On October 20, the "Dialogue between October International Literature Cities: Beijing vs. London" sponsored by the October Literature Institute was held at the institute. Chinese writers attending the event included: Jidi Majia, famous poet and vice chairman of the Chinese Writers Association; Qiu Huadong, famous writer and secretary of the Secretariat of the Chinese Writers Association; famous poet Xi Chuan; Li Er, winner of the Mao Dun Literature Prize, young writer Shi Yifeng and etc. British writers and scholars attending the event included Alan Macfarlane, academician of the British Academy of Sciences and professor of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Cambridge University, writer David Vann, poet Steven J. Fowler, and sinologist Dylan Levi King. The Chinese and British writers gathered to discuss the city literature. Chinese representatives attending the event included Chen Ning, party secretary and executive chairman of Beijing Federation of Literature and Art, and Qu Zhong, general manager of Beijing Publishing Group and dean of the October Literature Institute. The Chinese session was hosted by Lü Yue, poet and executive president of the October Literature Institute, and the British session was hosted by young translator Jack Hargreaves.

This event was the core of international exchange activities of the 5th Beijing October Literature Month, and it was also the first time that the dialogue between literature cities was held overseas. Through the Internet, Chinese and British guests focused on the topic of "city spirit and literary expression" to start a dialogue, using the literature as a bridge to promote cultural exchanges between Beijing and London. In the future, the October Literature Institute will continue to carry out dialogues on literature with representative cities around the world, and further promote the cooperation between Beijing, London and other international cities in the fields of literature and culture. The "Dialogue between October International Literature Cities " will be built into a global platform, with the literature as a tie to jointly enrich and shape the new humanistic vision of the "global village".