Library Live

The Society of Bookbinders - 50th Anniversary Activities
2024-10-01 08:00 - 2024-12-31 17:00 UTC
The National Society Of Bookbinders was founded in Manchester in 1974 and celebrates it’s 50th Anniversary with a number of events, workshops and displays at Central Library between October-December. All events are free and there is no need to book in advance.
The Journey of a Book: a display about making books by hand, Archives +, Ground Floor, October to December.
Fine Bindings: a display of artistic bookbinding, Reading Room, First Floor, October to December.
Informal Bookbinding Demonstrations / Workshops: Ground Floor Handling Table, Saturdays at 10.30am-4pm on 5 October, 16 November, Thursday 5 December.
Creating A Fine Binding: the Kelmscott Chaucer, An illustrated talk by internationally-acclaimed bookbinder Dominic Riley, Performance Space, 6pm Thursday 28 November
Free – drop in. Please make a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes or online

Migration Stories North West Exhibition & Preview
2024-10-03 08:00 - 2024-11-08 17:00 | Lwr Ground Floor – Manchester Histories Hub
A history of migration in and out of North West England told through 100 stories from Roman times to the present day.
Explore the region’s long history of migration and ways in which it has shaped and continues to shape our social landscape. Browse the stories of individual women, men and children arriving in and leaving the North West from and to other parts of the British Isles and other parts of the world. Find out how their journeys were driven by conflict, colonialism and trade, as well as in search of work, educational opportunities or a better life.
This ‘pop-up’ exhibition includes an interactive screen through which to browse the stories, and is touring across the North West of England. At this showing in Manchester Central Library there will also be a display by pupils and staff from The Derby High School in Bury about the stories which they researched and produced for the Greater Manchester section of the project.
The Migration Stories Exhibition’s showing in Manchester is presented by Crossing Footprints in partnership with Manchester Histories. Special thanks for support from Manchester Central Library, from our Manchester team of volunteer researchers, and from Fair Futures CIC who delivered the school workshops in Bury. More about the project here or browse the project’s own dedicated website
Free – please drop in

Preview / Launch for the Migration Stories Exhibition, 4pm to 7pm, Wednesday 2 October
Join us for an informal opportunity to hear about the Migration Stories North West project and to chat with people who were involved in the research. People from Crossing Footprints, Global Link and Fair Futures, who were involved in developing, organising and delivering the project, will also be on hand to discuss any aspects of the work and the contexts in which it was produced. There will be a brief introduction to the project at 4.45pm and again at 6pm. Light refreshments will be provided.
About the project The Migration Stories North West project is a partnership of five organisations across the North West who have worked over a period of three years with local adults and young people, including those with experience of migration or seeking refuge. Forming into five teams of volunteers and five school groups, they have researched and documented over 100 individual histories of migration using archival, online and oral history sources. They are now available to explore on an interactive online map, along with background information, educational resources and introductory films about the project. More information here. The organisations are Global Link based in Lancaster, Crossing Footprints covering the Greater Manchester region, Liverpool World Centre, Cumbria Development Education Centre and Cheshire Global Learning. The project is supported by historians at Lancaster University and local heritage organisations, and is funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.
Free – please drop in

Yuan Yang
2024-10-06 14:00 - 15:30 | Performance Space
UNFORTUNATELY, THIS EVENT IS NOW CANCELLED
Yuan Yang is no longer able to travel to Manchester due to her new parliamentary commitments and constituency obligations and is very sorry to miss the opportunity to meet our audience.
Quaytickets will be in touch with all existing ticket holders to offer a refund.
In Private Revolutions: Coming of Age in a New China, British-Chinese journalist Yuan Yang tells the fascinating story of modern China through the lives of four ordinary women. Leiya, born in a patriarchal rural village, bluffs her way onto the factory floor; June sets herself a goal to attend university rather than raise pigs; Siyue rebels against her teachers and then remakes the education system for others, and Sam becomes an activist while her peers are disappearing from the streets.
Yuan Yang was born in China and returned there as an adult as a correspondent for the Financial Times. After the mass expulsion of journalists from China in 2020, she was one of the few journalists writing in English left in the country. She now lives in London and is the Labour MP for Earley and Woodley. Presented by Manchester Literature Festival and supported by Library Live.
Image credit: Inigo Blake
Tickets: ‘Book Now’ below, visit the MLF website or phone 0161 876 2015

Lindsey Hilsum
2024-10-06 16:30 - 18:00 | Performance Space
‘I was standing outside an apartment block that had been split apart by a missile. The words of a poem came to me when I could no longer find my own.’
In the four decades she’s spent as a foreign correspondent, Lindsey Hilsum has always carried a book of poetry with her. Poetry has helped her to make sense of the world and acted ‘as a vaccination against despair’. In this special event, Lindsey will reflect on some of the poems collected in her captivating new book I Brought the War with Me and discuss her career, during which she has interviewed the warlords of Bosnia and Sudan, met child soldiers in Uganda and given testimony about the genocide in Rwanda.
Lindsey is Channel 4 News’ International Editor. Her book, In Extremis: the Life of War Correspondent Marie Colvin, won the James Tait Black Prize for biography. She has covered the major conflicts and refugee movements of the past three decades, including Syria, Mali, Iraq, and Kosovo and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. She has won many awards, including the Royal Television Society Journalist of the Year and the Royal Geographical Society Patron’s Medal. Presented by Manchester Literature Festival in partnership with the Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester. Supported by Library Live.
Tickets: ‘Book Now’ below, phone 0161 876 2015 or visit the MLF website

Asako Yuzuki
2024-10-07 08:00 - 17:00 | Performance Space
PLEASE NOTE THIS EVENT HAS CHANGED VENUE FROM WATERSTONES DEANSGATE TO CENTRAL LIBRARY

‘There are two things that I can simply not tolerate: feminists and margarine.’
A Japanese bestseller, Butter is the story of gourmet cook and serial killer Manako Kajii. Convicted of seducing lonely businessmen with her cooking and killing them for their money, Manako is incarcerated in Tokyo Detention Centre, refusing visitors. That is until journalist Rika Machida writes to her asking for her beef stew recipe and Manako can’t resist. Rika thinks she’s about to get the biggest scoop of her career but when she begins taking Manako’s cooking advice it seems Rika’s life is about to change in ways she never expected. Funny, feminist and absolutely mouthwatering, Butter is inspired by the real-life case of ‘The Konkatsu Killer’.
Asako Yuzuki is a novelist and short story writer. Her story ‘Forget Me, Not Blue’ won the All Yomimono Award for New Writers. Her novel Nile Perch Women’s Club won the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize. Several of her books (including Butter) have been nominated for the Naoki Prize and many have been adapted for radio, film and television.
Hosted by Caroline Magennis, Associate Professor in Contemporary Literature at the University of Salford and author of Harpy: A Manifesto for Childfree Women. Presented in partnership with The Japan Foundation and 4th Estate.
Supported by Library Live
Book tickets: 0161 876 2015, ‘Book Now’ below or MLF website
