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DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20230216T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20230216T190000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20230124T185155Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230124T185651Z
UID:6836-1676570400-1676574000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Crime Central
DESCRIPTION:Crime Central is back with a bang on Thursday 16th February! \nJoining your wonderful host Rob Parker will be… \nLia Middleton\, author of the massive debut thriller ‘When They Find Her’. Her new novel ‘Your Word or Mine’ came out in September 2022 to more rave reviews! \nElliot Sweeney\, who’s debut novel is entitled ‘The Next to Die’. The first in an intended series\, narrated by ex-copper turned P.I. Dylan Kasper. \nSam Tobin\, grew up in Manchester and quickly came to realise he was living in the best city in the world. His second novel in the ‘Manchester Underworld’ series: ‘Pay The Price’ was published in January 2023. \nPLEASE NOTE: Tickets for this event are on a “pay what you can” basis. They range from £2 – £8 plus the Eventbrite booking fee. \nAll tickets allow the same access to the event. This is a just a pricing system to accommodate for individual financial circumstances. \nSigned books will be available to purchase after the event.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/crime-central-5/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event,Signing,Talks
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20230125T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20230125T190000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20221130T143144Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230111T113227Z
UID:6746-1674669600-1674673200@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:An Evening with Don Paterson
DESCRIPTION:Manchester Libraries\, Faber Books and Blackwells Bookshop are proud to present An Evening with Don Paterson to celebrate the publication of TOY FIGHTS – an exquisitely sharp\, deeply humane and brutally hilarious boyhood memoir from one of the greatest writers of his generation. \nDon Paterson will be in conversation with Roma Havers\, Learning Manager from Manchester Poetry Library. \nAbout the book: \nThis is a book about family\, money and music but also about schizophrenia\, hell\, narcissists\, debt and the working class\, anger\, swearing\, drugs\, books\, football\, love\, origami\, the peculiar insanity of Dundee\, sugar\, religious mania\, the sexual excesses of the Scottish club band scene and\, more generally\, the lengths we go to not to be bored. \nDon Paterson spent his boyhood on a council housing estate. When he wasn’t busy dreading his birthdays\, dodging kids who wanted to kill him in a game of Toy Fights\, working with his country-and-western singer dad\, screwing up in the Boys’ Brigade\, obsessing over God\, origami\, The Osmonds\, stamps\, sex or Scottish football cards\, he was developing a sugar addiction\, failing his exams\, playing guitar\, falling in love\, dodging employment and descending into madness. While he didn’t manage to figure out who he was meant to be\, the first twenty years of his life – before he took a chance\, packed his guitar and boarded a train to London – did\, for better or worse\, shape who he would become. \n‘A tremendously engaging memoir\, seasoned with Don Paterson’s customary wit\, total recall and love of language. A classic of its kind.’ – William Boyd \n‘Wonderful\, aggressively wise and always – especially at its most serious – devastatingly funny.’ – Geoff Dyer \nAbout the author: \nDon Paterson was born in Dundee in 1963. His poetry has won many awards\, including the Whitbread Poetry Prize\, the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize\, the Costa Poetry Award\, all three Forward Prizes and\, on two occasions\, the T. S. Eliot Prize. He was awarded the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 2009. He is Professor of Poetry at the University of St Andrews and\, for over twenty-five years\, was Poetry Editor at Picador Macmillan. He also works as a jazz musician. \nRoma Havers is the Learning Manager for Manchester Poetry Library. Roma is particularly excited by the collaborative and creative possibilities of the learning programmes at Manchester Poetry Library. She is an experienced facilitator and poetry mentor and a trained Anti-Racism training Facilitator. Editor for Young Identity’s poetry press No Disclaimers\, writes and performs and sits on several youth forums and consultancy groups across Manchester. She has produced events and youth projects with Young Identity HOMEmcr\, Manchester Histories\, Amnesty International\, MIF and many others. \nDoors: 5.30\, starts: 6.00 \nTickets are £5.00 (£3.00 for Faber members / students / unwaged / 60+) or free when preordering a copy of the book. TOY FIGHTS will also be available to purchase on the night and Don will be signing copies after the talk. If you would like a signed copy but cannot make the event\, please contact us on 0161 274 3331 or manchester@blackwell.co.uk and we can arrange this for you.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/toy-fights-an-evening-with-don-paterson/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event,Book Launch
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20221214T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20221214T200000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20221104T133710Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20221214T094652Z
UID:6666-1671040800-1671048000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:CANCELLED: Crime Central Christmas Special!
DESCRIPTION:SORRY.\nDUE TO THE WEATHER CONDITIONS AND THE TRAIN STRIKE\, WE HAVE HAD TO CANCEL TONIGHTS CRIME CENTRAL EVENT.\nWe’ve got the ultimate festive selection box of crime writers for our Christmas Special! Joining your host Rob Parker will be his pals from the Northern Crime Syndicate! \nThe Northern Crime Syndicate is a crime writing super group featuring regional authors Jude O’Reilly\, Chris McGeorge\, AM Peacock\, Trevor Wood\, Fiona Erskine and Robert Scragg! \nPrepare for a night of fun and frolics\, including a game of ‘Who’s Crime is it Anyway’! Can you and the authors come up with the ultimate bestselling crime novel in one hour? \nThere’ll also be some magical giveaways and surprises!
