London Literature Festival: Living in Future Times, Southbank Centre

Has science fiction come true yet? According to the tenth Southbank London Literature Festival, themed Living in Future Times, the answer is yes.

It's not just literary greats who will be gracing the many Southbank Centre venues: celebrating the world's greatest visionaries past and present, including everyone from artists to futurologists – Richard Dawkins, Louis Theroux and David Bowie, to name but a few – the festival will celebrate the power of the imagination to take us beyond our expectations as a species.

“At a moment of great political change and social conflict, Living in Future Times will look at how writers have often had the best antennae when it comes to anticipating the challenges facing humanity, both in the present and the world yet to come,” said Ted Hodgkinson, senior programmer of Literature and Spoken Word at Southbank centre.

Out of a jam packed schedule of talks, comedy, music and readings, here are just a few of our favourite heavyweights confirmed so far:

Margaret Atwood
Thursday 6 October
£12 - £20
Hear Margaret Atwood discuss her new novel Hag-Seed, a reimagining of The Tempest. A true visionary, Atwood’s many works of fiction, poetry and nonfiction include her seminal dystopia The Handmaid’s Tale and is in conversation with former Times literary editor Erica Wagner.

Remembering David Bowie
Friday 7 October
Paul Morley, co-curator of the fastest-selling show in the V&A's history, David Bowie Is…, will draw on his new definitive biography, The Age of Bowie, the first since the pop legend's death, alongside other authors. You can also catch Paul Morley speaking on Bowie in September at a How to: academy talk.

Louis Theroux: My Scientology Movie Q&A
Monday 10 October
Tickets on sale to general public on Wednesday 3 August
Meet the legend of documentary at his Q&A screening of My Scientology Movie, a feature film which delves into the controversial, celeb-fuelled religion.
Royal Festival Hall

Richard Dawkins: Selfish Genes, Future Memes
Tuesday 11 October
Tickets on sale to general public on Wednesday 3 August
The infamous atheist gives a keynote address which looks back across the span of his work and explores his own journey of thought.

Caitlin Moran
Tuesday 11 October
Booking taking place through schools
The arts journalist who proclaims her feminism from the rooftops will speak about her Moranifesto. This event is for younger readers and is only available for booking through schools, so let your school know that this is happening!

Malorie Blackman, Hollie McNish, Juno Dawson and more: Young Adult Literature Weekender
Saturday 15 - Sunday 16 October
£4 - £8
This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet some of your favourite young adult novelists, bloggers, vloggers, poets and spoken-word artists for creative writing workshops, mentors and talks. This is for ages 13 - 25 and tickets will disappear soon, so book your day pass now.

Marcus Du Sautoy
Sunday 16 October
£8
Professor of Mathematics at the University of Oxford and Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science, Marcus Du Sautoy offers insights into the boundaries of scientific understanding in a keynote address and asks if we are at the limits of knowledge.

Literary Death Match
Sunday 16 October
£12
The 2016 London Literature Festival closes with a Literary Death Match, the worldwide phenomenon which brings together four of today's finest writers to compete in a hilairious, edge-of-your-seat read-off, plus a panel of all star judges. Watch this space for the line up.

This round-up only scratches the surface, so for the exhaustive list, click here.

Click here for more talks