us

Jeppe Hein: Appearing Rooms
People enjoying the Jeppe Hein Fountain at the Southbank Centre

Jeppe Hein: Appearing Rooms

A summer favourite returns to our site with water fountains to splash around and cool down in.

Shopping
Wooden displays in the Southbank centre shop, featuring books, plushies, and colourful merchandise

Shopping

A vibrant range of inspiring books, homeware, prints, accessories and more.

Klaus Weber: Thinking Fountains
Two statues; a green human body with water spouting from its neck and another of human legs with water pouring down from above displayed outdoors

Thinking
Fountains

Water cascades and spouts over Klaus Weber’s bronze figures.

Modified Social Benches
Two children eating ice cream on a red cirrcular bench

Modified Social Benches

Benches that challenge the space and distance we place between one another.

William Pye's Zemran
A photograph showing Riverside Terrace at Southbank Centre, with the metal sculpture Zemran in the foreground, next to Queen Elizabeth Hall

William Pye's Zemran

Pye’s beautiful stainless steel sculpture sits overlooking the Thames.

Natura Nostra Forest
Bright sunlight bursts through green leaves with a lens flare, set against a blue sky and a textured concrete building.

Natura Nostra Forest

Our growing pocket forest creating a natural oasis.