Harry Potter's 20th anniversary to be marked by London Book & Screen Week

A Soho awards night with David Nicholls, a "very special" Harry Potter screening at the St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel London and conversations with Michael Morpurgo and Roddy Doyle lead the "eclectic" line-up of this year’s London Book & Screen Week.

Produced by The London Book Fair, the citywide festival celebrates books – and the films, games, plays and TV programmes they inspire – "shining the spotlight" on the critical role books play in the creative industries. This year’s programme celebrates the 20th anniversary of the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (Bloomsbury) and 200 years since the death of Jane Austen.

The festival will take place from 13th to 19th March 2017.

Nicholls is this year's London Book & Screen Week Ambassador. Roddy Doyle will be in conversation at House of St Barnabas – 30 years after the publication of his novel The Commitments (Vintage).

St. Pancras Renaissance Hotel London will be the "spellbinding" setting for a "very special" screening of Harry Potter. Meanwhile, all-star comedy troupe Austentatious will perform an improvised show based on audience suggestions at Leicester Square Theatre.  The show will be preceded by a panel of special guests from the literary world, who will share their own love for Jane Austen’s work.

Children’s author Michael Morpurgo will be in conversation with Owen Sheers, and Deborah Moggach will introduce a screening of "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel", which was adapted from her novel These Foolish Things (Vintage).

With Britain in the grip of Hygge fever, Waterstones Piccadilly is putting on a Scandi crime screening, and bringing together Hygge experts to provide wisdom on how to live more Danishly.

The fitness stars of Instagram – including Faya Nilsson (Fitness on Toast), James Exton (LDN Muscle) and Alice Liveing (Clean Living Alice) – will come together for a talk about fitness in the digital age.

London’s award-winning LGBT literary salon Polari returns once again to The Light Lounge in Soho for a night of chat and cocktails hosted by Paul Burston, with joyous readings from Sophia Blackwell, Christopher Fowler and VG Lee. Meanwhile, The Irish Literary Society will host a "bumper" series of events to showcase "some of Ireland’s finest writers".

Jacks Thomas, director of The London Book Fair and London Book & Screen Week, said: “It’s wonderful to be working with partners across London to celebrate writers and their work in all its different formats. The line-up of this year’s London Book & Screen Week once again demonstrates the range and depth of London’s creative talent, and how vital books are for all our creative industries.

"In 2017, we are particularly proud to present the CAMEO awards in their inaugural year. The Creativity Across Media: Excellence and Originality Awards will identify the individuals who create some of the most successful film, stage, TV and game adaptations, telling inspiring, gripping, life-transforming stories here and across the globe.”

The launch night at London's Soho House on 13th March, will also see the awards ceremony for the inaugural Creativity Across Media: Entertainment & Originality Awards (CAMEO).