Library Live

Manchester Muslim Poets Bonanza
2018-11-22 19:30 - 21:00 UTC
For an evening like no other – celebrating Muslim heritage, join hosts Dr Emily Spiers and Zahid Hussain for the MACFEST Muslim Writers Bonanza. Showcasing local writers of Pakistani, Turkish, Arab, Somali, Bengali and Iranian background.
Writers include:
Dr Husam Haj Omar
Numan Azmi
Asma Elbadawi
Waqas Ali

Gerry Potter: Manchester Isn’t the Greatest City in the World: The Rise and Rise of The Bourgeois Zeitgeist
2018-11-28 18:30 - 20:00
Gerry Potter presents: Manchester Isn’t the Greatest City in the World: The Rise and Rise of The Bourgeois Zeitgeist. With special guest Dave Viney
Part love letter to his adopted home city of Manchester, part critique of the arts and governing bodies (both specific and societal), Gerry’s eighth collection of autobiographical, domestic/fantastic theatre-verse is a socio-political, hard-hittin’ ‘n’ thought-provokin’ collection of poetry, prose and plays.
Adhering to working-class and socialist principles, this polemic discourse on the The Bourgeois Zeitgeist challenges perceptions, misrepresentations and acceptance, and acts as a rallying call for those seeking to confront privilege and injustice.
Features 90 poems, 2 plays, a 20,000 word treatise on ‘The Bourgeois Zeitgeist’ and an 8,000 word ‘Outroduction’.
Contains adult themes throughout / LGBTQ+.
“It really is incredibly easy to get an audience to applaud anything these days, TED Talks and The X Factor have seen to that, you kinda just have to tell them something Positivia-inspired dripping in Inspirationalism and they’ll unanimously roar. There seems to be a major-city patriotic jingoism manifesting too, not just here in Manchester, everywhere; it now appears all cities are the greatest cities in the world. While this may be more than enough for some folk, I’m afraid it’s nowhere near enough for me.” – from ‘The Bourgeois Zeitgeist’
Definitely no Inspirationalism and absolutely no Positivia!
Monday 8th September 2018, on the News… The Bureau of Investigative Journalism has recorded 449 deaths due to homelessness in Britain – in one year. How many mentally and physically ill, how many right now facing homelessness, how many dead since last recorded, how many more will die?
Reason, if reason was ever needed, why no place in our greed ‘n’ perilous land can call itself the greatest city in the world.
And also on the News… A clip of Theresa May at the previous week’s Tory Party Conference, standing in front of a big blue backdrop, emboldened with white lettering proclaiming OPPORTUNITY!
This book is dedicated to every one of the above and all who suffer under Conservative Austerity.
Gerry Potter is a poet, playwright, director, actor, and both creator and destroyer of the infamous gingham diva, Chloe Poems. His published works are included in both the poetry and philosophy collections at Harvard University, and the portrait documentary My Name is Gerry Potter premiered at Homotopia in 2015. An Everyman Youth Theatre alumnus, National Museums Liverpool lists him amongst the city’s leading LGBTQ+ icons.

John Darwin - I Meet Myself Returning
2019-02-26 18:30 - 20:00 | Performance Space
Author reading and book signing.
With special guest Geneviève L. Walsh.
“Whichever way I take
I meet myself returning.”
A poetic journey from the mills and moors of the industrial north to the meals and mosques of the Byzantine middle-east and back again.
I Meet Myself Returning is about finding your feet in our ever-convoluted world and letting them take you to a place to call your own.
And, occasionally, stopping off for a pint.
“This is a book about location. Feeling at home.
It’s about feeling homesick when you don’t know where home is.
My permanent home is in Manchester. I have lived there for 28 years, although it felt like home for many years before, through football and music.
I have felt at home as a very young lad in St Albans, Hertfordshire, where I was born… In West Wales on childhood family holidays… In Yorkshire where I grew up.
Brief moments of joy in the arms of a loving family, despite an unhappy education and suffering Leeds United winning trophies (well, two) whilst my club struggled and failed.
It’s about finding a foreign culture which made me welcome and feeling loved… In Turkey, the streets, bars and bridges of Istanbul are my second home.
It’s about the joy of lazy summers with loved ones on the coast.
It’s about the accumulation of wealth, acquisition, the constant striving for more things; the things which make us sad.”
– John Darwin

