To celebrate LGBTQ+ History Month we’re hosting a film night where you get to decide the film we watch. The LGBTQIA+ Staff Network will be turning the Central Library Performance Space into the plaza for one night only, complete with popcorn! Monday 3rd February 2025 Doors open at 5pm. Film starts at 5:45pm on the […]
Crime Central is the monthly crime and thriller fiction event at Manchester Central Library. NEXT EVENT: Wednesday 26th February An hour chat with special guests Susy Aspley, Nick Quantrill and Eve Smith - followed by a Q & A and book signing! Bringing the best from all over! Featuring the best and brightest crime writing […]
'I am writing this because I think another woman will need to read it.' Broadcaster, author and journalist, Emma Barnett joins us to discuss her honest, relatable and funny new book Maternity Service. Written in real time after the birth of her second child, Emma draws parallels between lockdown and maternity leave before exploring the challenges […]
The Black British Book Festival is set to return to Manchester Central Library next year following a successful event at Manchester Central Library in September 2023. The festival will bring the incredible energy, culture and celebration of Black British literature to the city on Saturday 29th March 2025. It is another incredible opportunity to connect with […]
‘A true wonder’ – Max Porter Tom Rourke, poet, doper, drinker is struggling to make a life for himself amongst the Irish migrant workers seeking to make their fortunes in Butte, Montana. Then Polly Gillespie, wife of a mine captain, walks into his life. Sparks fly, the lovers flee West, but will they reach the […]
AI-powered technologies are revolutionising our lives and putting women and girls in danger. In her urgent and gripping new book The New Age of Sexism, Laura Bates delves into our future and finds it wanting. From chatbots to sex robots, from deep fakes to the metaverse, Laura examines how existing forms of discrimination, inequality and harassment […]
CRIME CENTRAL RETURNS 25 JUNE 2025 With the brilliant Rachel Wolf, H Critchlow and Antony Johnston! 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 all coming to Manchester! Go behind the scenes! Showcasing blockbuster bestsellers, emerging talent […]
We are hugely excited to welcome bestselling author V.E. Schwab to Manchester Central Library as we celebrate the publication of her new genre-defying, unforgettable novel Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil. From the author of the incredible standalone novel The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue comes a spellbinding queer love story following the desires and dreams of […]
Blink Publishing and Manchester Libraries present an evening with Jo Hamilton at Central Library. 'My first big discrepancy came in the shape of a £2,000 shortfall that just made no sense at all. Of all the things that kept me awake once in the thick of the nightmare that unfolded, it was being stuck in […]
For those in the mood for a Talk Tonight, on 15th July, expect to find esteemed Northern music journalist and frontman of the Membranes / Goldblade JOHN ROBB in-conversation about his brand new book ‘Live Forever: The Rise, Fall, and Resurrection of Oasis’ at Manchester Central Library. Part of "Oasis Week" at Central Library, John […]
This is the best kind of thriller: as literate and thoughtful as it is fast-moving. Attica Locke has bags of style, and sings the blues on every page’ - Mick Herron (Slow Horses) We’re thrilled to welcome American crime writer Attica Locke to Manchester Literature Festival for a rare UK event. In Guide Me Home, the […]
Love Stories Etc… launched in 2024 with a one-day festival held at Manchester Central Library, with panels, workshops and book signings, aimed at encouraging romance readers to discover new authors. For 2025, there will be events across two days, with an impressive mix of bestselling brand authors, emerging stars and debuts writing in the romance […]
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.
