Self Esteem and the London Literature Fest line-up on their desert island books

"October is a huge month for culture in the capital. Hot on the heels of the London Film Festival, Frieze London, London Cocktail Week and a whole bunch of theatre and gallery openings, it's time for the city's literary scene to take centre stage. London Literature Festival arrives at the Southbank Centre this week, with 13 days of talks, readings, workshops, screenings, performances and award ceremonies celebrating the written and spoken word. Both rising stars and literary titans appear on a stacked line-up co-curated by Rebecca Lucy Taylor, AKA Self Esteem."

"'I wish I could remember who suggested I read Women Who Run with the Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estés. I was about 30 and so very angry, and this was the first time I read that my anger was perfectly reasonable. Not only was it reasonable, it was NATURAL. Were I on a desert island I think that re-reading a book that compounds that all the answers are within me would be a good use of my time. I'd also probably finally have the time and space to do some healing, and this book is a great bit of kit for that too.'"

October brings a busy cultural calendar in London, with the London Literature Festival staged at the Southbank Centre. The festival runs 13 days of talks, readings, workshops, screenings, performances and award ceremonies. The programme is co-curated by Rebecca Lucy Taylor, also known as Self Esteem. Taylor appears on Saturday November 1 with Dolly Alderton to discuss A Complicated Woman and will host a Saturday night music and spoken-word variety show featuring Travis Alabanza, Tom Rasmussen and Pam Ayres. Festival participants named one book they would take to a desert island; Taylor chose Women Who Run with the Wolves for its affirmation of anger and for healing.

Read at Time Out London