A destination for landmark cultural moments, the Southbank Centre is proud to announce its Summer Literature & Spoken Word 2025 season from May to October 2025, offering unbeatable experiences to audiences across London and the UK.
Featuring Carlo Rovelli, Chris Bryant, Damian Barr, Edward St Aubyn, Elodie Harper, Fredrik Backman, Geoff Dyer, Hanya Yanagihara, Irvine Welsh, Ita O’Brien, Jeanette Winterson, Kiran Desai, Nicola Sturgeon, Ocean Vuong, Raymond Antrobus and Suzi Ruffell
Plus the European Poetry Festival, OWN IT!, Out-Spoken, Special Edition, The Booker Prize 2025 Shortlist Announcement.
These events are open to everybody and many include accessibility features such as speech-to-text (STT) and British Sign Language (BSL).
Ted Hodgkinson, Head of Literature & Spoken Word at the Southbank Centre, says:
“From poetry to podcasts, the Southbank Centre’s Summer Literature and Spoken Word 2025 season offers a programme packed with writers whose words enliven and enrich our cultural lives.
“From Raymond Antrobus, attuning us to the diverse experiences of D/deaf communities, to Jeanette Winterson, Ocean Vuong and Carlo Rovelli, the season covers a breadth of perspectives with enduring resonance and relevance.
“This season takes our partnerships with PalFest and The Booker Prize to new levels, alongside new partnerships with OWN IT!, who celebrate a decade of their boundary-pushing work publishing and platforming diverse voices.”
Key events focusing on disability, mental health and inclusion
Raymond Antrobus: The Quiet Ear – Wednesday 27th August, 7:45pm, Purcell Room, Tickets from £13. For ages 16+, STT, BSL
The award-winning British-Jamaican writer Raymond Antrobus was first diagnosed as deaf at the age of seven. He discovered he had missing sounds – bird calls, whistles, kettles, alarms. Teachers thought he was slow and disruptive; some friends didn’t believe he was deaf at all.
In his new memoir, The Quiet Ear, he tells the story of his childhood, his first experience using hearing aids, his troubled adolescence and the parallel mainstream and deaf education systems.
With a poet’s precision, Raymond crafts a powerful meditation on deafness, language, and identity, offering a groundbreaking perspective on what it means to listen and be heard. In this special event with live performances, Raymond explores what it means to live in the ‘in-betweenness’ of the deaf and hearing worlds.
Book tickets: Raymond Antrobus: The Quiet Ear
Suzi Ruffell: Am I Having Fun Now – Friday 6th June, 7:45pm, Purcell Room. Tickets from £13. For ages 16+
From masking anxiety with musical theatre to navigating the trials and tribulations of school, comedian Suzi Ruffell lays her life bare with in discussion of her new memoir Am I Having Fun Now with Liv Little.
Book tickets: Suzi Ruffell: Am I Having Fun Now
Special Edition: Spicy Queer Crip Takeover – Wednesday 9th July, 8pm, National Poetry Library. Tickets £7. For ages 16+
Queer, disabled and ‘sexy af’ poets share work from a spicy anthology of poetry. Hosted by George Parker and JP Seabright, the evening promises poetic and provocative performances.
Book tickets: Special Edition: Spicy Queer Crip Takeover
Out-Spoken Masterclasses – Various Dates, Sunley Pavilion. Tickets £25. For ages 16+
Offering a chance to work with some of the country’s most revered writers, Out-Spoken’s Poetry Masterclasses are workshops facilitated by leading UK and US poets, open to all members of the public of all ages and abilities – from beginners to more advanced poets.
These master classes will take place on:
- Sunday 8th June at 1pm
- Saturday 20th July at 1pm
- Sunday 14th September at 1pm
Book tickets: Out-Spoken Masterclasses
Other literature sessions for you to enjoy this summer at the Southbank Centre
Ketanji Brown Jackson: Lovely One – Wednesday 24th September, 7:30pm, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £18. For ages 16+, STT, BSL
Discussing her life and career as the first Black woman to ever serve on the Supreme Court of the United States, Justice Jackson discusses her New York Times bestselling memoir Lovely One – a moving, open-hearted account of her life, from her family’s rise out of segregation to her confirmation as a Supreme Court Justice, within the span of one generation.
In this UK exclusive event, Ketanji reveals what it takes to advance in the legal profession when most people in power don’t look like you, and to reconcile a demanding career with the joys and sacrifices of marriage and motherhood.
