It's nearly time for the London Word Festival, a pioneering, annual celebration of words, text and language; daring in its approach to cross-artform programming, commissioning new work and exploring non-traditional spaces.

Established in 2007 and based in London’s vibrant East End, the Festival has featured a wide range of artists from the fields of music, literature, comedy, theatre and live art.

They’ve paired cult US slam poet Saul Williams with spoken word hip-hop duo dan le sac Vs Scroobius Pip; they’ve transformed a medieval tower in Hackney into a ghostly sound field with leftfield author Iain Sinclair; they’ve premiered Edward Larrikin’s first play in a Victorian music hall, instigated collaborative ballad printing in Stoke Newington, and conducted stand-up experiments in live blogging. Their 2009 commission Inua Ellams’ The 14th Tale won an Edinburgh Fringe First and transferred to the National Theatre in February 2010.

It runs from the 7th March till the 1st April and you can find the when and where at their website here.