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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Library Live
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260223T173000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260223T193000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20260108T133704Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260225T112031Z
UID:12420-1771867800-1771875000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Cosy Reading Club
DESCRIPTION:Bring a book. Get cosy and read alongside other book fans. Take some time for yourself and escape into a story.  \nJoin our Cosy Reading Club at Manchester Central Library\, our new silent reading group\, offering a relaxed\, shared space to read in peace and quiet in the company of others. \nThis is no ordinary book club. There’s no pressured discussions\, there’s no set text. Simply bring along something you’d like to read. \nNot sure what to read? We’ve got you covered. Send us a message directly and we’ll connect you with our friendly library team who can help you find your next favourite book. \nThe evening is designed for anyone who enjoys reading\, wants a gentle break from busy schedules or simply wants to avoid the rush hour home. Everyone is welcome in our space. \nWhat to expect:1 hour – Quiet Reading \nQuiet\, individual reading in a shared space\nA calm\, welcoming environment with no pressure to speak \n30 minutes – Optional Group Sharing \nAt the end of the session\, there will be an opportunity to share about your reading experience with others\, this is only an invite and there is no expectation to stay or take part\nFree light refreshments are provided. Stay as long or as little as you like\, this is your space to slow down\, escape to a new literary world and find peace in the heart of the city. \nTickets are on a ‘pay what you can’ offer and can be booked here or from the link below. \nPlease note: this is a ticketed event and\, while we will make every effort to welcome everyone to the event\, there are a limited number of seats available. Please book your free ticket in advance to avoid disappointment. \n 
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/cosy-reading-club/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Book Fair,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Untitled-design-4-2.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250729T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250729T200000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20250702T115302Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250702T115302Z
UID:11281-1753812000-1753819200@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central 9th Birthday!!
DESCRIPTION:Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word. \nPresented by Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries. \n‘Now We Are Nine’ birthday celebration. \nTuesday 29th July\, 6.00pm – 7.45pm\, at Manchester Central Library\, St Peter’s Square\, Manchester M2 5PD. \nDoors open 5.40pm and free entry. \nHosted by Tony Curry with special guest Angela Smith. \nBook your open mic slot from noon on Tuesday 15th July via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk. \nN.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer – it is essential that you stay within this timeframe. \nPerformance slots are allocated on a ‘first come\, first served’ basis from the stated booking time. If they are already filled you will be offered a place on the reserve list. \nOur special guest Angela Smith is Welsh by birth but has lived in Hulme long enough to be a Mancunian by adoption\, with her poetry influenced by both the Valleys and the city. She began writing at the age of 7\, but stopped for decades when a burglar stole her notebooks and her Muse. Inspired to begin writing again by online friends and the welcoming Manchester poetry scene\, she has poems in numerous anthologies and the published collection This Is the Me I Would Be If I Dared. Angela loves to play with form and style\, as can be seen in her blog here. \nEvent host Tony Curry is a performance poet\, playwright and workshop facilitator. Raised in Crawley by English and South African parents\, he has lived and worked in Manchester for three decades\, running literature-in-the-community projects with a specific leaning towards mental health and wellbeing. His play\, The Teddy Bear\, was staged at Manchester’s Contact Theatre\, whilst his solo spoken word shows include Brit Boy\, Complicit Relations\, Moving and The Odyssey\, performed at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre. Tony has recently toured his solo show Tall Tales for All Men\, adapted from his collection Tall Tales for Tall Men Who Fall Well Short (Flapjack Press\, 2012)\, at the Brighton Fringe and Chorlton Arts festivals. \n@WordCentralMcr
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-9th-birthday/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Performance,Poetry,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/WORD-CENTRAL-LOGO-jpg.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250624T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250624T193000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20250612T102142Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250612T102142Z
UID:11139-1750788000-1750793400@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central
DESCRIPTION:Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word. \nPresented by Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries. \nHosted by Tony Curry with special guest Kim Moore. \nBook your open mic slot from noon on Tuesday 10th June via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk. \nN.