Talks

In 1961, Wally Funk was one of the Mercury 13, the first group of American pilots to pass the ‘Woman in Space’ programme. Her scores in the rigorous mental and physical tests beat many of the male candidates, including John Glenn, the first American to go into orbit. But just one week before Wally was […]

A firm Festival favourite, Patrick Gale is the author of eighteen novels, including the Richard and Judy bestseller Notes from an Exhibition, Rough Music and the Costa-shortlisted A Place Called Winter. His new novel, Take Nothing With You, tells the story of Eustace as he looks back at the childhood cello lessons that transformed his […]

Irish women saw a historic victory for their reproductive rights with the repeal of the Eighth Amendment in May 2018. The campaign that preceded it was a grassroots movement led by Irish feminists, who opened up a national conversation by sharing their own stories around abortion. Journalist and editor Una Mullally collected some of the […]

MLF is delighted to welcome one of America’s most exciting and innovative poets, Terrance Hayes – winner of the 2010 National Book Award, and a recipient of a MacArthur ‘Genius Grant’. Terrance will be performing work from his new collection, American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin. Written during the first 200 days of […]

In this evening session Professor Adams Bodomo, Head of African Studies at the University of Vienna, discusses Ghana’s contemporary position in global politics and international relations.  Starting with a brief history of Ghana since its establishment as a new nation in 1957, Professor Bodomo will outline the country’s socio-political, socio-economic, and socio-cultural context before focusing […]

Join two New York Times bestselling authors at this exclusive event when they will be talking about their long awaited collaborative book, What If It’s Us - a stunning new novel about two boys who can’t decide if the universe is pushing them together or pulling them apart. The event will be chaired by Youtube […]

Is there a Nordic identity exemplified in the literature produced by writers from the eight lands? While co-editing the short story anthology, The Dark Blue Winter Overcoat & Other Stories from the North, Icelandic writer Sjón realised that the regions have deep common routes that are consistently – and collectively – nurtured and fed. Come […]

Sefton Samuels is one of Britain's most iconic photographers. Join him for a very special signing session of his classical and jazz books, and an opportunity to view some of his incredible work held as part of the Library's Documentary Photography Archive (DPA). Free - please drop in

THIS EVENT IS NOW FULLY BOOKED ‘We’re living through a scary historical moment when the most basic agreements about who we are as citizens, and how we’ll succeed in the world, are suddenly unravelling.’ Acclaimed American author of 15 books, Barbara Kingsolver’s new novel, Unsheltered, uses the lens of the past to view where this unravelling might lead us. […]

Celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Manchester’s diverse Muslim communities revealed in the archive collections of the Ahmed Iqbal Ullah Race Relations Resource Centre. Speakers: Jennie Vickers, Hannah Niblett, Laura Briggs Tickets for this event are free and can be booked below, but if you are able to, please make a voluntary donation to show […]

What do George V, Gypsy Rose Lee and Bernard Bresslaw have in common? Which musician was once thrown out of the Language and Literature Library? What you would find now in the space where Patrick Stewart and Helen Mirren - amongst many others - played their first roles? All these questions - and many more […]

Anne Lister of Shibden Hall, Halifax (1791-1840) was a landowner, scholar and diarist. Her 4-million word journals, partly written in her private code, recorded her lesbian affairs with other women. BBC1’s drama series, Gentleman Jack (spring 2019), opens in 1832. Jill Liddington asks: how could Anne Lister do all she did in 1832?