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/crime-central-christmas-special/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event,Party
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Crime-Central-xmas-logo.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20221103T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20221103T193000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20220927T114459Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220930T072428Z
UID:6543-1667498400-1667503800@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Crime Central
DESCRIPTION:Crime Central returns in November with three more amazing writers! \nLauren North – writes psychological suspense novels that delve into the darker side of relationships and families. Lauren’s love of psychological suspense has grown since childhood and from her dark imagination of always wondering what’s the worst thing that could happen in every situation. \nRoger Price – spent over 30 years as a Detective Inspector in the Lancashire Police Force\, the Regional Crime Squad and the National Crime Squad before leaving to concentrate fulltime on writing best selling crime novels. \nLaure Van Rensburg – is a French writer living in the UK and an Ink Academy alumna. Her stories have appeared in online magazines and anthologies such as Litro Magazine\, Storgy Magazine\, The Real Jazz Baby\, Best Anthology\, Saboteur Awards 2020). \nHosted by the wonderful Rob Parker. \nPLEASE NOTE: Tickets for this event are on a “pay what you can” basis. They range from £2 – £8 plus the Eventbrite booking fee. \nAll tickets allow the same access to the event. This is a just a pricing system to accommodate for individual financial circumstances.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/crime-central-4/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20221101T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20221101T193000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20220927T170916Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220927T170916Z
UID:6551-1667325600-1667331000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Dominic Berry & John Darwin Book Launch
DESCRIPTION:Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries invite you to the book launch of new poetry collections of two of Manchester’s finest. \nJohn Darwin: Ultrasilence \nFrom the provincial peccadilloes of Prestwich in Manchester to coffee houses and bars by the Bosporus in İstanbul\, John Darwin explores life’s three stages of arriving\, staying for a bit\, and then leaving.\nA poetic reflection on the ennui of the everyday\, intermittent pleasures\, and the quest to understand love and belonging from the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival 2021 Best Spoken Word Performance Award winner. \n“Gets to grips with the parts of life we’d rather forget.” – Dave Morgan\, Write Out Loud Co-founder \n“From early doors to last orders\, John Darwin’s poetry leaves us drunk on its honesty and thirsty for more.” – Tony Walsh AKA Longfella\, Poet \nDominic Berry: YES LIFE \n“How can I be now?”\nThis is a book charting one journey from challenging times to friendship and joy. To euphoric excitement and blissful rest\, from old He-Man toys\, choose-your-own-adventure books\, moving music in grin-packed pubs and fantastic festivals\, sublime seaside solitude\, and many different ways for a person to play.\n“Love is who we are.” \n“Rhythmic\, vibrant\, and gentle\, Yes Life is a love letter to the many ways in which we get to see the world.” – Desree\, spoken word poet & educator \n“A homage to youth\, to growth\, and to growing up. Whether it be the Latin rhythms of the paperback dancefloor or the 8-Bit energy of the nineties\, Berry comes in full force.” – Alex Vellis\, poet \nAUTHOR PERFORMANCES\, AUDIENCE Q&A\, BOOK SIGNING – FREE ENTRY. \nContent warning: Adult themes and language.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/dominic-berry-john-darwin-book-launch/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/FP-PRESS-book-launch-Nov-22.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20221025T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20221025T193000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20221004T162137Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20221004T162137Z
UID:6581-1666720800-1666726200@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central
DESCRIPTION:Word Central\nOpen Mic Poetry and Spoken Word presented by Manchester Libraries and Flapjack Press \nTues 25th October\, 6.00pm – 7.30pm (doors open 5.30pm) Free entry \nHosted by Tony Curry with guest poet Stevie Turner \nBook your open mic slot from noon on Tues 11th October via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk \nNB Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer \nPerformance slots are allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis from the stated booking day \nIf they are already filled you will be offered a space on the reserve list \nEvent host Tony Curry is a performance poet\, playwright and workshop facilitator\, who runs literature-in-the-community projects with a specific leaning towards mental health and wellbeing. \nTony’s solo spoken word shows include Brit Boy\, Complicit Relations\, Moving and The Odyssey\, performed at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre. His play\, The Teddy Bear\, was staged at Manchester’s Contact Theatre and his work has been exhibited at the city’s art gallery and museum. His latest collection\, We Kid Ourselves\, was published by Flapjack Press in 2021. \nSeptember’s special guest Stevie Turner is a political and passionate poet whose work often pushes boundaries. Their debut collection Lost Decades was published this summer by Bent Key Publishing and is a personal yet relatable account of life without restrictive lines\, examining the deep human connections we make throughout life. Stevie performed with the Northern Poetry Takeover at this year’s Brighton and Camden Fringe festivals and launched a new poetry event\, Absinthe Nights\, at Northern Monk earlier this month.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-5/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event,Performance,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/WORD-CENTRAL-LOGO-jpg.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20220901T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20220901T193000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20220811T102853Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220811T103049Z
UID:6353-1662055200-1662060600@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Crime Central
DESCRIPTION:We’re back! Thursday 1st September at 6pm! \n\n\nCrime Central returns with three more fantastic authors. Joining our host Rob Parker this month will be the author Adam Simcox\, who’s novels combine murder mysteries with the supernatural. Joining him will be bestselling local author Paul Finch\, who’s well known for his brilliant crime and horror novels. We’re also very excited to welcome Miranda Dickinson\, who’s swapped her contemporary novel hat for the darker world of crime!\n\n\n\nWe can’t wait! \n\n\n\n\nAdam Simcox\, author of The Dying Squad series. \nWhen Detective Inspector Joe Lazarus storms a Lincolnshire farmhouse\, he expects to bring down a notorious drug gang; instead\, he discovers his own body and a spirit guide called Daisy-May. She’s there to enlist him to The Dying Squad\, a spectral police force who solve crimes their flesh and blood counterparts cannot. \n\n\n\n\n\nMiranda Dickinson (M J White) author of the Dr Cora Lael novels. \nMJ White is the pen name of million-copy selling Sunday Times bestselling author\, Miranda Dickinson. Her debut crime series featuring Dr Cora Lael begins with The Secret Voices. A huge fan of crime fiction and particularly police procedurals\, Miranda wrote The Secret Voices largely in secret and is chuffed now to finally share Cora\, Acting DS Rob Minshull and the detectives of South Suffolk CID with the world! \n\n\n\n\n\nPaul Finch\, author of the DS Mark Heckenburg and DC Lucy Clayburn novels. \nPaul Finch is a former cop and journalist now turned best-selling crime and thriller writer\, and is the author of the very popular DS Mark ‘Heck’ Heckenburg and DC Lucy Clayburn novels. Paul first cut his literary teeth penning episodes of the British TV crime drama\, The Bill\, and has written extensively in horror\, fantasy and science-fiction\, including for Dr Who. \n\n\n\n\n\nPLEASE NOTE: Tickets for this event are on a “pay what you can” basis. They range from £0 – £8 plus the Eventbrite booking fee. \n  \nAll tickets allow the same access to the event. This is a just a pricing system to accommodate for individual financial circumstances.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/crime-central-3/
CATEGORIES:Author Event,Monthly event,Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Crime-Central.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20220531T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20220531T194500
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20220517T115009Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220517T115205Z
UID:6065-1654020000-1654026300@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central
DESCRIPTION:WORD CENTRAL RETURNS TUESDAY 31 MAY 2022 \nJames Hartnell is a poet\, newspaper columnist and writer who has been published globally. He is presently editor of Current Accounts\, the international magazine of Bank Street Writers\, and is a regular contributor to Worktown Words\, the writing arm of Live from Worktown\, a major community project in Bolton. \nJames created the Bolton International Writing Project which saw work in twenty-nine languages published and read at various venues in nineteen shows\, engaging more than five hundred immigrants from the Bolton community. \nHis new poetry collection\, Songs of Submission\, was published by Flapjack Press earlier this year. \nBook your open mic slot from noon on Tuesday 17th May via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk \nNB Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer \nPerformance slots are allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis from the stated booking day \nIf they are already filled you will be offered a space on the reserve list
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-3/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event,Performance,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/WORD-CENTRAL-LOGO-jpg.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20220428T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20220428T200000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20220411T111617Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220411T120606Z
UID:5907-1651168800-1651176000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Crime Central: A New Crime Club at Central Library!