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer – it is essential that you stay within this timeframe. \nPerformance slots are allocated on a ‘first come\, first served’ basis from the stated booking time. If they are already filled you will be offered a place on the reserve list. \nOur special guest Kim Moore is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University and hosts a monthly reading series for Wordsworth Grasmere\, as well as running regular writing workshops for young people and adults. She has won an Eric Gregory Award\, the Geoffrey Dearmer Prize\, and the Ledbury Poetry Competition. Her first full length collection\, The Art of Falling (Seren 2015)\, won the Geoffrey Faber Memorial Prize and her second collection\, All the Men I Never Married (Seren\, 2021)\, won the Forward Prize for Best Collection. Kim has also been a judge for the Forward Prize and the National Poetry Competition\, and her work has been translated into many languages as part of the Versopolis project. \nEvent host Tony Curry is a performance poet\, playwright and workshop facilitator. Raised in Crawley by English and South African parents\, he has lived and worked in Manchester for three decades\, running literature-in-the-community projects with a specific leaning towards mental health and wellbeing. His play\, The Teddy Bear\, was staged at Manchester’s Contact Theatre\, whilst his solo spoken word shows include Brit Boy\, Complicit Relations\, Moving and The Odyssey\, performed at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre. Tony has recently toured his solo show Tall Tales for All Men\, adapted from his collection Tall Tales for Tall Men Who Fall Well Short (Flapjack Press\, 2012)\, at the Brighton Fringe and Chorlton Arts Festival. \n@WordCentralMcr
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-14/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Performance,Poetry,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Kim-Moore-Profile-Photo-1-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250604T110000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250604T190000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20250506T114642Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250514T140031Z
UID:10908-1749034800-1749063600@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:The Embassy of Utopia 2025
DESCRIPTION:The Embassy of Utopia came to Manchester Central Library in June 2024 as part of Festival of Libraries for its UK premiere\, and was a collaboration between Manchester UNESCO City of Literature and Capital of Culture 2024 Tartu UNESCO City of Literature. Due to popular demand\, we are running this event again for Festival of Libraries 2025.\nArtist and writer David Hartley will host over 60 performances during this year’s Embassy of Utopia event\, where bold individuals and community groups have been invited to share reflections on the theme of eco-futures and ecology in the broadest sense. Performances from members of Fuse Manchester and Muslim Social Justice Initiative\, our very own multilingual city poet Nóra Blascsók\, community members from the Let’s Talk Rochdale group\, international artists from Quebec and Nanjing\, and work developed via a special collaboration with the Sonder Radio Community will be programmed throughout the day. Expect storytelling\, academic reflections\, poetry\, music\, and more. \nPlease note that no hate speech will be tolerated and that there will be photography on the day. \nFree – click ‘Book Now’ below or book here \nPlease consider making a donation to support our Library Live programme here or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/the-embassy-of-utopia-2025/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Performance,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/embassy-of-utopia.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250308T110000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250308T140000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20250225T115007Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250226T103943Z
UID:10522-1741431600-1741442400@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Women's Community Festival 2025
DESCRIPTION:International Women’s Day (IWD) is returning to Manchester as a celebration of women’s empowerment\, equality and contributions to the city at Manchester Central Library on Saturday 8 March. \nLed and inspired by an already significant history of pioneering women\, IWD 2025 is a chance for women across all generations and dedicated allies to come together in advancing women’s rights in Manchester and around the world. \nThe theme for this year’s celebration is ‘Accelerate Action’\, which calls on supporters of gender equality to act against systemic barriers women from all backgrounds face in their personal and professional environments. \nIn recent years\, Manchester City Council has marked IWD with a dedicated ‘Walk for Women’ event. This year\, however\, the Council has joined forces with a diverse range of women-led community organisations to co-design a different approach. \nFunding was made available for community organisations to host IWD events across the city through the annual IWD grants programme. A celebratory community-led programme of workshops\, performances and discussions has also been planned for the day itself at Manchester Central Library based around the acronym HER: Heal Encourage\, Revive. \nThe events for IWD 2025 are: \nHeal – Performance Space   \n·  Flourish Together; Mindfulness Activity for relaxation and meditation\, 11am-1pm \n·  Equal Education Chances; letter writing and positive affirmations session\, 11:20am-12:15pm \nEncouraged – Performance Space 2 and 3   \n·    Community Thriving Together; sharing personal stories and overcoming challenges\, 11am-11:50am \n·   Trailblazers;  Creating bookmarks and stitching \n·   Young Identity with Shirley May; poetry performance by Young Identity members\, 11:55am-12:15pm \n·   Flourish Together; a 30-minute fireside chat chaired by Nickala Torkington about women changemakers\, 12:20pm-12:50pm. \nRevived – Performance Space 2 and 3   \n·     Bollyfit; an exercise class inspired by multicultural dance\, 1pm-1:30pm \n·     Councillor Ermina Bell will give a closing speech about the event\, 1:35pm-1:45pm \n·      DJ set to inspire and uplift \nGlass Room/Sensory Space   \n·     Flourish Together; Bookable pop-up spa for treatments for 20 mins including Indian Head Massage in a clothed and seated setting\, 11am-2pm \nThe events on the day will be accompanied by partner stalls of specialist community organisations including Manchester Action on Street Health (MASH)\, Manchester Rape Crisis\, Fikawele African and Caribbean Mental Health\, Walksafe  and Ahmed Iqbal Ullah (AIU) RACE Centre who will be on hand to raise awareness and promote their services. \nCouncillor Erinma Bell\, Lead Member for Women\, said: “Manchester has long been a city that has championed and supported women in the fight for gender equality.    \n“It’s fantastic to see the range of creativity and innovation in the events this year for International Women’s Day with the aim of accelerating further action for women to thrive personally and professionally. “I would encourage women from all backgrounds and generations to get involved\, because there is something for everyone and to advocate for more allies join in on the celebrations and inform our priorities for advancing women’s equality this year.”   \nFor more information or to book your place visit Women’s Community Festival.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/international-womens-day-2025/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Music,Readings,Talks,Workshops,Writing
