Meet Film and TV legend Bruce Campbell
2018-03-17 18:30 - 21:00 UTC | Performance Space
SORRY, THIS EVENT HAS NOW SOLD OUT
A once in a lifetime opportunity has arisen for UK fans of Bruce Campbell – the owner of the mightiest chin in history is coming to Manchester Central Library!
Bruce will be reading from his Best Selling book ‘Hail to the Chin’, and providing a Q&A experience that’s out of this world. Following the Q&A there will be a signing and opportunity to meet the man himself.
Tickets are £5 for entry or £19.99 including a special edition of ‘Hail to the Chin’, made available just for this UK tour.
Please note: Bruce Campbell will sign all copies of the book and ONE extra piece of official memorabilia per person at the event. He regrets that he will be unable to pose for individual photos on the evening.
DOORS OPEN 5.30PM
EVENT STARTS 6.30PM

Jesmyn Ward in Conversation
2018-04-27 19:00 - 21:00 | Performance Space
‘Jesmyn Ward digs deep into the not-buried heart of the American nightmare. A must read.’ Margaret Atwood
Manchester Literature Festival are thrilled to present a rare UK event with acclaimed American author Jesmyn Ward. Based in Mississippi, Jesmyn is the author of the memoir Men We Reaped and the novels Salvage the Bones, Where the Line Bleeds and Sing, Unburied, Sing. She is also the editor of The Fire This Time: A New Generation Speaks About Race, which brings together 18 influential writers to ‘wrestle with the past, present and future of American race relations and the black experience.’
Championed by Marlon James, Jon McGregor and Ann Patchett, Jesmyn’s new novel Sing, Unburied,Sing recently won the prestigious 2017 National Book Award for Fiction. An urgent and atmospheric novel set in the deep South, it’s an epic tale of hope, struggle, race, poverty and loss. It’s also an intimate story of family and the legacies of love, violence and belonging that we pass on to our children. To quote Celeste Ng: ‘Read Sing, Unburied, Sing and you’ll feel the immense weight of history – and the immense strength it takes to persevere in the face of it… It’s hard to imagine a more necessary book for this political time.’
Join us to see why Jesmyn Ward is regarded as one of the most important writers in America today, regularly drawing comparisons to William Faulkner and Toni Morrison.
Hosted by arts journalist and author Anita Sethi and presented in partnership with the Centre for New Writing Doors open at 6.30pm, event starts at 7pm

An Evening With Matt Haig
2018-07-05 18:30 - 20:30
From the no. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive and How to Stop Time, a personal and vital look at how to feel happy, human and whole in the 21st century.
The world is messing with our minds.
– How can we stay sane on a planet that makes us mad?
– How do we stay human in a technological world?
– How do we feel happy when we are encouraged to be anxious?
After experiencing years of anxiety and panic attacks, these questions became urgent matters of life and death for Matt Haig. And he began to look for the link between what he felt and the world around him.
Rates of stress and anxiety are rising. A fast, nervous planet is creating fast and nervous lives. We are more connected and yet feel more alone. And we are encouraged to worry about everything from world politics to our body mass index.
Notes on a Nervous Planet is a personal look at how to feel happy, human and whole in the 21st century.
Matt Haig is the number one bestselling author of Reasons to Stay Alive and six highly acclaimed novels for adults, including How to Stop Time, The Humans and The Radleys. As a writer for children and young adults he has won the Blue Peter Book Award, the Smarties Book Prize and been shortlisted three times for the Carnegie Medal. His work has been translated into over forty languages.

An Evening with Deliciously Ella
2018-09-12 18:30 - 20:00 | Performance Space
Ella Mills Woodward’s inspirational, lively writing and delicious recipes have inspired countless people to move towards a plant-based diet. Her fans will find much to savour in her new book, which highlights some of the most popular dishes served in her own deli. We’re delighted to welcome her to discuss her writing and the personal events that have inspired it.
Tickets are £15 including a copy of the book or £5 for admittance only.

An Evening with Alexander McCall Smith
2018-10-06 19:00 - 21:00 | Performance Space
20 years ago, Precious Ramotswe established The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency in Gabarone, Botswana. The subsequent novels in Alexander McCall Smith’s series became a literary phenomenon, and have since been translated into 46 different languages. A prolific and much-loved writer, Alexander has written and contributed to over 100 books, and his series, 44 Scotland Street, is the longest running serial novel in the world. Alexander is also a lover of tea, travel and fried Marmite sandwiches. We’re delighted that he’s able to fit in a special visit to MLF to discuss his extraordinary career, his unique characters, and his latest Mma Ramotswe adventure, The Colours of All the Cattle. Hosted by critic Alex Clark.