DESCRIPTION:Crime Central is a new monthly event at Manchester Central Library\, featuring the best and brightest crime writing talent both locally and from around the country. Showcasing blockbuster bestsellers\, emerging talent and industry insiders\, Crime Central will share the real story of what goes on in the crime world. There’ll be giveaways\, audience interaction\, book signings\, the chance to ask questions and more – while bringing a crime fiction buzz back to this great northern city. \nThursday 28 April 6pm. Hosted by Rob Parker. \n‘Can writing murder ever really be ‘cosy’? With Janice Hallett\, Jonathan Whitelaw and Sean Coleman! \nRob Parker is a married father of three\, who lives in Warrington\, UK. The author of the Ben Bracken thrillers\, Crook’s Hollow and the Audible bestseller Far From The Tree\, he enjoys a rural life\, writing horrible things between school runs. He spends a lot of time in schools across the North\, encouraging literacy\, story-telling and creative-writing\, and somehow squeezes in time to co-host the For Your Reconsideration film podcast\, appear regularly on The Blood Brothers Crime Podcast and the Really\, 007! Podcast\, and is a member of the Northern Crime Syndicate. \nJanice Hallett studied English at UCL and worked as a magazine editor\, winning two awards for journalism. After gaining an MA in Screenwriting at Royal Holloway\, she co-wrote the feature film Retreat. Her debut novel\, The Appeal\, was a Sunday Times bestseller\, the Sunday Times crime book of the year\, and shortlisted for Waterstones book of the year. Her second novel\, The Twyford Code\, is a Times and Sunday Times bestseller. \nJonathan Whitelaw is an author\, award-winning journalist and broadcaster. After working on the frontline of Scottish politics\, he moved into journalism. Subjects he has covered have varied from breaking news\, the arts\, culture and sport to fashion\, music and even radioactive waste — with everything in between. His work has appeared in The Sun\, Daily Mail\, Scotsman\, STV and The Scots Magazine as well as numerous international newspapers and websites. He’s also a regular reviewer on the BBC – specifically for arts reviews on The Afternoon Show on BBC Radio Scotland. \nSean Coleman began his writing career as a scriptwriter for Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy Online. Since then he has written and produced shows for MSN\, O2\, Sony Pictures International\, Fox\, the BBC and Channel 4\, for which he has won multiple awards. He is also the founder and Publishing Director of Red Dog Press\, and is the author of the Alex Ripley mysteries\, and the Soho Noir series\, writing as T.S. Hunter. Sean lives with his girlfriend and family (including the Red Dogs) on the edge of the Peak District\, where they often head out on epic walks. \nDATE FOR YOUR DIARY \nThe next ‘Crime Central’ event will be on Thursday 26 May 6pm. ‘Past\, Present\, Future’. How ‘time’ in our books is so important\, and how we can play with it. More details about the authors attending very soon!
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/crime-central/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event,Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Crime-Central.png
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20220316T183000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20220317T200000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20220124T111301Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220201T092744Z
UID:5730-1647455400-1647547200@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Crime Festival
DESCRIPTION:A CELEBRATION OF THE BEST CRIME WRITERS IN MANCHESTER\nWednesday 16th March – Cath Staincliffe\, Joseph Knox and Karen Woods.\nThursday 17th March – Mandasue Heller\, Alex Caan\, Chris Simms and S J Watson.\nFriday 18th March – After Dark Entertainment presents: ‘An Invitation to Murder’ Murder Mystery Night\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHosted by the brilliant author Rob Parker.\nRob Parker lives near Warrington\, UK. The author of the Ben Bracken thrillers and the standalone post-Brexit country-noir Crook’s Hollow. \n​Rob writes full time\, as well as organising and attending various author events across the UK. Passionate about inspiring a love of the written word in young people\, he spends a lot of time in schools across the North West\, encouraging literacy\, storytelling and creative-writing. ​He is also a co-host of the For Your Reconsideration film podcast\, and a regular voice on the Blood Brothers crime book podcast. \n​Here’s some more information about the authors appearing.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCath Staincliffe\nCath was brought up in Bradford then moved to work as a community artist in Manchester where she now lives with her family. \nLooking for Trouble\, published in 1994\, launched private eye Sal\, a single parent struggling to juggle work and home\, onto Manchester’s mean streets. Cath has published a further seven Sal Kilkenny mysteries. \nCath is also a scriptwriter\, creator of ITV’s hit police drama\, Blue Murder\, she was also commissioned to write the Scott & Bailey books and writes for Danny Brocklehurst’s Stone detective drama. \nShe is now writing a series of stand-alone novels where ordinary families find themselves caught up in extraordinary events. Cath is a founder member of Murder Squad\, a virtual collective of northern crime writers. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJoseph Knox\nJoseph Knox was born and raised in and around Stoke-On-Trent and Manchester\, where he worked in bars and bookshops before moving to London. He runs\, writes and reads compulsively. \nSirens\, his debut novel\, was a Sunday Times bestseller\, and his work has now been translated into 18 languages. \nHis latest novel ‘True Crime Story’ was published in 2021. The Times described it as ‘Scandalously entertaining…Knox is a fantastic writer. His ambitious fourth novel satirises and celebrates the true-crime genre with glee … by turns horrific and hilarious’ – Mark Sanderson. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nKaren Woods\nKaren was born and raised in the City Of Manchester and is proud to be a Mancunian! Being raised within an inner city area inspired Karen to take an unorthodox and very well received approach within her writing. \nKaren left school without any formal qualifications and obtained her inspiration from attending an adult literacy course which was offered by her former employers. \nKaren writes from the heart and always keeps it real to life\, and she writes about subjects we can all relate too. Having lived a colourful life she uses her own experiences to write her books. Her fan base is growing every day and soon everyone will know the name Karen Woods. \nKaren believes that everyone has the power to to change their lives around with self belief and determination. “Life doesn’t give. We have to take what we can.” . \n \nMandasue Heller\nAfter moving to Manchester in the early 80’s\, Mandasue immersed herself in the underground music scene. Forced by illness to temporarily quit singing in the 90’s\, she turned her hand to writing\, using the notorious Hulme Crescents\, where she had spent her first 10 years in Manchester\, as the backdrop. \nHer first written piece concerned a real-life incident\, when a man had broken into her house in the early hours and attacked her with a claw-hammer\, fracturing her skull. But it was the psychological after-effects that affected her most deeply\, and she hoped that writing about it would exorcise the hold it still had over her. The finished piece was too personal for anybody else to read\, but she had enjoyed the process of writing\, so decided to try her hand at fiction instead – and her first book\, The Front\, was snapped up by Hodder & Stoughton. She has written 13 books since then\, and is currently working on the 14th. \nMother to 3 grown children\, and grandmother of 3\, Mandasue still lives in Manchester\, and spends her time between books and family commitments locked away in the studio\, writing and recording music albums. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAlex Caan\nAlex Caan has spent over a decade working in Information Systems Security for a number of government organisations\, and is currently specialising in Terrorism Studies. A lifetime passion for writing was sparked by the encouraging words of an English Teacher in school\, and eventually led to Alex successfully completing an MA in Creative Writing\, and write Cut to the Bone. \nCut to the Bone has been a Kindle Number 1 bestseller\, was picked as a WH Smith ‘Everyone’s Talking About’ book of the week\, chosen as Sainsbury’s best of summer reads and was Angela Marson’s pick for crime novel recommendation of the year. Alex Caan was also a rising star on Amazon in 2016. \nFirst To Die\, the shocking sequel to Cut to the Bone\, was released June 14th 2018. \nHis latest novel The Unbroken is out now. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nChris Simms\nChris Simms has worked in airports\, nightclubs\, post offices and telesales centres. Along with nominations for Crime Writers’ Association Daggers and the Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year award for his novels and short stories\, Chris was selected by Waterstones as one of their ’25 Authors for the Future’. \nThe idea for his debut novel\, Outside the White Lines\, came to him in the early hours of the morning while broken down on the hard shoulder of the M40. \nHis series of DI Spicer novels – psychological thrillers set very firmly in Manchester – follow the police detective’s fortunes as he pursues mad\, bad and deadly individuals through the city’s ever-evolving landscape. \nIn October 2012\, Scratch Deeper was launched – a new series featuring Detective Constable Iona Khan of Manchester Police’s Counter Terrorism Unit. This was followed-up by another DC Khan novel\, A Price To Pay. \nDark Angel\, the 9th DI Spicer novel was published in January 2021. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nS J Watson\nS J Watson’s first novel\, Before I Go To Sleep\, became a phenomenal international success and has now sold over 6\,000\,000 copies worldwide. It won the Crime Writers’ Association Award for Best Debut Novel and the Galaxy National Book Award for Crime Thriller of the Year and has been translated into more than 40 languages. \nThe film of the book\, starring Nicole Kidman\, Colin Firth and Mark Strong\, and directed by Rowan Joffe\, was released in September 2014. S J Watson’s second novel\, Second Life\, a psychological thriller\, was published to acclaim in 2015. His new novel Final Cut is out now.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/manchester-libraries-crime-festival/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event,Book Launch,Performance,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Crime-Festival-Header.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20220223T183000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20220223T200000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20220127T132304Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220127T132304Z
UID:5752-1645641000-1645646400@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:TO PARADISE - Hanya Yanagihara in conversation with Kamila Shamsie
DESCRIPTION:Hanya Yanagihara\, author of the million-copy bestseller A Little Life\, introduces her incredible new novel TO PARADISE. \n\n\nAbout this event\n\n\nWe’re thrilled to be welcoming Hanya Yanagihara\, author of the modern classic A Little Life\, to Manchester for one of just four UK dates celebrating the release of her phenomenal new book TO PARADISE – a bold\, brilliant novel spanning three centuries and three different versions of the American experiment\, about lovers\, family\, loss and the elusive promise of utopia. Hanya will be in conversation with Kamila Shamsie. \nAbout the book: \nIn an alternate version of 1893 America\, New York is part of the Free States\, where people may live and love whomever they please (or so it seems). The fragile young scion of a distinguished family resists betrothal to a worthy suitor\, drawn to a charming music teacher of no means. In a 1993 Manhattan besieged by the AIDS epidemic\, a young Hawaiian man lives with his much older\, wealthier partner\, hiding his troubled childhood and the fate of his father. And in 2093\, in a world riven by plagues and governed by totalitarian rule\, a powerful scientist’s damaged granddaughter tries to navigate life without him – and solve the mystery of her husband’s disappearances. \nThese three sections are joined in an enthralling and ingenious symphony\, as recurring notes and themes deepen and enrich one another: A townhouse in Washington Square Park in Greenwich Village; illness\, and treatments that come at a terrible cost; wealth and squalor; the weak and the strong; race; the definition of family\, and of nationhood; the dangerous righteousness of the powerful\, and of revolutionaries; the longing to find a place in an earthly paradise\, and the gradual realization that it can’t exist. What unites not just the characters\, but these Americas\, are their reckonings with the qualities that make us human: Fear. Love. Shame. Need. Loneliness. \nTo Paradise is a fin-de-siecle novel of marvellous literary effect\, but above all it is a work of emotional genius. The great power of this remarkable novel is driven by Yanagihara’s understanding of the aching desire to protect those we love – partners\, lovers\, children\, friends\, family and even our fellow citizens – and the pain that ensues when we cannot. \nThis event is being held at Manchester Central Library in partnership with the Centre for New Writing. \nDoors: 18.00\, event starts: 18.30 \nTickets are £10.00 or £25.00 including a copy of the book. TO PARADISE will also be available to purchase on the night and Hanya will be signing copies after the talk. If you would like a signed copy but cannot make the event\, please contact us on 0161 274 3331 or manchester@blackwell.co.uk and we can arrange this for you.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/to-paradise-hanya-yanagihara-in-conversation-with-kamila-shamsie/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event,Book Launch
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/blackwells-hanya.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20220212T113000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20220212T160000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20211123T165331Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211123T165331Z
UID:5600-1644665400-1644681600@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:¡No Pasarán! – North West International Brigade Memorial Group
DESCRIPTION:North West International Brigade Memorial Group invite you to join us for ¡No Pasarán!\, a day of commemoration of those Greater Manchester men and women who fought against Franco\, Hitler and Mussolini in the Spanish Civil War. \n11.30- 1PM 85th anniversary commemoration of the battle of Jarama. \nIn February 1937 around 500 men of the British Battalion of the International Brigades went into their first military battle in defence of the Spanish Republican government at Jarama near Madrid. In the next three days over a third were killed and many were wounded but although driven from the field they re-grouped and stopped the Fascist attempt to cut the only supply road to Madrid and prevented the city from starving. In this battle 14 local men were killed. \nTo commemorate and celebrate this event there will be songs\, poetry and prose from the period and an exhibition of the North West’s involvement in the Spanish Civil War. \nRob Hargreaves author of ‘Beyond Peterloo’ and forthcoming book on Oldham’s Clem Beckett a local speedway star\, ‘Clem Beckett: motorcycle legend and war hero’\, will speak about the death of Clem Beckett at Jarama. \nThe morning will end with the laying of wreaths at the memorial to the local International Brigaders in Central Library. \n1-2 Break for Lunch. \n2-4 ‘Lillian and Madge the stories of two remarkable women: resisting Fascism in Spain and World War II’ \nA lecture by Chris Hall author of ‘The Nurse who became a Spy’: Madge Addy’s war against fascism’ \nAfter the lecture there will be a chance to ask questions\, buy a copy of Chris Hall’s book\, speak to members of the North West International Brigades Group and look at the exhibition on the Spanish Civil War. \nFind out more information about the International Brigade Memorial Group here.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/no-pasaran-north-west-international-brigade-memorial-group/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Archives,Author Event,Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/chris-hall.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20211012T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20211012T200000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20210907T112339Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210917T081809Z
UID:5376-1634065200-1634068800@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Black Britain Writing Back: Bernardine Evaristo
DESCRIPTION:MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL \nCelebrating a landmark new series curated by Booker Prize winning writer Bernardine Evaristo\, Black Britain Writing Back re-introduces lost or hard-to-find books by Black writers who wrote about Black Britain and the diaspora across the Twentieth Century. Joining Bernardine is Jacqueline Roy whose novel The Fat Lady Sings tells the stories of Gloria and Merle\, two women in adjacent beds in the ward of a mental hospital; Judith Bryan whose novel Bernard and the Cloth Monkey is a family psychodrama in which two sisters battle with a shared but suppressed history of secrets\, tensions and betrayals that need reckoning; and Nicola Williams’ Without Prejudice\, a thriller in which Lee Mitchell\, a Black working class barrister\, is succeeding against the odds. \nPlease note: We have reduced the capacity at this venue to increase space between seats so everyone can enjoy the event safely. If you’d like to sit with friends\, please book all seats together in the same transaction. Although masks are no longer mandatory under Government guidance\, we strongly encourage everyone to wear one when in close proximity to others\, particularly when entering and leaving the event. We also encourage everyone to use the sanitation stations and sign in using track and trace when they arrive.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/bernardine-evaristo-black-britain-writing-back/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event,Signing
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20211010T193000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20211010T203000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20210907T085233Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210917T112715Z
UID:5371-1633894200-1633897800@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:An Evening with Alan Johnson