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/avif:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/iwd25.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250225T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250225T193000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20250204T150034Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250206T114343Z
UID:10218-1740506400-1740511800@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central with Mike Garry!
DESCRIPTION:Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word. \nHosted by Tony Curry with special guest Mike Garry. \nBook your open mic slot from noon on Tuesday 11th February via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk. \nN.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer – it is essential that you stay within this timeframe. \nPerformance slots are allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis from the stated booking time. If they are already filled you will be offered a place on the reserve list. \nFebruary’s special guest Mike Garry is a poet\, librarian\, and Doctor of Education. He’s been writing poems from the age of 5 and reading them from the age of 35. He’s toured the world with John Cooper Clarke for 15 years\, and worked with the likes of New Order\, Philip Glass\, Orbital and Joe Duddell. Mike’s performances are unforgettable. His voice is a musical instrument and his words are strings oscillating. He has worked with The Cassia String Quartet for 10 years and released their first album last year. \n“A Genius” – Peter Saville \nPresented by Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries. \nDoors open 5.40pm and free entry. \nFree – just drop in
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-with-mike-garry/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Performance,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/mike-garry.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20240827T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20240827T193000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20240730T101801Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240730T101812Z
UID:8855-1724781600-1724787000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central
DESCRIPTION:Book your open mic slot from noon on Tuesday 13th August via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk \nN.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer – it is essential that you stay within this timeframe. \nPerformance slots are allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis from the stated booking time. If they are already filled you will be offered a place on the reserve list. \nAugust’s special guest is Cathy Crabb\, a playwright\, poet\, screenwriter\, journalist and lyricist from Oldham who has written more than thirty plays for the stage. Her works have run at theatres including HOMEmcr\, Oldham Coliseum\, Studio Salford and Manchester’s Library Theatre\, where she was the last living playwright to have a production staged at its original venue. Her playwriting awards include the 24/7 Theatre Festival Manchester Evening News Theatre Award and the Buxton Festival Best Comedy Award\, whilst her poetry features on sculptures by Emma Hunter at the former site of Elk Mill in Chadderton\, the last mill to be built in Lancashire. Cathy’s Selected Plays was published in 2024 by Flapjack Press. \nEvent host Tony Curry is a poet\, playwright\, and workshop facilitator who runs literature-in-the-community projects with a specific leaning towards mental health and wellbeing. His work has been exhibited at Manchester’s museum and art galleries\, and his play\, The Teddy Bear\, was staged at Contact Theatre. Tony’s solo spoken word shows include Brit Boy\, Complicit Relations\, Moving and The Odyssey\, performed at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre. In 2024 he will be touring his new show\, Tall Tales for All Men\, adapted from his collection Tall Tales for Tall Men Who Fall Well Short.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-12/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Author Event,Performance,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Cathy-Crabb.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20240730T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20240730T190000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20240703T164536Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240703T164536Z
UID:8722-1722362400-1722366000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central
DESCRIPTION:Word Central hosted by Tony Curry. \nOpen Mic Poetry and Spoken Word Presented by Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries. \nBook your open mic slot from noon on Tuesday 16th July via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk \nN.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer – it is essential that you stay within this timeframe. \nPerformance slots are allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis from the stated booking time. If they are already filled you will be offered a place on the reserve list. \nOur special guest for July is Dave Morgan\, a writer\, community educator\, and arts organiser in the North-West of England. He co-founded the performance poetry organisation Write Out Loud\, and curates events for the Bolton-based arts collective Live from Worktown. Dave is co-author of China: an integrated study [George G.Harrap & Co Ltd\, 1975]\, and has two poetry collections with Flapjack Press – Chuang Tse’s Caterpillar [2016]\, several poems from which have recently been translated into Tamil for South Asian journal Thalam Quarterly\, and On Not Being Observed\, which was published earlier this year. \nEvent host Tony Curry is a poet\, playwright\, and workshop facilitator who runs literature-in-the-community projects with a specific leaning towards mental health and wellbeing. His work has been exhibited at Manchester’s museum and art galleries\, and his play\, The Teddy Bear\, was staged at Contact Theatre. Tony’s solo spoken word shows include Brit Boy\, Complicit Relations\, Moving and The Odyssey\, performed at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre. In 2024 he will be touring his new show\, Tall Tales for All Men\, adapted from his collection Tall Tales for Tall Men Who Fall Well Short. \n 
