Comments

Went to the Book Slam / 5 Dials event on Friday, at Wiltons. Venue, atmosphere and authors were great - lovely and relaxed and funny. And the Plaster of Paris two-piece that came on afterwards were awesome. Love her voice.

First time at a Book Slam event last night.
Inspiring words at Shoreditch town hall. Wariko and Kate Tempest were particularly moving and Doc Brown was pure jokes.
What was the name of the girl's band at the end?
Thanks

I went to your Shoreditch Book Slam last night, the venue was fantastic and most of the guests interesting. However the food ordering was a shambles as it was late they got it wrong and some honesty that it was a Chinese takeaway would have been nice. The bar was also limited, we all wanted wine but had to pay �3.50 for a bottle of Becks which is certainly overpriced! I did enjoy the acts but the organisation of the event was very disappointing. Small seated tables rather than a theatre layout would have also been better.

Hello,

I just wanted to say what a wonderful and inspiring evening I had at Book Slam. Great performers, fantastic venue, and professional hosted all around.
After it taking me 14 months to get off my backside and travel from East to West London it was well worth the trip.
Can you let me know the name of the African singer and poet please from last week?
Thanks
Chris

Sometimes I wonder why I still live in London and then I come to Bookslam and see amazing performances by brilliant, talented people like Mpho, Inua ellams and James Lever and I remember - this is why I still live in London. thank you for another great night and for a bit more of Patrick's dad dancing (or was he just trying to keep warm?)
Thanks Guys

Hey guys - great BS last night at the Tabernacle but did Patrick really have to be so ungracious a host to James Lever. Tut tut boys, bad show!

Patrick, it was such a great pleasure to meet you at the Sauti ya Busara Book Slam in Zanzibar.
It was such an inspiring evening with such amazing talent!
I hope you do come again!
Karibu tena!

I went to the February Book slam and loved it. i think thats it's a fantastic opportunity for artist to have as way of expressing their art in such an intimate surrounding, I just thought it was great. Bridget..? ( please confirm her name) was amazingly talented.. what a voice and so beautiful. It was great to see and listen to Hanif Kureishi who managed yet again to twitch my mind and make me think more vividly from his readings. So a big thank you and looking forward to the next one.
Ziana

The January bookslam was my first and it cerainly won't be the last. I thought it was a very inspiring evening. I enjoyed all of the writing, particularly the excerpts from Submarine and God's Own Country. The music and the comedy were great too.
I have two criticisms. One is that the line up didn't include any women writers. The absence was noticeable. The second is that my husband had to tip someone to wash his hands in the bathroom... Is that really necessary?
It was nice of the publishers to give out copies of Obama's book. I felt like I was part of some strange cult standing on Ladbroke Grove platform. Everyone had a copy of the book tucked under their arm.
Looking forward to hearing Hanif Kureishi.

September Bookslam was awesome. I haven't been able to make it for a whle and although the atmosphere has changed a bit, I had a fantastic time. I bought my husband with me for the first time too and he loved it. It was engaging, thought provoking and well, just really, really good.
Cheers Patrick! What's up for Octber?

Just checked out the podcast and was reminded of what a great night I had at bookslam, the door staff were a bit surly, but other than that it was a thoroughly enjoyable event. Byron Vincent was amazing, I don’t know what I was expecting, but my expectations were definitely exceeded. James Frey did have a peculiar reading style, but was very engaging. We’ll definitely be back. Good Work.

Me and my best friend Abi came along to the James Frey reading on the 31st of July. It was our first time, and we weren't really sure what to expect, as we're only 17. Got a few looks, but we had one of the best evenings we've ever had, partly due to having the privilage of listening to and meeting James Frey (who, might I add, was and is a wonderful, talented and amazing author, despite what some of the comments on here say), and partly due to you guys. Thanks for a fabulous night, I'm sure we'll be back again soon!
x

Last night's Book Slam was unbelievable. Byron was incredibly clever and witty with his cool rhythmic poetry and James read beautifully. His stories are magic.
It's wonderful to see events like this one in London. Well done guys!

When's the next bookslam? Will there be one in August? I've missed the last few and want to make sure my diary is clear!
Cheers!

Congrats on a great night last night -will be there with bells on next time! xx

Awesomesauce! I'll be there
K xoxox
http://madwomansattic.wordpress.com/

okay so I was looking forward to coming to slam this month until I read the intro..
James Frey? Oprah Baiter?. WTF?
NO.
James Frey was not baiting anybody, he lied. He got caught out. He and his publicist got their asses handed to them on a plate for lying and now he is re-inventing his scam as 'oprah baiting'.
Oh! blooming marvelous. This man has zero, zilch credibility. so why is he being given an audience?
this is a very very low point for you guys extremely low.

What has happened to Bookslam?? The atmosphere is nowhere near as good as before, and there are no longer any young faces in the audience, it's just middle-class caucasians (no offence)....maybe you guys are advertising in Saga or something?
The drinks are also ridiculously priced, £4 for a can of strongbow......hmmmm maybe I understand why no young people ever come back...please sort it out, i miss the real book slam....

You guys are great. Any chance we'll see you Stateside?

Hiey Folks,
Congrats on a great bookslam last night - guess I'm a bit of a veteran, twas my 6th night of Slammin' it, but last night was defo the best. Will Self was as witty as the crowd had surely aniticipated and I reckon the Bassment Jaxx/Mark Ronson vocalist was the best music spot you've had (despite the minor technical difficulties!)
Good job and see you in Feb,
Tim
- ps think more seating is in order and get rid of that f**king cash mashine!

i went to your book slam last night. I had never been to anything like that before. Great live music, brilliant performances from that Polar Bear poet and the other guy whoes name escapes me right now (i know he has a book out). I never thought that i could enjoy myself so much from just sitting down and listening. As a new writer myself, i found your show an INSPIRIRATION.

Thanks Bookslam - first visit on Thursday and loved it. Great venue, great acts and great atmosphere. You must work very hard to make such an enjoyable night - much appreciated. We'll definitely be back!

Hello, Your site is great. Regards, Valintino Guxxi

Hey Slammers, friend of mine told me about your nights and I'm planning to come along soon as I can. We're both members of http://www.bookhopper.com/ which is a friendly free site for sharing books so some of you may be interested.

Lemn Sissay? What a treat.
Sharp of tongue, quick of whit, agile of mind… crazy of eye.
In short, the business.
Nice one bookslam.