Professor Kay Davies,
February 14
Tired of love? Go to a discussion of gene therapy instead, at Blackwell’s in Oxford (01865 792792; www.cafesci.org/oxford).
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Charles Cumming,
February 16
Discusses and signs his new book The Spanish Game, accompanied by a reading by the actor Damian Lewis, at Queen’s Park Books, London NW6 (020-7625 1008).
Manga,
February 22
An evening of Japanese cartoons with refreshments and a dressing-up competition at Ottakar’s, Norwich (01603 767292; www.ottakars.co.uk).
Marina Lewycka, Jasper Fforde and Howard Jacobson,
February 23
A champagne celebration of the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for Comic Fiction with last year’s winner reading from her A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian at Foyles Bookshop, London, WC2 (0870 4202777; www.foyles.co.uk).
Andrew Motion,
March 8
The Poet Laureate launches the King’s Sutton Literary Festival with a poetry reading (01869 811001; www.kslitfest.co.uk).
Oundle Festival of Literature,
March 4-18
The line-up for this Northamptonshire books festival includes P. D. James, Sir Roy Strong, Joanna Trollope, Wendy Cope and Louis de Bernières (www.oundlelitfest.org.uk).
Something to shout about? Send listings by e-mail to books@thetimes.co.uk