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-11/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Performance,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Dave_Morgan_photo_by_Julia_Uttley-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20240305T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20240305T193000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20240201T171358Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240201T171531Z
UID:8149-1709661600-1709667000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central with special guest Joe Williams
DESCRIPTION:Word Central open mic poetry and spoken word. \nPresented by Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries. \nHosted by Tony Curry. \nA free event every month at Manchester Central Library\, St Peter’s Square\, Manchester M2 5PD. \nNext event: Tuesday 5th March\, 6.00pm – 7.45pm (doors open 5.40pm). \nWith special guest Joe Williams. \nJoe Williams is the founder and host of Chemistry in Leeds and Words on the Wall in Hexham. His latest book\, The Taking Part [Maytree Press]\, is a short collection of poems on the theme of sport and games. His other work includes This is Virus\, a sequence of erasure poems made from Boris Johnson’s letter to the UK during the Covid-19 pandemic\, and the verse novella An Otley Run\, which was shortlisted in the 2019 Saboteur Awards. Despite all of that\, he is probably most widely read thanks to his contributions to Viz. \nBook your open mic slot from noon on Tues 20th February via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk. \nN.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer – it is essential that you stay within this timeframe. \nPerformance slots are allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis from the stated booking time. \nIf they are already filled you will be offered a place on the reserve list.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-with-special-guest-joe-williams/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Performance,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/joe-w-pub-window-colour-lores.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20240130T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20240130T193000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20240103T143231Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240103T143231Z
UID:8045-1706637600-1706643000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central
DESCRIPTION:Word Central open mic poetry and spoken word. Presented by Flapjack Press & Manchester Libraries and hosted by Tony Curry. \nWith special guest Lisa O’Hare. \nLisa O’Hare was a 2023 BBC Words First finalist and is co-host of Verbose. Her work has been featured on BBC Radio Manchester and in the UN Women UK’s virtual Safe Spaces Now gallery. She performed her Saboteur Award nominated spoken word show at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2023 after a successful run of shows at Greater Manchester\, Camden & Morecambe Fringe Festivals. She also runs the social media account ‘Community Poetry Officer’\, sharing poetry opportunities and events across the UK. \nBook your open mic slot from noon on Tues 16th January via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk. \nNB Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer – it is essential that you stay within this timeframe. \nPerformance slots are allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis from the stated booking time. \nIf they are already filled you will be offered a place on the reserve list.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-9/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Performance,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/WC-Jan-2024.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20231109T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20231109T193000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20231017T120823Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20231030T141523Z
UID:7899-1699552800-1699558200@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:How to Find Where You Belong by Rose Condo
DESCRIPTION:AUTHOR PERFORMANCE AND BOOK SIGNING WITH SPECIAL GUESTS LISA O’HARE AND SHARINA LEE SATTI. \nTwenty years since moving from Canada to the UK\, critically-acclaimed and multi-award-winning poet Rose Condo considers the features\, facets and philosophies for determining a sense of belonging. \nThis collection explores community\, identity\, personal growth and societal wellbeing through compassion\, sharp political observation and finely honed humour. It is a love letter to home\, wherever you might find it. \n“Beautifully written and deeply inspiring. Rose takes you on her journey; a journey with elements that you too have walked or felt. A book of community\, of love and friendship.” — Sharena Lee Satti \n“The deft balance of touching sentiment and formal confidence makes these poems stand tall and demand attention – but so does the verve\, the humour\, the unbridled humanity of this work.” — Kevin P. Gilday \n“Transitions from charm\, warmth and humour to quietly devastating poignancy. Filled with wonderfully honest observations on the human experience\, this book belongs on every bookshelf.” — Lisa O’Hare \nFree – drop in. Please make a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes or online
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/how-to-find-where-you-belong-by-rose-condo/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Book Launch,Performance,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Rose.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20230926T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20230926T194500