Azita Ghahreman & Maura Dooley
2018-10-08 13:00 - 15:00 | Performance Space
One of Iran’s leading poets, Azita Ghahreman’s work is lyrical and intimate, addressing themes of loss, exile and female desire, as well as the changing face of her country. Her latest collection, Negative of a Group Photograph, brings together three decades of poems brought to life in English by the poet Maura Dooley, working in collaboration with translator Elhum Shakerifar. The poems run the gamut of Azita’s experience: from her childhood in the Khorasan region of south-eastern Iran, to her exile to Sweden; from Iran’s book-burning years and the war in Iraq, to her unexpected encounters with love. At this bilingual event, Azita will read alongside Maura, who will share her English translations of Azita’s poems. This event is presented in partnership with the Poetry Translation Centre.
Tickets are free but booking is advised
(Donations welcome on the door)

Pat Barker: The Silence of the Girls
2018-10-09 19:00 - 21:00 | Performance Space
The tale of Achilles and the Trojan War has been told many times, but what about the stories of the women? In The Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker imagines The Iliad from the perspective of Briseis, the former queen awarded to Achilles as a prize of war. Drawing together the feminist focus of her early novels (Union Street, Blow Your House Down), and the mastery of historical war writing in more recent work (The Regeneration Trilogy), Pat has produced a fierce reclamation of Briseis’s story. She will be in conversation with author and MLF Patron Kamila Shamsie, whose latest novel, Home Fire, is an acclaimed retelling of the Greek play Antigone.
This event will be BSL interpreted

Take Ten With The Writing Squad
2018-10-10 13:00 - 14:00 | Performance Space
You have ten minutes. Ten minutes to go anywhere you like, with anyone, in any time – the past, the future, in this world, out of this world – where would you go? Open a book and read yourself there, pick up a pen and write yourself away. Stay close to home, enter a different dimension, go anywhere in between. Come and hear journeys in reading and writing by members of The Writing Squad and the brilliant students they have been working with from Manchester Enterprise Academy, St Paul’s Catholic High School and Trinity C of E High School.
This event is supported by Read Manchester, the Granada Foundation and Manchester Guardian Society Charitable Trust.

Tickets are free but booking is advised
(Donations welcome on the door)

Mohammed Hanif in Conversation
2018-10-10 19:00 - 21:00 | Performance Space
Q: What do an American pilot who’s crashed in the desert, a teenager full of money-making schemes, and a dog suffering through a very bad day have in common? A: They all narrate the new, hilariously funny novel, Red Birds, by acclaimed author Mohammed Hanif (A Case of Exploding Mangoes). Through the inhabitants of the refugee camp that Major Ellie was supposed to bomb, Mohammed looks at the absurdity of war, specifically considering the tensions between America and the Muslim world. As fifteen-year-old Momo says about the Families Rehabilitation Programme, ‘First they bomb us from the skies, then they work hard to cure our stress’. A journalist, author and playwright, Mohammed was recently awarded the third-highest civilian award of Pakistan, the Sitara-e-Imtiaz. Presented in partnership with the Centre for New Writing.

Carol Ann Duffy, Suzanne Batty & Clare Shaw
2018-10-11 19:00 - 21:00 | Performance Space
Come and celebrate the launch of three of the most anticipated and emotionally charged poetry books of the year. Carol Ann Duffy’s final collection as Poet Laureate, Sincerity, is a frank, disarming and deeply moving exploration of loss and remembrance in their many forms. Carol Ann has received numerous awards for her candid and heartfelt poetry, including the Whitbread, Forward, T S Eliot and PEN Pinter Prizes. Suzanne Batty transforms mental anguish into things of anarchic and sensual beauty in her second full-length collection, States of Happiness, featuring a sequence of poems written in memory of her twin sister, who died of a rare degenerative disease. Clare Shaw’s third collection, Flood, offers an eye-witness account of living through the 2015 flooding of her home town Hebden Bridge, interwoven with more intimate poems chronicling the breakdown of a relationship – themes of loss, destruction and recovery are explored in a language as dangerous and sustaining as water.

Slay in Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible
2018-10-12 19:00 - 21:00 | Performance Space
You have to see it to be it, so the saying goes. But Yomi Adegoke and Elizabeth Uviebinené were struggling to find awe-inspiring, amazing and relatable black British female role models, because society rarely permits these women to be seen and heard. To remedy this, they wrote Slay in Your Lane: The Black Girl Bible, bringing together the voices and experiences of Black British women in a range of fields, including broadcasting, vlogging, athletics, music, acting, publishing, public relations, fashion, beauty and law. A Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4, Slay in Your Lane has received excellent reviews everywhere from The Observer to Stylist and has been called ‘The Must-Read Book empowering young black women’ by Vogue. Yomi and Elizabeth are here to empower and inspire you with some Black Girl Magic. Hosted by Gemma Cairney, award-winning Radio and Television presenter, broadcaster, activist and author of OPEN: A Toolkit For How Magic and Messed Up Life Can Be.