DESCRIPTION:MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL \nMuch-loved former Labour MP Alan Johnson makes a welcome return to MLF. Following his series of successful memoirs – This Boy\, In My Life\, The Long and Winding Road and Please\, Mr Postman\, Alan has turned to fiction\, joining us to discuss his thrilling debut novel The Late Train to Gypsy Hill. Featuring a Ukranian waitress mixed up in a poisoning plot and an administrator who finds himself on the run from Russian secret agents and the Met\, it’s an enthralling\, smartly written\, page turner. Alan will discuss his passion for plot-twists\, politics and writing with Ellah P Wakatama. \nPlease note: We have reduced the capacity at this venue to increase space between seats so everyone can enjoy the event safely. If you’d like to sit with friends\, please book all seats together in the same transaction. Although masks are no longer mandatory under Government guidance\, we strongly encourage everyone to wear one when in close proximity to others\, particularly when entering and leaving the event. We also encourage everyone to use the sanitation stations and sign in using track and trace when they arrive.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/an-evening-with-alan-johnson/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event,Signing
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/alan-johnson.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20211010T163000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20211010T173000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20210907T084622Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210907T085304Z
UID:5368-1633883400-1633887000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Elif Shafak in Conversation
DESCRIPTION:MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL \nA fig tree with a tale to tell; a grieving teenage girl who wants to know her family’s story; two sets of lovers hiding from society. In her enchanting new novel\, The Island of Missing Trees\, Elif Shafak considers how the story of humans and the natural world are entwined. Set in London and the island of Cyprus\, Elif explores roots\, trauma and how understanding ourselves and our history can be healing. Elif is a British-Turkish novelist\, feminist and activist and we’re delighted to welcome her back to MLF. The author of 19 books\, translated into 54 languages\, Elif’s previous novel 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World was shortlisted for the Booker Prize\, and The Forty Rules of Love was chosen by the BBC as one of 100 Novels That Shaped Our World. Elif will be in conversation with Ellah P Wakatama. \nPlease note: We have reduced the capacity at this venue to increase space between seats so everyone can enjoy the event safely. If you’d like to sit with friends\, please book all seats together in the same transaction. Although masks are no longer mandatory under Government guidance\, we strongly encourage everyone to wear one when in close proximity to others\, particularly when entering and leaving the event. We also encourage everyone to use the sanitation stations and sign in using track and trace when they arrive.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/elif-shafak-in-conversation/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event,Signing
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20211010T140000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20211010T150000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20210907T083624Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210907T083624Z
UID:5357-1633874400-1633878000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Monique Roffey & Ingrid Persaud
DESCRIPTION:MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL\n\n\n‘Later I saw that change came as change always comes\, from a chain of events with a long history\, too long to see from back to front\, till it come.’ In The Mermaid of Black Conch\, Monique Roffey’s Costa Book of the Year winner\, the life of David\, one of the island’s fishermen\, is disrupted when he saves Aycayia\, a mermaid\, from her captors. While in Ingrid Persaud’s Love After Love\, Betty Ramdin invites Mr Chetan to lodge with her and her son Solo following the death of her husband/Solo’s father. The creation of a new\, unconventional\, family changes all of their lives.\n\n\n\n\nTwo award-winning Caribbean novelists join us to discuss determined women\, magical writing\, family and place. Monique Roffey is the author of seven books including The White Woman on the Green Bicycle\, which was shortlisted for The Women’s Prize. Ingrid has won both the Commonwealth Short Story Prize and the BBC National Short Story Award. Hosted by writer Kate Feld.\n\n\n\n\n  \nPlease note: We have reduced the capacity at this venue to increase space between seats so everyone can enjoy the event safely. If you’d like to sit with friends\, please book all seats together in the same transaction. Although masks are no longer mandatory under Government guidance\, we strongly encourage everyone to wear one when in close proximity to others\, particularly when entering and leaving the event. We also encourage everyone to use the sanitation stations and sign in using track and trace when they arrive.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/monique-roffey-ingrid-persaud/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event,Signing
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Monique-Roffey.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20211009T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20211009T190000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20210907T083810Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210907T084059Z
UID:5354-1633802400-1633806000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Jeanette Winterson & Mark O’Connell
DESCRIPTION:MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL \n‘How did we get here? Where might we go?’ Is the future ‘a screen onto which we project our fantasies and terrors’? What can the past tell us about the future? Are we all doomed? And what’s gender got to do with it? Jeanette Winterson’s latest book 12 Bytes considers our relationship with AI\, how it might develop and what we need to know. In Notes from an Apocalypse Mark O’Connell (To Be a Machine) spends time with preppers\, rewilders and people who want to colonise Mars. Join us for what’s sure to be a fascinating discussion about what humanity might do next. Jeanette is the author of 10 novels for adults\, as well as children’s books\, screenplays and non-fiction\, including the bestselling memoir Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? Mark’s first book To Be a Machine won the Wellcome Book Prize in 2018. \n\n\n\n\n\nPresented in partnership with Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester and hosted by writer Kate Feld. \nPlease note: We have reduced the capacity at this venue to increase space between seats so everyone can enjoy the event safely. If you’d like to sit with friends\, please book all seats together in the same transaction. Although masks are no longer mandatory under Government guidance\, we strongly encourage everyone to wear one when in close proximity to others\, particularly when entering and leaving the event. We also encourage everyone to use the sanitation stations and sign in using track and trace when they arrive.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/jeanette-winterson-mark-oconnell/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event,Signing
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20210907T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20210907T200000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20210802T110147Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210802T110147Z
UID:5271-1631041200-1631044800@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Dave Haslam 'All You Need is Dynamite' Book Launch
DESCRIPTION:In ‘All You Need Is Dynamite: Acid\, the Angry Brigade\, and the End of the Sixties’ – the latest in his Art Decades series of small format books – Dave Haslam explores the fading of Sixties dreams of peace and love\, and the emergence of urban terrorist groups\, particularly the Angry Brigade who carried out dozens of bomb attacks in Britain. Haslam tracks the political campaigns\, the police repression\, and Angry Brigade links to Manchester and the city’s underground paper ‘Mole Express’ (a bible for local acid-freaks\, and fans of the Weather Underground and the Edgar Broughton Band); he uncovers a heady mix of left-wing politics\, psychedelic music\, police raids and political violence. \nAt this launch event Dave Haslam will be discussing this new book\, and welcoming special guest Bruce Mitchell; a renowned musician who played regularly at venues including Roger Eagle’s club the Magic Village (1968-1970). Copies of the book will for sale; a book signing will conclude the event. \nThe event will also mark the launch the Manchester Digital Music Archive online exhibition of back issues of ‘Mole Express’. \nAlthough Covid regulations have been relaxed\, we have cut the capacity of the venue by 40% to allow more social distancing\, and we would ask attendees to wear a mask at least on arrival at the Library. \nTickets are £6 (£3 concessions for unwaged\, low-waged and NHS staff) \n \n 
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/dave-haslam-all-you-need-is-dynamite-book-launch/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event,Music,Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/thumbnail_Dave-Haslam-10.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20210714T120000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20210901T120000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20210622T114105Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210622T114105Z
UID:5216-1626264000-1630497600@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Henry Normal in conversation with...