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20230913T113916Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230913T113916Z
UID:7765-1695751200-1695757500@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central
DESCRIPTION:Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word. Presented by Manchester Libraries and Flapjack Press Tuesday 26th September\, 6.00pm – 7.45pm. \nHosted by Tony Curry with special guest Janine Booth \nBook your open mic slot from noon on Tues 12th September via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk \nN.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer – it is essential that you stay within this timeframe \nPerformance slots are allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis from the stated booking time. If they are already filled you will be offered a place on the reserve list. \nEvent host Tony Curry is a performance poet\, playwright\, and workshop facilitator. Raised in Crawley by English and South African parents\, he has lived and worked in Manchester for three decades\, running literature-in-the-community projects with a specific leaning towards mental health and wellbeing. Tony’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 poetry collection\, We Kid Ourselves\, is available from Flapjack Press. \nSeptember’s special guest is Janine Booth\, a Marxist\, trade unionist\, Labour Party member\, socialist-feminist\, supporter of Workers’ Liberty\, autistic\, bi\, author\, poet\, disaffected middle-aged woman and Peterborough United fan. She writes and delivers trade union training\, particularly on equalities issues\, and speaks widely on socialist politics\, history\, disabled people’s rights\, autism\, and neurodiversity. Janine co-edited the anthology NeurodiVERSE for Flapjack Press and her collection of prose and poetry\, The Big J vs The Big C: Issues\, Experiences and Poems in the Battle Against Breast Cancer\, is also available now. \n 
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-8/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Performance,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/thumbnail_Janine_Booth_5-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20230808T130000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20230808T150000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20230802T091137Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230802T091650Z
UID:7491-1691499600-1691506800@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Out of the Darkness: Greenham Voices
DESCRIPTION:Manchester Histories is excited to be working in partnership with Scary Little Girls and Greenham Women Everywhere to bring three fantastic events to Manchester Histories Hub and the Performance Space in Manchester Central Library from Monday 7 – Tuesday 8 August. Join us as Common Ground explores the stories and significance of Greenham Common protest camps. \nJoin Rebecca Morden\, Artistic Director of the feminist production hub ‘Scary Little Girls’\, as she talks about her book and the process leading to it. As a child\, Rebecca visited Greenham Common Women’s Peace Camp with her mother and was part of making history with 30\,000 other women and children at the Embrace the Base action 40 years ago. In 2018 she started interviewing Greenham Women to celebrate their unique role in changing women’s roles nationally and internationally\, and she hasn’t stopped since\, turning the project into a standalone organisation: Greenham Women Everywhere! \nCommon Ground is a series of events made possible thanks to support from the National Heritage Lottery Fund as part of a project to map the impact of the Greenham Common Peace Camp on the women who inhabited it and the communities they returned to. \nFree – book a place via the Manchester Histories website
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/out-of-the-darkness-greenham-voices/
LOCATION:Lwr Ground Floor – Manchester Histories Hub
CATEGORIES:Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/book-Cover-edit.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20230124T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20230124T193000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20230111T095615Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20230111T095859Z
UID:6808-1674583200-1674588600@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central Open Mic Night
DESCRIPTION:Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word Hosted by Tony Curry \nPresented by Flapjack Press & Manchester Libraries \nWith special guest John Darwin \nJohn writes from the heart about the mystery of relationships\, the piquancy of location\, and the pleasure of escaping from day-to-day drudgery. He was the host of Write Out Loud’s poetry night in Sale for two years\, a member of the acclaimed national touring troupe A Firm of Poets for a couple more\, and co-host at Spoken Weird in Halifax. John now curates Crooked Poets in North Manchester and his solo poetry show Happy Hour won the Best Spoken Word Performance award at the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival 2021. His new collection\, Ultrasilence\, was published by Flapjack Press in October 2022. \nBook your open mic slot from noon on Tues 10th January via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk \nN.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer \nPerformance slots are allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis from the stated booking time \nIf they are already filled you will be offered a space on the reserve list \nThis event is free\, but please consider making a donation to support our Library Live programme if you can\, online\, or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-open-mic-night-13/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES: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:20221213T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20221213T194500
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20221201T131809Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20221201T131839Z
UID:6750-1670954400-1670960700@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central with Special Guest Rev Paul!