Graham Caveney & Howard Cunnell with Julie Hesmondhalgh
2018-10-14 14:00 - 15:30
What does it mean to be a man and how is that shaped by adolescence? In his memoir, The Boy with the Perpetual Nervousness, Graham Caveney details his upbringing as a working-class boy in Accrington. His world is changed by the discovery of literature, music and his acceptance to the local Catholic grammar school. At the latter, Graham is abused by the head teacher, and the repercussions affect the rest of his life. In Fathers and Sons, Howard Cunnell looks at the absence of his father and his relationship with his own children, particularly his transgender son. Both writers consider the ways in which men mask their emotions, and the damage this causes. Graham and Howard will be in conversation with actor Julie Hesmondhalgh.

Wally Funk’s Race for Space: Wally Funk & Sue Nelson
2018-10-14 16:00 - 17:30 | Performance Space
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 due to enter the final phase of training, the programme was cancelled and none of the Mercury 13 ever flew into space. Undeterred, Wally went on to become one of America’s first female aviation inspectors and civilian flight instructors, but still dreams of becoming an astronaut. The author of Wally Funk’s Race for Space, Sue Nelson is a broadcaster that presents and co-produces the award-winning Space Boffins podcast. Her documentary Women with the Right Stuff was one of the BBC World Service’s most-listened-to podcasts. Sue and Wally will be in conversation with Dr Teresa Anderson, Director at Jodrell Bank Discovery Centre.

Patrick Gale in Conversation
2018-10-14 19:00 - 21:00 | Performance Space
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 life. While they allow him the freedom to explore his sexuality outside of his stifling home, he’s oblivious to the effect they’re also having on his mother, and the terrible consequences that will follow. We’re thrilled to welcome Patrick to read from and discuss his latest novel with author and MLF Patron Erica Wagner.
This event will be BSL interpreted

Repeal the 8th with Tara Flynn, Sinéad Gleeson & Una Mullally
2018-10-18 19:00 - 21:00 | Performance Space
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 literature, poetry, journalism and art that the movement produced and inspired, for the timely Repeal the 8th anthology published this summer. Una and other contributors to the book, including prominent Irish broadcaster and author Sinéad Gleeson and actor, playwright, comedian and author Tara Flynn, will discuss the #Repealthe8th and #Together4Yes campaigns, the battle over women’s bodies, and the next steps for women’s rights alongside the rise of the #MeToo movement.

Terrance Hayes: American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin
2018-10-19 20:00 - 22:00 | Performance Space
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 the Trump administration, it is a 70-poem roller-coaster ride through politics, music, life and love; shot through with the vernacular energy of popular culture. Compassionate, witty, melancholy, and rhythmically compelling, American Sonnets shines a blistering spotlight on the dividing lines of race, gender and political oppression, which define the early 21st century. ‘Something happens everywhere in this country,’ Terrance writes. ‘Every day. Someone is praying, someone is prey.’ Join us for what promises to be an extraordinary evening of poetry and conversation. Hosted by Kayo Chingonyi, winner of the 2018 Dylan Thomas Prize.

Ghana and its Contemporary Global Relations with Professor Adams Bodomo
2018-10-25 17:30 - 19:30 | Performance Space
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 on the Ghana’s contemporary global relations. He will consider government-to-government relations with world bodies and regions, such as Europe and the West, China and Asia, and the Caribbean islands nations, as well as people-to-people relations across the many diasporic populations in major cities like London and Manchester.
Prof. Dr. Adams Bodomo, a native of Ghana, is professor of African studies at the University of Vienna, Austria. He is the author of over 10 books and over a 100 journal articles and book chapters. Two of his most recent book publications are Africans in China (Cambria Press, 2012) and The Globalization of Foreign Investment in Africa: The Role of Europe, China and India (Emerald Publishing, 2017). The research presented in this talk is part of the speaker’s next book project titled ‘Africa and its Global Relations’.

Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
2018-10-28 13:00 - 16:00 | Performance Space
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 book blogger, Lucy Richardson (AKA: The Book Belle).
Becky Albertalli is the author of the highly acclaimed novels Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda (film: Love Simon), The Upside of Unrequited, and Leah on the Offbeat. Becky is a Former clinical psychologist who specialized in working with children and teens.
Adam Silvera has worked in the publishing industry as a bookseller, marketing assistant and book reviewer. His novels include More Happy Than Not, History is All You Left Me and They Both Die At The End.
All authors will be signing books after the event.
Tickets: £14.00, includes entry and a copy of What If It’s Us plus an exclusive poster
or £6 general admission. Subject to booking fees.
Terms & conditions:
Anyone under the age of 14 years must be accompanied by an adult. Due to limited seating allocation at this venue accompanying adults would need to require a ticket to this event.
Each ticket entitles the ticket holder to one seat at this event and then one place in line to have books signed by Becky Albertalli and Adam Silvera
If you purchase a ticket including the book, you will receive the book at the venue
Along with the book purchased with the ticket one additional copy of both Becky and Adam’s books are permitted to be brought from home or purchased on the day to be signed. Each author will sign two books per ticket holder.
Due to the anticipated high turnout of the event, dedications within the books are only guaranteed for one copy of What if It’s Us per ticket holder.
There will be the opportunity to have a photo taken with Becky and Adam – this will be assisted due to time constraints and there will be strictly no selfies.
Staff will be on hand to take your camera/phone to get a photo of you with Becky and Adam whilst they sign your books. There will not be an official photographer present at the event.
Due to time limitations there will only be one photo with Becky and Adam per ticket holder.
If you have any questions please contact events@waterstones.com

Sjón
2018-11-06 19:00 - 21:00 | Performance Space
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 and hear Sjón and his co-editor Ted Hodgkinson discuss the commonalities used by writers creating both naturalist and magical tales. The author of four previous novels including Moonstone and The Whispering Muse, Sjón will also read and discuss his latest work translated into English. A three-part novel – a love story, a crime story, a science-fiction story – CoDex 1962 is arguably Sjón’s masterpiece.

Sefton Samuels: Musical Portraits
2018-11-08 17:30 - 19:30 | Archives+ Ground Floor
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

An Evening with Barbara Kingsolver
2018-11-14 19:00 - 21:00 | Performance Space
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. In 1871, Thatcher Greenwood attempts to teach Darwin’s theories to an unreceptive audience. In 2016, Willa Knox is braced against an upended world that seems to hold no mercy for her shattered life. Barbara again explores the themes of inheritance, ecology and social change, so brilliantly displayed in her previous novels The Poisonwood Bible and The Lacuna. She will be in conversation with author and MLF Patron Erica Wagner. Presented in partnership with the Centre for New Writing.
This event will be BSL interpreted

Exploring Our Roots
2018-11-20 17:30 - 19:30
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 your support for MACFest.

Behind The Scenes at Manchester Central Library
2018-11-22 18:00 - 19:30
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 – are answered on a tour of Manchester Central Library which will take you to all the areas not normally accessible to the general public and tell the story of this iconic building. Tours last around 90 minutes and include the chance to see some of our rarest treasures and archives.
Places are strictly limited so please book early

What did Anne Lister do in 1832?
2019-01-19 15:30 - 17:00 | Performance Space
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?

Making and Breaking Digital Music
2019-01-23 18:00 - 20:00 | Performance Space
Making and sharing music is easier than ever thanks to digital technology. But can you make money?
Join us and hear from a panel of musicians and music technology experts:
Afrodeutsche: the British born Ghanain/Russian/German composer, producer and DJ based in Manchester. Her productions cross a wide range of styles including classical solo piano, techno, house and electro. Through sound, Afrodeutsche journeys deep into the world of Film, Documentary Film and Theatre composition.
Simon Lyon from Ableton, the company behind of Live, Push & Link, unique software and hardware for music creation and performance.
Adrian Greensides from Spirit Studios, home to many bands from the North West, many of which became household names; 808 State, The Smiths, Simply Red and the Happy Mondays. After nurturing the next generation of music, as well as recognising an increase in demand for professionally trained sound engineers, Spirit Studios soon turned its hand to teaching and became the first audio engineering and music production school in the UK.
Hosted by Martyn Walsh from Manchester’s very own Inspiral Carpets and the Creative Industries Guru in Residence at the BIPC!
Free but booking required

Christine Burns MBE. Trans Britain: Our Journey From the Shadows
2019-02-18 18:00 - 19:00 | Performance Space
As part of our celebration of LGBT History Month, join us for a special In Conversation with Christine Burns, hosted by Carl Austin-Behan.
Trans people have been on a long journey for recognition and respect. Former campaigner Christine Burns has a lifetime’s experience of that journey and uses it to enable untold stories to be heard. These are stories with strong Manchester roots, just like the history of early gay rights.
There will also be an opportunity to view some items from the Central Library collections.
Photograph credit: Kieron Crisham of Pholux Photo.
Free – booking required