DESCRIPTION:Join Henry Normal as he chats and shares poems with award-winning wordsmiths from Flapjack Press. With audience Q&A. \nA series of live stream events\, 12 – 1pm each Wednesday from 14th July to 1st September. Brought to you by Flapjack Press\, Manchester Libraries and New Poetry Society. What better way to spend your lunchtime? \nFree but booking essential. \nHenry Normal is a poet\, writer\, TV and film producer\, founder of the Manchester Poetry Festival (now the Manchester Literature Festival) and co-founder of the Nottingham Poetry Festival. Henry co-wrote and script edited The Mrs Merton Show and the spin-off series Mrs Merton and Malcolm. He also co-created and co-wrote the first series of The Royle Family and has collaborated extensively with Steve Coogan. Setting up Baby Cow Productions Ltd in 1999\, Henry Executive Produced all and script edited many of the shows during his tenure as MD. Highlights of the Baby Cow output during this time include Oscar-nominated Philomena\, Gavin and Stacey\, The Mighty Boosh\, Red Dwarf\, Nighty Night and Alan Partridge. In 2017 he was honoured with a special BAFTA for services to television. Since retiring\, Henry has written and performed seven BBC Radio 4 shows in his ‘occasional series’ A Normal…\, combining comedy\, poetry and stories about his life and family. \n“Shove up national treasures. We need to make room for Henry Normal.” Radio Times \nYOU CAN BOOK FREE TICKETS HERE. \n  \n \nGerry Potter is a poet\, playwright\, actor\, director\, and both creator and destroyer of the infamous gingham diva Chloe Poems. A favourite son of Manchester and his hometown Liverpool\, he trained at Everyman Youth Theatre and National Museums Liverpool lists him amongst the city’s leading LGBTQ+ icons. The portrait documentary My Name is Gerry Potter premiered at Homotopia in 2015 and his first volume of domestic/fantastic theatre-verse\, 2009’s Planet Young\, was championed on BBC2’s Between the Covers.\n“Will amuse\, move\, inspire and provoke.” Polari Literary Salon \n \nGeneviève L. Walsh founded Halifax’s spoken word night Spoken Weird in 2013\, was a core member of the acclaimed troupe A Firm of Poets until their 2017 swansong\, and has been a host/curator with Manchester’s Stirred Poetry collective since the same year. Walsh debuted and toured their one-person show\, A Place in the Shade\, in 2019. Their second poetry collection\, Vitriol Works\, was published in 2021.\n“A unique and passionately inclusive voice.” Steve Nash\, UK Performer of the Year \n \nThick Richard has presented BBC Radio 6 Music’s Beat of the Day\, performed on BBC Radio 4\, hosted NME parties\, and gigged with Kae Tempest\, John Hegley\, Arthur Smith\, The Fall\, Jerry Sadowitz and (sort of) Dr John Cooper Clarke. He co-curated spoken word franchise Bang Said the Gun’s Manchester events during its run at The Dancehouse Theatre\, and his one-man show\, Swear School (a crash course in everything you wanted to know about bad language – with puppets)\, toured nationally. His flamboyant use of profanity once saw the official Edinburgh Fringe radio station temporarily closed down and he has been kidnapped on two separate and unconnected occasions. His latest collection of acerbic wit and wisdom\, Read ‘em and Weep\, was published in 2020.\n“His words are rattling and brilliant and shoot life back at you in all its futility and chaos and wonder.” Kate Tempest\, poet \n \nAnna Percy co-founded Stirred\, the influential pro-feminist collective which organises poetry performances and writing workshops throughout the north-west of England. Her award-winning poetry is written for both the page and the stage\, is post-pastoral\, occasionally surreal\, and an exercise in hope for sexual equality and an advocacy of women’s rights. Her third collection with Flapjack Press\, Jumping into a Waterfall\, was published in 2020.\n“A fabulous feminist fighter.” Shirley May\, poet \n \nTony Curry is a performance poet\, playwright\, workshop facilitator\, soundsmith and enabler. He runs literature-in-the-community projects with a specific leaning towards mental health and wellbeing across the north-west. His solo shows and plays have been performed at Manchester’s Royal Exchange and Contact theatres\, and his work has been exhibited at the city’s art galleries and museum. Tony is also host of Word Central\, the monthly spoken word event at Manchester Central Library coordinated by Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries. His third poetry collection\, We Kid Ourselves\, was published in 2021.\n“This is our poetry. These are our poems.” Tony Walsh\, poet \n \nDominic Berry is a performance poet whose work for adults and children has taken him across five continents. He has been Glastonbury Festival’s poet-in-residence and his awards include winning Manchester Literature Festival’s Superheroes of Slam\, New York’s Nuyorican Poets’ Café Slam\, and he has twice been publicly voted Sabotage Review’s Best Spoken Word Performer. Dominic regularly performs at the Edinburgh Fringe and his TV appearances include BBC’s Greg & Celia’s Festivals Highlights\, Rhyme Rocket and Channel 4’s My Daughter the Teenage Nudist. His third collection for adults\, No Tigers\, was revised and reissued in 2020\, and his fifth poetry adventure for children\, Best Adventure Ever!\, was published in 2021.\n“Emotive\, intelligent and raw… quite delicious and totally engaging.” City Life \n \nRose Condo is a Canadian poet now based in Salford\, England. With a background in theatre\, she has been writing\, performing and teaching for over twenty years and was longlisted for the inaugural Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship. Rose has won numerous poetry slams and her poetry theatre show\, The Empathy Experiment\, received critical acclaim at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and went on to win the award for Best Spoken Word Show at the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival 2019. Her debut collection\, After the Storm\, was published in 2020\, and contains the scripts of her three award-winning poetry theatre shows: The Geography of Me\, How to Starve and Artist and The Empathy Experiment.\n“A steadying reminder of compassion in a world tipped off its axis.” Rosie Garland\, poet & author \n \nPaul Cookson has worked as a poet for over three decades\, performing in schools and libraries\, and at literature festivals and events across the world. As well as being Poet-in-Residence for The National Football Museum and Everton in the Community\, he is Writer-in-Residence for Sing Together\, which involves 125 Lancastrian schools with over 5000 children and 400 teachers. In 2020 he was commissioned by the BBC to write and perform a poem for the Women’s FA Cup Final. Paul has more than sixty titles to his name and over a million book sales – and with a quarter of a million copies sold alone\, the anthology The Works has become a teacher’s ‘poetry Bible’. The third volume of his poem-a-day lockdown diaries\, Pig’s Ear\, Dog’s Dinner\, was published in July. A fourth and final collection\, Nail on the Head\, is due in November.\n“Every day should have a Paul Cookson moment.” Simon Mayo\, broadcaster & author \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n“Publishes the most cutting-edge poetic performers” – Writing Manchester\nShortlisted Saboteur Awards’ Most Innovative Publisher & Northern Soul Awards’ Best Northern Publisher
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/henry-normal-in-conversation-with/
LOCATION:Online
CATEGORIES:Author Event,Online Event,Performance,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Henry-Normal-landscape.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20201006T183000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20201006T193000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20200916T130535Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200916T130641Z
UID:5011-1602009000-1602012600@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:An Evening with Sarah Butler