Book tickets: Ketanji Brown Jackson: Lovely One
Jeanette Winterson: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit – Wednesday 25th June, 7:30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets from £18. For ages 16+, STT
On the 40th anniversary of her debut novel Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, Jeanette Winterson CBE celebrates her explosive coming-of-age story and queer romance which has since been canonised as a modern classic.
Book tickets: Jeanette Winterson: Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
Hanya Yanagihara: A Little Life at 10 – Wednesday 8th October, 8pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets from £18. For ages 16+, STT
The author discusses the million-copy bestselling novel A Little Life, a decade on, celebrating the exquisite story and the friendships at its heart. This special event features readings from the novel by acclaimed actors.
Book tickets: Hanya Yanagihara: A Little Life at 10
Ocean Vuong: The Emperor of Gladness – Wednesday 11th September, 7:30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets from £18. For ages 16+
Poet and author Ocean Vuong discusses his new novel, which explores the themes of chosen family and unexpected friendship. Following the cycles of history, memory and time, The Emperor of Gladness explores how American life is melded with how we navigate love, labour and loneliness.
Book tickets: Ocean Vuong: The Emperor of Gladness
Edward St Aubyn: Parallel Lines – Wednesday 23rd May, 7:45pm, Purcell Room. Tickets from £13. For ages 16+
Edward St Aubyn’s latest novel, Parallel Lines, navigates themes of connection, love and the cascading consequences of our choices with the author’s signature wit and style.
Book tickets: Edward St Aubyn: Parallel Lines
Nicola Sturgeon: Frankly – Friday 29th August, 7:30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Tickets from £18. For ages 16+ STT
Scotland’s first female First Minister and former leader of the SNP marks the publication of her long-awaited memoir, Frankly, reflecting on her lifelong career at the forefront of politics.
Book tickets: Nicola Sturgeon: Frankly
An Evening with Carlo Rovelli – Sunday 21st September, 7:30pm, Queen Elizabeth Hall. Tickets from £18. For ages 16+ STT
Celebrating 10 years since Carlo Rovelli’s genre-defying Seven Brief Lessons on Physics, the acclaimed author and ‘poet of physics’ discusses his life and works with an extended on-stage interview alongside commentary, readings and music.
Book tickets: An Evening with Carlo Rovelli
International Booker Prize Shortlist Readings (previously announced and on sale) – Sunday 18th May 2025, 7.45pm, Purcell Room. Tickets £15. For ages 16+. STT (Free Live Stream)
The six authors shortlisted for the International Booker Prize 2025 and their translators will perform readings and enter an exclusive discussion of their books. This year’s judging panel will be chaired by bestselling Booker-Prize longlisted author Max Porter, who will be joined by Caleb Femi, the director of Wasafari, Sana Goyal, author Anton Hur, and singer-songwriter Beth Orton.
This event will also be live-streamed, allowing global audiences to hear from the six shortlisted authors and their translators.
Book tickets: International Booker Prize Shortlist Readings
The Booker Prize 2025 Shortlist Announcement – Tuesday 23rd September, 7:30pm, Royal Festival Hall. Tickets from £18. For ages 16+ STT, BSL
For the first time, the judges of the Booker Prize will announce the shortlist live on stage. Booker Prize Foundation chief executive, Gaby Wood, will be in conversation with the 2025 panel, which is chaired by Roddy Doyle and features Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, Sarah Jessica Parker, Chris Power and Kiley Reid.
Book tickets: The Booker Prize 2025 Shortlist Announcement
You can view details of all events happening between May and October 2025 by visiting the Southbank Centre event page.
Accessibility information
Accessibility information, including wheelchair access, concession tickets, queuing exemptions, captions, BSL and other facilities, can be found on the Southbank Centre Access page.
Advertise With Crip Life™
The Crip Life™ advertising strategy is “Pay What You Can (PWYC).” We know this is very different to most if not all, online magazines. PWYC is a business model that doesn’t insist upon set prices for its goods or services. Instead, it asks clients to pay what they feel the product or service is worth and what you can afford to pay.
We want to place adverts for a wide range of clients. So, whatever the size of the organisation, if you want to promote a product or service, contact Joanna Baker-Rogers.
For more information on our advertising strategy, read our Crip Life™ Media Pack 2025. (If you prefer, we also have a Plain Text version).
Also, view our Crip Life™ Advertising Offers 2025. (We also have a Plain Text version)