Steve O'Connor 'Extrano' Book Launch for World Poetry Day
2019-03-21 18:00 - 20:00
Celebrate World Poetry Day at Central Library!
Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries are proud to present the brilliant Bradford based poet Steve O’Connor (Freed Up / Write Out Loud / Co Editor of Best of Manchester Poets anthologies) who will be launching his new collection ‘Extrano’ on Thursday 21st March with a special author performance and book signing.
Join Steve and his special guests at the library from 6pm.
FREE EVENT. Doors open 5.30pm.

Vaster than Empires - Poems about Vegetables
2019-10-26 14:30 - 16:00 | Performance Space
Grey Hen Press invites you to the book launch of ‘Vaster then Empires’ their latest poetry anthology.
Love them, sometimes loathe them, vegetables are such a part of our daily lives it can be hard to take a fresh look. Within the covers of this book you will find a market stall of beauty and desirability which will change the way you look at your 5- a- day.
‘A feast of an anthology! Funny, educative, sexy and thought-provoking, a group celebration of the humble vegetable quickly turns to pure deliciousness. From aubergine to artichoke, salsify to turnip — there’s something here for every poetry palate.’ Helena Nelson
The event will feature poets Alison Chisholm, Kerry Darbishire, Rosemary Doman and Joy Howard who will be reading from the anthology and discussing their work.
Free event. Everyone welcome.

Word Central - Open Mic Night
2019-11-06 18:00 - 20:00 | Performance Space
Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word hosted by Tony Curry.
Wednesday 6th November at Manchester Central Library, St. Peter’s Square, Manchester M2 5PD.
6pm – 8pm [doors open 5.30pm] – Free Entry.
We have two special guest poets in November, Emma Purshouse and Steve Pottinger, members of
the Poets, Prattlers and Pandemonialists collective in Wolverhampton.
Emma’s debut collection Close was published last autumn and follows on from her volume of
children’s poems, I Once Knew A Poem Who Wore A Hat, which won the Rubery Prize in 2017.
In the past twelve months she has won both the Making Waves poetry competition and the Shambala
Festival poetry slam. She will also be included in the Common People anthology for emerging
working-class writers and is currently responsible for an ongoing, multi-artist project by Multistory in
Sandwell, West Midlands.
Steve is a born story-teller. His latest collection a fine fine place was published in autumn 2017, and
followed on from the acclaimed more bees, bigger bonnets. This year he was one of the winners of
the Bread & Roses poetry competition and has worked closely with the CWU on delivering spoken word and poetry for their members. Steve has entertained audiences throughout the UK and you can expect poems on subjects from the personal right through to the global, with a wild detour via
outrageous dreaming.
Open mic spots for November are available to book from Wednesday 16th October via
mail@flapjackpress.co.uk.
N.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes maximum and allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis.
If the open mic slots are already filled you will be offered a space on the reserve list.
In association with Manchester Libraries and Flapjack Press.
www.facebook.com/WordCentral
www.twitter.com/@WordCentralMcr
www.flapjackpress.co.uk

