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DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260625T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260625T190000
DTSTAMP:20261023T232722
CREATED:20260303T153116Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260303T153511Z
UID:13072-1782410400-1782414000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Music Q&A: ‘It's Time the Tale Were Told - A People's History of the Smiths'
DESCRIPTION:‘It’s Time The Tale Were Told – A People’s History of The Smiths’ is the story of one of the UK’s most influential indie bands and Manchester’s greatest musical exports. \nFeaturing the words of over 500 fans of the band\, this joyous new book has been collated by author and journalist Iain Key\, plus publisher Richard Houghton (Spenwood Books) will be coming to Central Library to tell us about it. From memories of their earliest club shows through to the last ever gig at London’s Brixton Academy\, this is a portrait of The Smiths as painted by the fans. \nWith personal photographs\, memorabilia\, anecdotes and first-hand accounts of more than 100 gigs\, readers will get a front row view of the indie music legends. Based on the songwriting partnership of Morrissey and Marr\, The Smiths’ 1985 album Meat Is Murder topped the UK album charts and their other three studio albums reached No 2. The band broke up in 1987 and turned down all invitations to reunite. \nIain Key is a recognisable face on the Manchester Music Scene from many years in the late ’80s and ’90s.A journalist for the tastemaker music site Louder Than War\, Iain has written over 500 pieces including music\, book and gig reviews. Iain has also produced weekly music shows for the last 4 years for Louder Than War Radio\, focussing on both new music and interviews with new and established acts. Iain has also edited People’s Histories of The Clash and Billy Bragg for Spenwood Books. \nIain will be speaking to the publisher of Spenwood Books\, Richard Houghton\, Expect an intimate\, in-person talk\, Q&A and book signing with the author.\n\nTickets are ‘pay-what-you can’ – available via Eventbrite here or clicking the ‘Book Now’ button below\, simply ‘pay-what-you can’. \nAll donations go to Manchester Libraries.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/music-qa-its-time-the-tale-were-told-a-peoples-history-of-the-smiths/
LOCATION:Henry Watson Music Library
CATEGORIES:Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Richard-Iain.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260922T173000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260922T184500
DTSTAMP:20261023T232722
CREATED:20260916T104951Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260916T104951Z
UID:14693-1790098200-1790102700@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Our Town Hall Heritage Evening Lecture with Hankinson Heritage
DESCRIPTION:Manchester Town Hall closed in 2018 for major restoration to repair and upgrade the building to modern standards. The work includes conservation of many original heritage features. \n\n\n\n\nThe Heritage Lectures in Central Library shine a light on some of this fascinating work and the next one – on Tuesday 22 September – will focus on the decorative paintwork restorations that have been made inside the building\, with a presentation by Phyllis Smith of Hankinson Whittle. \nThe Hankinson’s Heritage team is made up of highly skilled decorators and artists\, who undertake projects of varying scales\, encompassing the restorative work that is so important to maintain structural integrity and historical features of older buildings. At Manchester Town Hall they’ve worked on ceilings throughout the main corridors of the ground and first floors as well as the State Rooms. \nFind out more and book your free tickets here.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/our-town-hall-heritage-evening-lecture-with-hankinson-heritage/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Heritage,Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Hankinsons-colour-20240716-DSC_4089-OTH-scaled.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260924T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260924T200000
DTSTAMP:20261023T232722
CREATED:20260813T082835Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260813T083426Z
UID:14316-1790272800-1790280000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Generations of Love: A Queer Up North Panel Event
DESCRIPTION:Join Manchester Histories and Queer Up North for a thought-provoking panel discussion exploring how queer culture can build community\, connect generations and sustain radical creative practice. Reflecting on the legacy of Queer Up North\, the conversation will consider what the festival built\, what it inherited\, and what we can learn from it today. The panel will also explore how we can maintain spaces for transgressive\, experimental work and radical queer practice in an increasingly commercial world. \nChaired by John E. McGrath\, the discussion features Gavin Barlow\, Dr Phoebe Patey-Ferguson and Claud Cunningham\, bringing together artists\, producers and cultural leaders to reflect on the past\, present and future of queer culture. \nBook your free tickets here or click ‘Book Now’ below.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/generations-of-love-a-queer-up-north-panel-event/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/54782600808_90b82ae80a_c.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260929T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260929T200000