DESCRIPTION:Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word Hosted by Tony Curry. \nPresented by Flapjack Press & Manchester Libraries \nWith special guest Rev Porl \nOriginally from the swamps of Stockport\, Paul ‘Rev Porl’ Stevens has been performing as a poet since 1995. He has supported veteran punk bands the UK Subs\, GBH and the Subhumans\, and has appeared with Attila the Stockbroker and Nick Toczek. Since 2003\, he has been involved in the Speakeasy project\, bringing together the cream of Manchester Spoken Word artists with musicians from a variety of disciplines. \nBook your open mic slot from noon on Mon 5th December via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk \nNB Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer \nForthcoming Dates \nTues 24 January 2023\nThurs 23 February 2023\nTues 21 March 2023\nTues 25 April 2023\nTues 23 May 2023\nTues 27 June 2023\nTues 25 July 2023\nTues 29 August 2023\nTues 26 September 2023\nTues 24 October 2023 [tbc]\nTues 28 November 2023\nTues 12 December 2023
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-with-special-guest-rev-paul/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES: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:20221101T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20221101T193000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
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:20260430T065838
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:20220830T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20220830T194500
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20220803T145010Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220804T113626Z
UID:6312-1661882400-1661888700@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central
DESCRIPTION:Manchester Libraries and Flapjack Press present Word Central \nOpen Mic Poetry and Spoken Word hosted by Tony Curry \nWith special guest David Viney \nTues 30th August\, 6.00pm – 7.45pm (doors 5.30pm) \nA free event every month at Manchester Central Library\, St Peter’s Square\, Manchester M2 5PD \nOur special guest for August is David Viney\, a multiple poetry slam winner\, playwright\, workshop facilitator and youth worker from Stretford. He has been poet laureate for Kendal Calling festival\, written for and performed on BBC radio\, written and performed two shows at Salford’s Lowry Theatre as part of Working Verse Collective\, and in 2019 was commissioned to write and perform at the opening and closing ceremonies of the World Taekwondo Championships. His second solo collection\, In Orbit\, Back Soon\, is out now. \nBook your open mic slot from noon on Tues 16th August 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-4/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES: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:20220726T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20220726T194500
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20220629T094909Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220629T094909Z
UID:6210-1658858400-1658864700@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central - Now We Are Six! Birthday Special!
DESCRIPTION:Word Central Open Mic Night\nHosted by Tony Curry\nPresented by Manchester Libraries & Flapjack Press\n\nJoin us at Manchester Central Library on Tues 26th July for our Now We Are Six Birthday Special\n6.00pm – 7.45pm (doors open 5.30pm)\nFree entry\n\nBook your open mic slot from noon on Tues 12th July 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-now-we-are-six-birthday-special/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Monthly event,Performance,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/natasha-6N-PvrURkZE-unsplash-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20220531T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20220531T194500
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
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:20220322T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20220322T194500
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20220318T141559Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220318T141559Z
UID:5852-1647972000-1647978300@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:WORD CENTRAL Open Mic Night
DESCRIPTION:Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word hosted by Tony Curry. \nPresented by Flapjack Press & Manchester Libraries. \nNext event: Tues 22nd March\, 6.00pm (doors 5.30pm) with special guest Mantz Yorke. \nMantz Yorke trained as a scientist\, gaining a degree in industrial metallurgy before taking up a career in teaching. Later\, he switched to educational research. Now retired\, he has been able to spend more time writing poetry that reflects his interest in science and human behaviour as well as his enjoyment of\, and concern for\, the natural environment. His poems have been published widely\, both in the UK and internationally\, and his collections Voyager and Dark Matters are published by Dempsey & Windle. \nBook your open mic slot from noon on Tues 8th March via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk. \nN.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer. Performance slots are allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis from the stated booking day. If they are already filled you will be offered a space on the reserve list. \nYou can catch up with our lockdown live streams and special guests’ sets on Word Central’s Facebook page. Word Central Facebook Group | Twitter: @WordCentralMcr | Library Live flapjackpress.co.uk/pages/word-centra
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-open-mic-night-12/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Performance,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/WORD-CENTRAL-LOGO-jpg.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20220316T183000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20220317T200000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