Made In Manchester: Power Up! Getting to the next level in the Gaming & Apps Industries
2019-02-20 18:00 - 19:30 | Performance Space
The Gaming and Apps industries are BIG business. Nearly 2.2 billion people play games worldwide, and the global market for video games was worth $138 billion dollars in 2018, set to rise to $180 billion in 2021. Nearly half of that will come from Mobile revenues.
Our panel of industry experts will discuss what it takes to be successful in these massive industries, and offer tips and advice.
The panel includes:
Stephen Hey
Stephen’s career spans 26 years of games PR, advertising, product marketing and latterly the role of Marketing Director at EA studio, Chillingo. He has worked on some stand out games and franchises from Worms, Lego Star Wars, Resident Evil, Cut The Rope and Micro Machines to WWE, FIFA, PES and other acronym based classics. He now runs games marketing consultancy HeyStephenHey.
Steve Hilton
Founder of Liberty Apps, an agency started to produce life changing smart phone applications. Presented technology talks around the nation at 20+ events regarding Culture, Chatbots & Mobile Apps.
Winner of the NHS Hackday, Homeless Hack, Hacking the Future of Energy, Public Health England HackX and the most prolific networker in Manchester Meetup Tech Scene 2018.
Plus more to be announced!
Hosted by Martyn Walsh from Manchester’s very own Inspiral Carpets and the Creative Industries Guru in Residence at the BIPC.

China in Drag: Travels with a Cross-Dresser
2019-03-13 18:00 - 19:00 | Performance Space
Michael Bristow, BBC World Service’s Asia and Pacific editor will talk about his eight-year stay in Beijing and why he decided to write about the country’s modern history. To assist him he asked for the help of his language teacher, who was born just two years after the communist party came to power in 1949. The changing fortunes of his life have mirrored the ups and downs of his country, which has moved from communist poverty to capitalist wealth in just a single generation. It came as a surprise though, to learn that the teacher was also a cross-dresser. Michael gradually realised that the teacher’s story is the story of modern China.
The talk is free to attend and everyone is welcome!

Lindsey Kelk, Paige Toon and Louise Pentland.
2019-05-31 19:00 - 20:00
Join us for a wonderful, unique event showcasing best-selling authors Lindsey Kelk, Paige Toon and Louise Pentland in a discussion of their dazzling new fiction.
Lindsey Kelk is an author, journalist and former UK children’s book editor and columnist for Marie Claire. Her previous books have sold over one million copies worldwide. Famed for her I Heart series, her new book, I heart Hawaii, is the long-awaited finale.
‘Kelk has a hilarious turn of phrase and a sparkling writing style.‘- Daily Express
Paige Toon is the author of seventeen novels, including the popular The One We Fell In Love With. Having studied Philosophy, Paige then worked at Heat magazine as Reviews Editor. Her latest book of fiction, If You Could Go Anywhere, is dubbed as the perfect summer read for 2019.
‘Such a beautiful love story- not just a heady, compelling romance but a really charming, moving story about how a life is made of so many different kinds of love.’- Daisy Buchanan
Louise Pentland is the bestselling author of Wilde Like Me and Wilde About the Girl, which follow single mum Robin Wilde as she navigates life. Wilde Women, the third book, comes out July 2019. Louise is also the number one and award-winning parenting vlogger in the UK.
Robin Wilde is a chatty, winning yet poignant heroine.’- Sophie Kinsella
Tickets for the event include a glass of wine or soft drink on the night.
Doors will open at 6.30PM for a 7PM start.

In conversation with Billy Bragg
2019-06-07 19:00 - 21:00 | Performance Space
Manchester Histories are delighted to welcome Billy Bragg to open the commemorations of Peterloo 2019.
Songwriter, musician and activist Billy Bragg will be in conversation with writer and broadcaster Dave Haslam, with an introduction from Young Identity, Manchester’s young spoken word collective.
At a time when opinion trumps facts and truth is treated as nothing more than another perspective, free speech has become a battleground. While authoritarians and algorithms threaten democracy, we argue over who has the right to speak. In this short and vital polemic, Billy Bragg argues that to protect ourselves from encroaching tyranny, we must look beyond this one dimensional notion of what it means to be free and, by reconnecting liberty to equality and accountability, restore the individual agency engendered by the three dimensions of freedom.
The event will be followed by an audience Q&A and Billy will be signing copies of his new book The Three Dimensions of Freedom. Copies of the book will also be available to purchase, with support from Blackwell’s University Bookshop.) Bar till 9pm.