DESCRIPTION:Celebrate #LibrariesWeek with Manchester Libraries and acclaimed author Sarah Butler. \nSarah is a writer and literature activist who lives in Manchester. She has three novels published by Picador in the UK: Ten Things I’ve Learnt About Love\, Before The Fire and Jack and Bet which was published in early 2020. \nIn 2007\, Sarah established the literature consultancy UrbanWords\, through which she explores the relationship between writing and place through prose\, poetry and participatory projects. \nSarah joined Manchester Metropolitan University as Lecturer in Creative Writing in June 2018. \nSaran will be in conversation and reading from her latest novel\, followed by a Q&A and the opportunity for audience questions. \nJack and Bet \nJack is a man of few words\, married to a woman of many. He and Bet have been together for seventy years — almost a lifetime — and happily so\, for the most part. \nAll Jack and Bet want is to enjoy the time they have left together\, in the flat they have tried to make their home. Their son Tommy has other ideas: he wants them to live somewhere with round-the-clock care\, hot meals\, activities. Bet thinks they can manage just fine. \nWhen they strike up an unlikely friendship with Marinela\, a young Romanian woman\, Bet thinks she has found the perfect solution — one that could change Marinela’s life as well as theirs. But this means revisiting an old love affair\, and confronting a long-buried secret she has kept hidden from everyone\, even Jack\, for many years. \nTender\, moving\, and beautifully told\, Jack and Bet is an unforgettable novel about love and loss\, the joys and regrets of a long marriage\, and the struggle to find a place to call home. \nThe event will take place via Live Webinar. We’ll send all the details on how you can join the event in the confirmation email.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/an-evening-with-sarah-butler/
CATEGORIES:Author Event,Online Event,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Sarah-Butler-banner.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20200925T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20200925T200000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20200909T132027Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200909T132027Z
UID:5000-1601060400-1601064000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:An Evening with Lesley Pearse
DESCRIPTION:Manchester Libraries\, Libraries Connected and Penguin Books invite you to join us for a special Friday evening with the hugely popular author Lesley Pearse. \nLesley Pearse was told as a child that she had too much imagination for her own good. When she grew up she worked her way through a number of jobs\, including nanny\, bunny girl\, dressmaker and full-time mother\, before\, at the age of forty-nine\, settling upon a career that would allow her gifts to blossom: she became a published writer. Lesley lives in Devon and has three daughters and four grandchildren.  \nWIN A BOTTLE OF FIZZ! \nEveryone who registers will be entered into a prize draw to win a bottle of Prosecco (or non alcoholic alternative) to enjoy a glass of while taking part in the event with Lesley. Please remember to fill in your address when registering so we can post it out to you. The closing date is Sunday 20 September.  \nLiar by Lesley Pearse \nDiscover the enthralling new story of murder and lies by the bestselling author of ‘You’ll Never See Me Again’. \nIn a Shepherd’s Bush bedsit\, Amelia White dreams of being a reporter. The closest she’s come is selling advertising in the local paper. \nUntil the fateful day she stumbles on a truly shocking scoop. \nRound the corner from her home\, she discovers the body of a murder victim\, dumped among the rubbish. When the police and reporters descend\, Amelia is horrified at the assumptions made and lies soon to be spread about this poor young woman. \nDetermined to protect the victim from these smears and help her grieving family\, she convinces her paper’s editor to allow her to take up her pen and tell the true story. \nBut when another body is found and the police investigation stalls\, Amelia – uncovering new witnesses and suspects in her search for clues – discovers that she may be the only one with any chance of learning the truth and stopping more killings. \nIf only she can work out who the liar is . . . \nPraise for Lesley Pearse \n‘Storytelling at its very best’ Daily Mail  \n‘Evocative\, compelling\, told from the heart’ Sunday Express \n‘Glorious\, heartwarming’ Woman & Home \n‘Intriguing\, heart-tugging\, beautifully written’ Closer
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/an-evening-with-lesley-pearse/
LOCATION:Online
CATEGORIES:Author Event,Online Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/lesley-pearse-twitter-banner.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20191130T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20191130T203000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20190823T140550Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20190823T140756Z
UID:3869-1575140400-1575145800@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Val McDermid & Denise Mina
DESCRIPTION:Manchester Literature Festival presents… \nQueens of Tartan Noir\, Val McDermid and Denise Mina\, join us to discuss their brilliant new novels. In How the Dead Speak\, Val brings Dr Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan together again when the remains of a killer\, who’s supposedly alive and in prison\, are found on a construction site. In Conviction\, Denise weaves together the break-up of Anna McDonald’s marriage and a true crime podcast\, to force Anna to confront her hidden past. \nVal is the highly acclaimed writer of over 40 books including The Wire in the Blood and Denise won the Gordon Burn Prize for The Long Drop. Presented in partnership with the Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester. \nFor tickets call the MLF box office on 0843 208 0500 or use the link below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/val-mcdermid-denise-mina/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Val-McDermid-photo-Copyright-Fraser-Rice.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20191020T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20191020T203000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20190823T140337Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20190823T140337Z
UID:3862-1571598000-1571603400@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Jackie Kay Presents
DESCRIPTION:Manchester Literature Festival presents… \nExceptional times call for exceptional writers. Scottish Makar\, poet\, and novelist Jackie Kay introduces her selection of ten of the most exciting BAME (black\, Asian and minority ethnic people) writers working in the UK today. \nExperience incredible writing\, and find out why Jackie feels these are the writers who are influencing and shaping the UK’s poetry and literature scenes. Jackie will be joined in conversation with three of her chosen writers as she explores what makes their work so vital. Presented by the National Centre for Writing and British Council as part of the International Literature Showcase\, a nationwide project to showcase the diversity of writers working in the UK today. \nFor tickets call the MLF box office on 0843 208 0500 or use the link below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/jackie-kay-presents/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Kay-Jackie-c-Denise-Else.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20191020T163000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20191020T180000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20190823T140112Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20190823T140305Z
UID:3852-1571589000-1571594400@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:It’s Not About the Burqa
DESCRIPTION:Manchester Literature Festival presents… \nRaifa Rafiq\, Salma El-Wardany\, Yassmin Midhat Abdel-Magied & Afshan D’souza Lodhi \nIn 2016\, former Prime Minster\, David Cameron\, said he considered Muslim women to be traditionally submissive. Frustrated by constantly being told what Muslim women were like\, It’s Not About the Burqa anthology editor Mariam Khan wanted Muslim women to voice their own narratives and identities. Salma El-Wardany asks\, ‘where’s the conversation about sex and women’s pleasure in Muslim communities?’\, Yassmin Midhat Abdel-Magied recounts her epiphany on realising that being a woman in engineering could be a good thing and Afshan D’souza-Lodhi claims her identity as a queer Muslim woman. Join them as they discuss these issues\, showing It’s Not About the Burqa. Hosted by Raifa Rafiq\, co-host of the Mostly Lit podcast. \nFor tickets call the MLF box office on 0843 208 0500 or use the link below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/its-not-about-the-burqa/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Its-not-about-the-Burqa.-Yassmin-Midhat-Abdel-Magied-copyright-Elliott-Lauren.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20191017T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20191017T203000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20190823T135727Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20190823T135727Z
