Simon Trewin

Most book launches are pretty boring - warm white wine, twiglets and a speech by a man with a beard. One man is changing all of this - Patrick Neate. Co-founder and host of London’s finest literary nightclub, BOOKSLAM, Patrick has thrown away the white wine, stamped on the twiglets and has cunningly retained the beard in his efforts to revolutionise the literary landscape of the U.K. And it is working - BOOKSLAM is the destination par excellence of any cool author hanging around in London with a book to promote. Take a live band, maybe a little bit of poetry, a reading or two, a D.J and the net result is a good night out which might, just might, put Twiglets out of business. Check the Sony Award-winning podcast here featuring Irvine Welsh, the Alabama 5, Sophie Woolley and Adam Buxton and buy tickets (a steal at £6/£8) for the next event on July 31st - the line-up is exceptional and includes James Frey - the man who famously angered Oprah Winfrey so much that millions of Americans tuned in to watch him getting a right old telling off. See you there.