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:20220125T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20220125T193000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20220106T162308Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220106T162308Z
UID:5703-1643133600-1643139000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Word Central Open Mic Night
DESCRIPTION:Manchester Libraries and Flapjack Press present Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word.\nHosted by Tony Curry with special guest Ben Willems.\n\nOur special guest for the first Word Central of the year is beat-inspired performance poet Ben Willems. Ben has featured in numerous publications\, including Citizen 32\, The Recusant\, Beatification and Some Roast Poet\, as well as appearing in Flapjack Press’s The People’s Republic of Mancunia. Since 2013\, he has been working on a collection of poems for all of Greater Manchester’s railway stations and expects this to be finished around 2040. \nYou can book your open mic slot from noon on Tuesday 11th January via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk.\nN.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer. Performance slots are allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis from the stated booking day. If they are already filled you will be offered a space on the reserve list.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/word-central-open-mic-night-11/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Performance,Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/WORD-CENTRAL-LOGO-jpg.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20211017T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20211017T170000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20210910T123323Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210924T080057Z
UID:5421-1634457600-1634490000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:CANCELLED: Malika Booker\, Vahni Capildeo & Jason Allen-Paisant
DESCRIPTION: Due to unforeseen circumstances this Manchester Literature Festival event is cancelled \nJoin us for an afternoon with three fabulous\, inventive poets who raise questions about our relationships with language\, landscape and identity. Vahni Capildeo’s Like a Tree\, Walking explores ecopoetics and silence\, with poems originating from nocturnes and lullabies in hilly Port of Spain to ‘stillness exercises’ recording micro-environments around English trees. Jason Allen-Paisant’s Thinking with Trees considers what it means to be Black in natural spaces usually considered the domain of white people. Linking Black history to present day events\, he walks through the pandemic considering how the future could be. The founder of Malika’s Poetry Kitchen\, Malika Booker is a pioneer of the poetry scene and writes out of a passion for Caribbean culture\, community and bearing witness. She will be reading new and recent poems. \nVahni Capildeo is a Trinidadian poet. Their collections include Venus as a Bear\, which was the Poetry Book Society Summer Choice 2018 and was shortlisted for the 2018 Forward Prize\, and Measures of Expatriation\, awarded the Forward Best Collection Prize 2016. Jason Allen-Paisant is from a village called Coffee Grove in Manchester\, Jamaica. At present\, he’s a lecturer in Caribbean Poetry & Decolonial Thought in the School of English at the University of Leeds. Malika Booker is a British poet and theatre-maker of Guyanese and Grenadian parentage. Her poetry collection Pepper Seed was shortlisted for the OCM Botas prize and her poem The Little Miracles won the 2020 Forward Prize for Best Single Poem. \nHosted by John McAuliffe and presented in partnership with Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester \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/malika-booker-vahni-capildeo-jason-allen-paisant/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Malika-Vahni-Jason-with-text-scaled.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20211014T200000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20211014T200000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20210910T105643Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210917T075858Z
UID:5393-1634241600-1634241600@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:An Evening with Colm Tóibín
DESCRIPTION:MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL \n\n‘I can make no sense of the present. It is all confusion. I know nothing about the future.’ In his extraordinary new novel\, The Magician\, Colm Tóibín conjures up the past and the life of writer Thomas Mann. Against the backdrop of two world wars\, Colm charts Mann’s rise to prominence and the story of his family life as he grapples with deep seated feelings about his homeland of Germany and his desire for young men. Colm is the award-winning Irish author of nine novels including Brooklyn\, Nora Webster and The Testament of Mary. He has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize three times and has won both the Costa Novel Award and the International Dublin Literary Award. Colm will be in conversation with poet John McAuliffe. \nPresented in partnership with Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester. \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. \n\n\n\nBook on 0343 208 0500
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/an-evening-with-colm-toibin/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Readings
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20211014T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20211014T190000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20210910T103742Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210917T080333Z
UID:5382-1634234400-1634238000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Spanish-Language Stories: Mateo García Elizondo\, Valerie Miles & Cristina Morales
DESCRIPTION:MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL \nGranta’s second selection of Best of Young Spanish Language Novelists showcases the work of 25 of the most exciting writers in the Spanish-speaking world. Valerie Miles\, editor\, writer\, translator\, co-founder of Granta’s literary journal in Spanish joins us to discuss the selection\, which encompasses thirteen countries and territories. Two of the chosen authors will appear with Valerie; Mateo García Elizondo (Mexico)\, whose story Capsule (translated by Robin Myers) tells of a prisoner launched into space to see out his sentence\, and Cristina Morales (Spain) whose admiration of fierce women and fury at their treatment by men drives her contribution Ode to Cristina Morales (translated by Kevin Gerry Dunn). Mateo García Elizondo was born in Mexico City. He wrote the film Desierto\, and his first novel\, Una cita con la Lady\, won the City of Barcelona Award. Cristina Morales is from Granada\, Spain and works with the contemporary dance company Iniciativa Sexual Femenina. She is the author of the novels Los combatientes\, Últimas tardes con Teresa de Jesús\, Terroristas modernos and Lectura fácil. \nHosted by Mariana Casale and presented in partnership with Instituto Cervantes. \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. \nTickets are free but advance booking is advised \nBook on 0343 208 0500
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/spanish-language-stories-mateo-garcia-elizondo-valerie-miles-cristina-morales/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Spanish-Language-Novelists-1-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20210714T120000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20210901T120000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
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
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20201006T183000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20201006T193000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
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
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20200121T183000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20200121T200000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20191107T101213Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20191107T101213Z
UID:4219-1579631400-1579636800@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Manchester Muslim Poets Bonanza
DESCRIPTION:An evening like no other – with Elmo Ali\, Hafsah Aneela Bashir\, Kamal Kaan\, Mahboobeh Rajabi\, celebrating poetry and showcasing the works of local poets of Pakistani\, Bengali\, Iranian and Somali backgrounds. \nIntroduced by Danny Middleton and moderated by Francesca Bradley.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/manchester-muslim-poets-bonanza-2/
CATEGORIES:Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/MacFest_2018.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20191112T183000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20191112T200000
DTSTAMP:20260430T065838
CREATED:20191024T102813Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20191024T102813Z
UID:4167-1573583400-1573588800@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Janine Booth Book Launch: The Big J vs The Big C
DESCRIPTION:The Big J vs The Big C: Issues\, Experiences and Poems in the Battle Against Breast Cancer \nWith special guest poet Laura Taylor. \nPoet\, author and activist Janine Booth was part of the ranting poetry movement of the ‘80s\,\nperforming as ‘The Big J’. In late 2016\, she discovered a strange indentation in her right breast and\nwas subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer. In this collection of candid journal extracts\, poetry\,\nmeticulous research and substantive politics\, Janine details her journey from detection and\ndiagnosis\, through surgery\, to ‘getting over it’. \n“This book is a must for all health care workers – doctors\, nurses\, students\, caterers\, cleaners\, porters\n– the team needed by patients facing The Big C.” – Dr Coral Jones\, GP & Chair Hackney South and Shoreditch Labour Party \n“I picked up this book expecting to be educated\, entertained and amused. I put it down having ticked\nall of those boxes. The NHS is quite literally the best thing there is in the entire world. We must never\nstop fighting for it.” – Kate Smurthwaite\, comedian & activist \n“Full of clarity\, worry\, humour\, explanations about how capitalism hampers medical practice and\nlove\, praise and commitment to the NHS. It demystifies and humanises the cancer experience and\ninspires and entertains the reader.” – Morning Star \nJanine Booth is a Marxist\, trade unionist\, Labour Party member\, socialist-feminist\, supporter of\nWorkers’ Liberty\, autistic\, bi\, author\, poet\, disaffected middle-aged woman. She works on London\nUnderground and is active in the RMT trade union\, having previously represented its London\nTransport members on the union’s National Executive. Janine is Chair of the union’s Disabled\nMembers’ Advisory Committee and a member of the TUC Disabled Workers’ Committee. She writes\nand delivers trade union training\, particularly on equalities issues\, and speaks widely on socialist\npolitics\, history\, disabled people’s rights\, autism and neurodiversity. \nPublished by Flapjack Press\nwww.flapjackpress.co.uk\nShortlisted Best Northern Publisher\, Northern Soul Awards\n“Publishes the most cutting-edge poetic performers.” – Writing Manchester
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/janine-booth-book-launch-the-big-j-vs-the-big-c/
LOCATION:Meeting Room 1
CATEGORIES:Readings
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Janine_Booth.jpg
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