Janine Booth Book Launch: The Big J vs The Big C
2019-11-12 18:30 - 20:00 | Meeting Room 1
The Big J vs The Big C: Issues, Experiences and Poems in the Battle Against Breast Cancer
With special guest poet Laura Taylor.
Poet, author and activist Janine Booth was part of the ranting poetry movement of the ‘80s,
performing as ‘The Big J’. In late 2016, she discovered a strange indentation in her right breast and
was subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer. In this collection of candid journal extracts, poetry,
meticulous research and substantive politics, Janine details her journey from detection and
diagnosis, through surgery, to ‘getting over it’.
“This book is a must for all health care workers – doctors, nurses, students, caterers, cleaners, porters
– the team needed by patients facing The Big C.” – Dr Coral Jones, GP & Chair Hackney South and Shoreditch Labour Party
“I picked up this book expecting to be educated, entertained and amused. I put it down having ticked
all of those boxes. The NHS is quite literally the best thing there is in the entire world. We must never
stop fighting for it.” – Kate Smurthwaite, comedian & activist
“Full of clarity, worry, humour, explanations about how capitalism hampers medical practice and
love, praise and commitment to the NHS. It demystifies and humanises the cancer experience and
inspires and entertains the reader.” – Morning Star
Janine Booth is a Marxist, trade unionist, Labour Party member, socialist-feminist, supporter of
Workers’ Liberty, autistic, bi, author, poet, disaffected middle-aged woman. She works on London
Underground and is active in the RMT trade union, having previously represented its London
Transport members on the union’s National Executive. Janine is Chair of the union’s Disabled
Members’ Advisory Committee and a member of the TUC Disabled Workers’ Committee. 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.
Published by Flapjack Press
www.flapjackpress.co.uk
Shortlisted Best Northern Publisher, Northern Soul Awards
“Publishes the most cutting-edge poetic performers.” – Writing Manchester

Manchester Muslim Poets Bonanza
2020-01-21 18:30 - 20:00
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.
Introduced by Danny Middleton and moderated by Francesca Bradley.

An Evening with Sarah Butler
2020-10-06 18:30 - 19:30
Celebrate #LibrariesWeek with Manchester Libraries and acclaimed author Sarah Butler.
Sarah 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.
In 2007, Sarah established the literature consultancy UrbanWords, through which she explores the relationship between writing and place through prose, poetry and participatory projects.
Sarah joined Manchester Metropolitan University as Lecturer in Creative Writing in June 2018.
Saran will be in conversation and reading from her latest novel, followed by a Q&A and the opportunity for audience questions.
Jack and Bet
Jack 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.
All 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.
When 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.
Tender, 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.
The event will take place via Live Webinar. We’ll send all the details on how you can join the event in the confirmation email.

Henry Normal in conversation with...
2021-07-14 12:00 - 2021-09-01 12:00 | Online
Join Henry Normal as he chats and shares poems with award-winning wordsmiths from Flapjack Press. With audience Q&A.
A 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?
Free but booking essential.
Henry 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.
“Shove up national treasures. We need to make room for Henry Normal.” Radio Times
YOU CAN BOOK FREE TICKETS HERE.

Gerry 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.
“Will amuse, move, inspire and provoke.” Polari Literary Salon

Geneviève 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.
“A unique and passionately inclusive voice.” Steve Nash, UK Performer of the Year

Thick 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.
“His words are rattling and brilliant and shoot life back at you in all its futility and chaos and wonder.” Kate Tempest, poet

Anna 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.
“A fabulous feminist fighter.” Shirley May, poet

Tony 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.
“This is our poetry. These are our poems.” Tony Walsh, poet

Dominic 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.
“Emotive, intelligent and raw… quite delicious and totally engaging.” City Life

Rose 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.
“A steadying reminder of compassion in a world tipped off its axis.” Rosie Garland, poet & author

Paul 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.
“Every day should have a Paul Cookson moment.” Simon Mayo, broadcaster & author

“Publishes the most cutting-edge poetic performers” – Writing Manchester
Shortlisted Saboteur Awards’ Most Innovative Publisher & Northern Soul Awards’ Best Northern Publisher

Spanish-Language Stories: Mateo García Elizondo, Valerie Miles & Cristina Morales
2021-10-14 18:00 - 19:00 | Performance Space
MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL
Granta’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.
Hosted by Mariana Casale and presented in partnership with Instituto Cervantes.
Please 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.
Tickets are free but advance booking is advised
Book on 0343 208 0500

An Evening with Colm Tóibín
2021-10-14 20:00 | Performance Space
MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL

‘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.
Presented in partnership with Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester.
Please 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.

Book on 0343 208 0500

CANCELLED: Malika Booker, Vahni Capildeo & Jason Allen-Paisant
2021-10-17 08:00 - 17:00 | Performance Space
Due to unforeseen circumstances this Manchester Literature Festival event is cancelled
Join 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.
Vahni 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.
Hosted by John McAuliffe and presented in partnership with Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester
Please 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.

Word Central Open Mic Night
2022-01-25 18:00 - 19:30 | Performance Space
Manchester Libraries and Flapjack Press present Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word.
Hosted by Tony Curry with special guest Ben Willems.

Our 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.
You can book your open mic slot from noon on Tuesday 11th January via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk.
N.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.

Crime Festival
2022-03-16 18:30 - 2022-03-17 20:00 | Performance Space
A CELEBRATION OF THE BEST CRIME WRITERS IN MANCHESTER
Wednesday 16th March – Cath Staincliffe, Joseph Knox and Karen Woods.
Thursday 17th March – Mandasue Heller, Alex Caan, Chris Simms and S J Watson.
Friday 18th March – After Dark Entertainment presents: ‘An Invitation to Murder’ Murder Mystery Night

Hosted by the brilliant author Rob Parker.
Rob Parker lives near Warrington, UK. The author of the Ben Bracken thrillers and the standalone post-Brexit country-noir Crook’s Hollow.
​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.
​Here’s some more information about the authors appearing.

Cath Staincliffe
Cath was brought up in Bradford then moved to work as a community artist in Manchester where she now lives with her family.
Looking 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.
Cath 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.
She 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.

Joseph Knox
Joseph 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.
Sirens, his debut novel, was a Sunday Times bestseller, and his work has now been translated into 18 languages.
His 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.

Karen Woods
Karen 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.
Karen left school without any formal qualifications and obtained her inspiration from attending an adult literacy course which was offered by her former employers.
Karen 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.
Karen 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.” .

Mandasue Heller
After 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.
Her 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.
Mother 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.

Alex Caan
Alex 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.
Cut 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.
First To Die, the shocking sequel to Cut to the Bone, was released June 14th 2018.
His latest novel The Unbroken is out now.

Chris Simms
Chris 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’.
The 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.
His 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.
In 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.
Dark Angel, the 9th DI Spicer novel was published in January 2021.

S J Watson
S 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.
The 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.

WORD CENTRAL Open Mic Night
2022-03-22 18:00 - 19:45 | Performance Space
Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word hosted by Tony Curry.
Presented by Flapjack Press & Manchester Libraries.
Next event: Tues 22nd March, 6.00pm (doors 5.30pm) with special guest Mantz Yorke.
Mantz 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.
Book your open mic slot from noon on Tues 8th March via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk.
N.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.
You 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

Word Central
2022-05-31 18:00 - 19:45 | Performance Space
WORD CENTRAL RETURNS TUESDAY 31 MAY 2022
James 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.
James 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.
His new poetry collection, Songs of Submission, was published by Flapjack Press earlier this year.
Book your open mic slot from noon on Tuesday 17th May via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk
NB 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

Word Central - Now We Are Six! Birthday Special!
2022-07-26 18:00 - 19:45 | Performance Space
Word Central Open Mic Night
Hosted by Tony Curry
Presented by Manchester Libraries & Flapjack Press

Join us at Manchester Central Library on Tues 26th July for our Now We Are Six Birthday Special
6.00pm – 7.45pm (doors open 5.30pm)
Free entry

Book your open mic slot from noon on Tues 12th July via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk
NB 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

Word Central
2022-08-30 18:00 - 19:45 | Performance Space
Manchester Libraries and Flapjack Press present Word Central
Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word hosted by Tony Curry
With special guest David Viney
Tues 30th August, 6.00pm – 7.45pm (doors 5.30pm)
A free event every month at Manchester Central Library, St Peter’s Square, Manchester M2 5PD
Our 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.
Book your open mic slot from noon on Tues 16th August via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk
NB 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

Word Central
2022-10-25 18:00 - 19:30 | Performance Space
Word Central
Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word presented by Manchester Libraries and Flapjack Press
Tues 25th October, 6.00pm – 7.30pm (doors open 5.30pm) Free entry
Hosted by Tony Curry with guest poet Stevie Turner
Book your open mic slot from noon on Tues 11th October via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk
NB 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
Event 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.
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 collection, We Kid Ourselves, was published by Flapjack Press in 2021.
September’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.

Dominic Berry & John Darwin Book Launch
2022-11-01 18:00 - 19:30 | Performance Space
Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries invite you to the book launch of new poetry collections of two of Manchester’s finest.
John Darwin: Ultrasilence
From 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.
A 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.
“Gets to grips with the parts of life we’d rather forget.” – Dave Morgan, Write Out Loud Co-founder
“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
Dominic Berry: YES LIFE
“How can I be now?”
This 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.
“Love is who we are.”
“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
“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
AUTHOR PERFORMANCES, AUDIENCE Q&A, BOOK SIGNING – FREE ENTRY.
Content warning: Adult themes and language.

Word Central with Special Guest Rev Paul!
2022-12-13 18:00 - 19:45 | Performance Space
Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word Hosted by Tony Curry.
Presented by Flapjack Press & Manchester Libraries
With special guest Rev Porl
Originally 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.
Book your open mic slot from noon on Mon 5th December via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk
NB Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer
Forthcoming Dates
Tues 24 January 2023
Thurs 23 February 2023
Tues 21 March 2023
Tues 25 April 2023
Tues 23 May 2023
Tues 27 June 2023
Tues 25 July 2023
Tues 29 August 2023
Tues 26 September 2023
Tues 24 October 2023 [tbc]
Tues 28 November 2023
Tues 12 December 2023

Word Central Open Mic Night
2023-01-24 18:00 - 19:30 | Performance Space
Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word Hosted by Tony Curry
Presented by Flapjack Press & Manchester Libraries
With special guest John Darwin
John 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.
Book your open mic slot from noon on Tues 10th January via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk
N.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer
Performance 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 space on the reserve list
This 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

Out of the Darkness: Greenham Voices
2023-08-08 13:00 - 15:00 | Lwr Ground Floor – Manchester Histories Hub
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.
Join 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!
Common 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.
Free – book a place via the Manchester Histories website

Word Central
2023-09-26 18:00 - 19:45 | Performance Space
Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word. Presented by Manchester Libraries and Flapjack Press Tuesday 26th September, 6.00pm – 7.45pm.
Hosted by Tony Curry with special guest Janine Booth
Book your open mic slot from noon on Tues 12th September via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk
N.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer – it is essential that you stay within this timeframe
Performance 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.
Event 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.
September’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.

How to Find Where You Belong by Rose Condo
2023-11-09 18:00 - 19:30 | Performance Space
AUTHOR PERFORMANCE AND BOOK SIGNING WITH SPECIAL GUESTS LISA O’HARE AND SHARINA LEE SATTI.
Twenty 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.
This 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.
“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
“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
“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
Free – drop in. Please make a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes or online

Word Central
2024-01-30 18:00 - 19:30 | Performance Space
Word Central open mic poetry and spoken word. Presented by Flapjack Press & Manchester Libraries and hosted by Tony Curry.
With special guest Lisa O’Hare.
Lisa 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.
Book your open mic slot from noon on Tues 16th January via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk.
NB Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer – it is essential that you stay within this timeframe.
Performance 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.

Word Central with special guest Joe Williams
2024-03-05 18:00 - 19:30 | Performance Space
Word Central open mic poetry and spoken word.
Presented by Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries.
Hosted by Tony Curry.
A free event every month at Manchester Central Library, St Peter’s Square, Manchester M2 5PD.
Next event: Tuesday 5th March, 6.00pm – 7.45pm (doors open 5.40pm).
With special guest Joe Williams.
Joe 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.
Book your open mic slot from noon on Tues 20th February via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk.
N.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer – it is essential that you stay within this timeframe.
Performance 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.

Word Central
2024-07-30 18:00 - 19:00 | Performance Space
Word Central hosted by Tony Curry.
Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word Presented by Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries.
Book your open mic slot from noon on Tuesday 16th July via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk
N.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer – it is essential that you stay within this timeframe.
Performance 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.
Our 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.
Event 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.

Word Central
2024-08-27 18:00 - 19:30 | Performance Space
Book your open mic slot from noon on Tuesday 13th August via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk
N.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer – it is essential that you stay within this timeframe.
Performance 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.
August’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.
Event 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.
