Calling all Crime Fiction fans... Not long now until the next Crime Central!! This month, Rob Parker is welcoming Remi Kone, Alis Hawkins and MRG Davies to Central Library! Bringing the best from all over! Featuring the best and brightest crime writing talent both locally and from around the country - the big names are […]
Join Manchester Histories and Queer Up North for a thought-provoking panel discussion exploring how queer culture can build community, connect generations and sustain radical creative practice. Reflecting on the legacy of Queer Up North, the conversation will consider what the festival built, what it inherited, and what we can learn from it today. The panel […]
We're celebrating 'Older Peoples Day' with a special Saturday afternoon singalong with the brilliant Dee Dee Allen! We're inviting local community groups for over 55's to get your dancing shoes on for an afternoon full of classic tracks from the 70's to the 90's! Places are free but limited so please phone Central Library on […]
An evening with staff of the Manchester School of Architecture celebrating the 1826 visit to Manchester of the Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel which will include discussion of the making of architectural models of buildings in Manchester and Berlin, an exploration of the influence of his visit and an opportunity to play Schinkel Bingo. Free - […]
Get ready to celebrate Fun Palaces weekend at Central Library with a whole afternoon dedicated to the Mid-Autumn Festival, one of the most important festivals in the Chinese calendar! Join us for an afternoon of traditional Chinese music, interactive workshops and lantern-making with Manchester Confucius Institute and Chinese Music Classroom at Chetham’s School of Music. Programme: 2-4pm - […]
Celebrate the 100th anniversary of Manchester’s Civic Week with a spectacular showcase of the best of our city’s heritage as industrial powerhouse and modern icon of global communities! Discover the History of Civic Week 1926 - 2026 Archives Exhibition (Ground Floor) 125 years of Manchester Tramways exhibition - explore the history of Manchester's electric tramways […]
Kylie Minogue is one of the world's most successful pop stars, and in his new book, Can't Get You Out of My Head, music journalist Michael Cragg takes us on a hugely entertaining journey from her early days on Ramsey Street to her current status as global icon. We're thrilled to be welcoming Michael to Manchester […]
Bestselling Canadian author Emily St. John Mandel joins us to discuss her electrifying new novel Exit Party – exploring parallel worlds, political unrest and blurred realities. In a near-future Los Angeles emerging from conflict, Ari Walker and her friend Gloria are going to a party. But the party becomes the site of something inexplicable, drawing Ari into a mystery that will haunt her across […]
Beloved poet, broadcaster and performer Ian McMillan launches his moving and inventive new collection Red River Valley. Drawing on family life, everyday absurdities and the impact of austerity on the South Yorkshire village where he has lived all his life, Ian creates poems that are funny, poignant and full of humanity. Renowned for his warmth, wit and extraordinary live readings, he brings language vividly to life […]
Beloved author, screenwriter and Waterstones Children's Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce brings his trademark wit and warmth to a moving conversation about books, imagination and the stories that shape our lives. Inspired by his new non-fiction book, A British Childhood, as well as many of his own favourite reads, Frank reflects on what it means to grow up in Britain today, […]
Two of Northern Ireland’s most acclaimed, contemporary authors, Louise Kennedy and Wendy Erskine, join BBC 6 Music broadcaster Deb Grant for an unmissable conversation about storytelling and identity. Louise Kennedy (Trespasses) introduces Stations, one of the most anticipated novels of 2026, a moving and immersive story of first love, friendship, freedom and reinvention that spans decades and explores the choices that echo throughout our […]
Don’t miss this opportunity to hear two of the world’s most visionary poets read and discuss their sublime poetry, exploring political engagement and the interplay between survival and testimony. Over five decades, American poet Carolyn Forché has established herself as both ‘a poet of witness’ and an indefatigable human rights activist. Beautifully crafted, her poems are testimonies, enquiries and wonderments. Her anthology, Against Forgetting, […]
From dedicated performance spaces to stairwells, screens, nooks and domes, Central Library might directly inspire your next event or intervention. Contact us to arrange a tour.