UID:3812-1571338800-1571344200@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Deborah Moggach
DESCRIPTION:Manchester Literature Festival presents…                               \nIn her witty and poignant new novel\, The Carer\, much loved novelist and screenwriter Deborah Moggach tells the tale of James\, his new carer Mandy\, and his middle-aged children\, Phoebe and Robert. Has the arrival of Mandy prompted a change in James\, or did Phoebe and Robert simply not know him that well in the first place? \nDeborah considers family\, aging\, and the stories we construct to protect ourselves and others. She is the author of 19 novels\, including Tulip Fever and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel\, as well as film and television adaptations\, including the BAFTA-nominated Pride & Prejudice. Hosted by Rachel Cooke. \nFor tickets call the MLF box office on 0843 208 0500 or use the link below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/deborah-moggach/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Deborah-Moggach-photo.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20191015T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20191015T203000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20190823T135615Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20190823T135615Z
UID:3808-1571166000-1571171400@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Howard Jacobson
DESCRIPTION:Manchester Literature Festival presents…                               \nIs it possible to find love in your nineties? In Howard Jacobson’s hilarious new novel Live a Little\, nonagenarians Beryl Dusinbery and Shimi Carmelli reflect on their lives. Beryl’s problem is that she’s forgetting things – particularly about her lovers – while Shimi remembers everything and clings to a moment of shame from his childhood. Can they find healing and redemption in each other? \nA much-loved Manchester writer\, Howard is the author of 16 novels including the Booker Prize-winning The Finkler Question\, and won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize for comic literature with Zoo Time. \nFor tickets call the MLF box office on 0843 208 0500 or use the link below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/howard-jacobson-2/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Howard-Jacobson-cropped.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20191014T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20191014T203000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20190823T135450Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20190823T135450Z
UID:3804-1571079600-1571085000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Jung Chang
DESCRIPTION:Manchester Literature Festival presents…                               \n‘One loved money\, one loved power and one loved her country’. \nInternational bestselling Chinese author\, Jung Chang discusses her gripping new biography Big Sister\, Little Sister\, Red Sister: Three Women at the Heart of Twentieth-Century China. The book tells the story of the three extraordinary Soong sisters from Shanghai who\, via their own and their husbands’ positions of power\, shaped the course of 20th century China\, leaving an indelible mark on history. \nJung is the acclaimed author of three previous non-fiction books including Wild Swans\, which has sold 20 million copies and is banned in mainland China. Hosted by Alex Clark. \nFor tickets call the MLF box office on 0843 208 0500 or use the link below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/jung-chang/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Jung-Chang-photo-copyright-Jon-Halliday.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20191013T160000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20191013T173000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20190823T135338Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20190823T135338Z
UID:3800-1570982400-1570987800@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Mona Eltahawy: The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls
DESCRIPTION:Manchester Literature Festival presents…                               \nLeading feminist activist Mona Eltahawy (Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution) is on a mission to arm women and dismantle the patriarchy.  Through her new manifesto\, The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls\, Mona plans to teach women and girls to harness their power through embracing the sins they’re not supposed to commit: to be angry\, ambitious\, profane\, violent\, attention-seeking\, lustful and powerful. Join her at Manchester Literature Festival to be part of the feminist revolution. \nMona is an Egyptian-American author\, broadcaster and social commentator.  She has been acknowledged as spearheading the #MosqueMeToo movement and has won a number of prizes including the Women’s Media Centre Speaking Truth to Power Award. Hosted by Mariam Khan\, Editor of It’s Not About the Burqa. \nFor tickets call the MLF box office on 0843 208 0500 or use the link below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/mona-eltahawy-the-seven-necessary-sins-for-women-and-girls/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Mona-Eltahawy-photo-2.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20191013T140000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20191013T153000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20190823T134734Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20190823T134734Z
UID:3796-1570975200-1570980600@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Deborah Levy
DESCRIPTION:Manchester Literature Festival presents…                               \n‘You are history.’ In her stunning new novel\, The Man Who Saw Everything\, Deborah Levy considers duality: duality of time\, of place\, of people. She explores how those dualities might affect our perspective – personally and politically – and how time might not be linear at all. \nAn acclaimed British playwright\, novelist and poet\, Deborah has twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize with her novels Swimming Home and Hot Milk.  Her superb recent ‘living autobiographies’ Things I Don’t Want to Know and The Cost of Living explore what it means to be a woman and a writer in the 21st century. Hosted by Kate Feld. \nFor tickets call the MLF box office on 0843 208 0500 or use the link below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/deborah-levy/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Deborah-Levy.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20191010T183000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20191010T200000
DTSTAMP:20260624T134338
CREATED:20190823T134617Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20190823T134617Z
UID:3785-1570732200-1570737600@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Elif Shafak
DESCRIPTION:Manchester Literature Festival presents…                               \nDoes anyone care about a sex worker\, murdered and abandoned in a bin in Istanbul? Tequila Leila’s friends do. In her superb new novel 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World\, Elif Shafak considers the meaning of family – the one we’re born into and the one we create – the restrictions society places on anyone deemed different\, and what it really means to live. \nElif is an award-winning British-Turkish novelist (Honour\, The Bastard of Istanbul) and the most read female author in Turkey. An advocate for women’s rights\, LGBTQ+ rights and freedom of speech\, Elif is an inspiring public speaker. Presented in partnership with the Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester. \nFor tickets call the MLF box office on 0843 208 0500 or use the link below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/elif-shafak/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Elif-Shafak-photo-copyright-Zeynel-Abidin.jpg
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR