Talks

A timely illustrated lecture on the Peterloo massacre of 1819, with the emphasis on new findings and on connections with the local area. Robert Poole Professor of History at the University of Central Lancashire, author of the new book Peterloo: the English Uprising, co-author of the graphic novel Peterloo: Witnesses to a Massacre, and consultant […]

In partnership with the University of Manchester and the Guardian, join our panel chaired by Guardian northern editor Helen Pidd and including Professor Andy Westwood and Lisa Nandy MP, as they discuss the devolution of government and its impact on the future of our democracy. In 2018, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said, “Devolution is not just a series […]

This talk traces strategies of civil disobedience in Cold War Eastern Germany through the case of the German Jewish dissident Stefan Heym. Born into a German-Jewish family in Chemnitz (now notorious for its recent outbreaks of Far Right violence) in 1913, Heym was an early sympathiser of the Communist Party. He fled from Nazi Germany in […]

Ballads and Songs of Peterloo by Dr Alison Morgan is based on her unique collection of more than seventy poems and ballads which highlight the outrage, grief, defiance and resolution felt by labouring-class people in the immediate aftermath of the Peterloo Massacre in which eighteen people were killed and more than 600 injured as they […]

Manchester Histories are proud to present “Queer”, a platform showcasing some of the ways that LGBT+ communities and their allies have stood strong for protest, democracy and freedom of speech. We invite you to: hear the story of Manchester’s Clause 28 protest march, the history of one of the most important queer publications in Manchester, […]

Join the authors of the verbatim graphic novel 'PETERLOO: Witnesses to a Massacre' for an illustrated, behind the scenes look into the research, writing and art that went into this historically accurate and visually vivid account of the 1819 massacre of pro democracy reformers from around the Greater Manchester region. 'This amazing artwork makes a […]

Carolyn O’Brien’s novel, The Song of Peterloo tells the powerful story of Manchester mill-worker, Nancy Kay.  Desperate to provide for her ailing mother and sensitive son, Nancy is drawn into the agitation for reform. But as she risks everything to attend a great assembly on St Peter’s Field, Nancy is unaware the day will go down in […]

Historians Jacqueline Riding and John Belchem explore the events and characters behind Mike Leigh’s epic feature film ‘Peterloo’ and the process of transferring history from books and archives to the big screen. Jacqueline Riding was the production historian and head of research on Mike Leigh’s ‘Peterloo’ (2018) and author of the highly acclaimed tie-in narrative […]

Queer August - remarkable stories that made Manchester and G Pride possible The huge, inclusive success of the global Gay Pride was made possible by extra-ordinary people standing-up and being counted in the ongoing struggle for fairness and truth that is the human rights movement. Those extra-ordinary people are rarely acknowledged then and especially now […]

‘You can change the law but you can’t change people and how they treat each other.’ American author Colson Whitehead won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Underground Railroad. We’re thrilled to welcome him with Manchester Literature Festival to discuss his stunning new novel The Nickel Boys. In Jim Crow era Florida, teenager Elwood Curtis is […]

Dr Nina Adamova presents 'Treasures of Manchester Central Library: two Nuremberg Chronicles (1493) and their early modern readers’. The talk will explore the most famous early-printed world chronicle – the Nuremberg Chronicle by Hartmann Schedel (1493). The presentation will focus on how the Nuremberg Chronicle was read and perceived in Europe in the age of […]

THIS IS A LIVE SCREENING FROM THE BRITISH LIBRARY Writers consider walls in literature and in our lives With David Hare and Ben Okri. Chaired by Samira Ahmed. David Hare is a playwright and film-maker. He has written over thirty plays which include Plenty, Racing Demon and Skylight. His many screenplays include The Hours, The […]