DTSTAMP:20261023T232722
CREATED:20260813T083825Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260813T083825Z
UID:14324-1790704800-1790712000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Causing Trouble: A Queer Up North Panel Event
DESCRIPTION:Join Manchester Histories and Queer Up North for a panel discussion exploring what today’s queer cultural spaces can learn from Queer Up North\, cultural activism and the radical past. Looking back at the festival in the context of the AIDS crisis\, Section 28 and wider movements for LGBTQ+ rights\, the conversation asks what should be carried forward\, what should be challenged\, and what a Queer Up North for 2026 might look like. The panel will explore the role of archives\, activism and artistic experimentation in shaping queer culture today. \nChaired by Cheryl Martin\, the discussion features Alyson Campbell\, Topher Campbell and Robert Pacitti\, bringing together artists and cultural leaders to reflect on the future of queer cultural practice. \nBook your free tickets here or click ‘Book Now’ below.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/causing-trouble-a-queer-up-north-panel-event/
CATEGORIES:Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/54782373806_1f340e13ce_c.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20260930T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20260930T170000
DTSTAMP:20261023T232722
CREATED:20260910T104858Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260910T104858Z
UID:14646-1790755200-1790787600@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Talk: Schinkel in Manchester 1826-2026
DESCRIPTION:An evening with staff of the Manchester School of Architecture celebrating the 1826 visit to  Manchester of the Prussian architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel which will include discussion of the making of architectural models of buildings in Manchester and Berlin\, an exploration of the influence of his visit and an opportunity to play Schinkel Bingo. \nFree – please drop in \nPlease consider making a donation if you can here or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/talk-schinkel-in-manchester-1826-2026/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/IMG_7567-scaled.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20261007T130000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20261007T140000
DTSTAMP:20261023T232722
CREATED:20260129T082635Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20261007T102234Z
UID:12700-1791378000-1791381600@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Behind the Scenes Tour (Cultural Welcome Week)
DESCRIPTION:Calling all students! Get to know your Central Library inside out with this behind the scenes tour.  \nWhich musician was once thrown out of the Language and Literature Library? \nWhat would you find now in the space where Patrick Stewart and Helen Mirren – amongst many others – played their first roles? \nWhat do George V\, Gypsy Rose Lee and Bernard Bresslaw have in common? \nAll 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 60 minutes and include the chance to see the strong rooms beneath the building and some of our rarest treasures and archives. \nPlease meet in the main entrance (Shakespeare Hall) of Central Library from 12.45pm. The tour starts at 1pm. \nDid you know\, you can join our Library Lovers scheme and enjoy a free tour\, plus discounts in our shop and cafe\, and invites to other events and exhibition launches? Find out more and join online. \nThis tour is part of the Cultural Welcome Week\, aimed at students and new arrivals to Manchester.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/behind-the-scenes-tour-3/
LOCATION:Entrance Hall
CATEGORIES:Archives,Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Central-Library-Reading-Room.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20261010T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20261024T170000
DTSTAMP:20261023T232722
CREATED:20260921T144202Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260922T114155Z
UID:14779-1791619200-1792861200@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Manchester Literature Festival 2026
DESCRIPTION:Manchester Literature Festival brings another blockbuster programme of events to Library Live at Central Library this October. The Festival will be showcasing over 120 authors\, poets\, and thinkers from across the globe. In this National Year of Reading\, it’s especially timely to be spreading the joy of reading and celebrating storytelling – bringing families\, friends and strangers together to listen\, learn\, reflect\, laugh\, engage and discover new ways to navigate our turbulent times. \nWe’re delighted to be hosting 17 of the 50+ events at Central Library this year. Whether you’re passionate about women’s rights or climate change\, dystopian fiction or epic poetry\, want to change the world or simply entertain the kids\, there’s something for everyone to enjoy. Here’s some of the highlights: \nFICTION: \nEmily St. John Mandel (10 Oct): Canadian author of Station Eleven discusses her electrifying new novel Exit Party – a haunting mystery set across two parallel words. \nLouise Kennedy & Wendy Erskine (15 Oct): Two of Northern Ireland’s most acclaimed contemporary writers discuss their new novels Stations and The Benefactors with BBC 6 Music’s Deb Grant. \nBrutalist Ghost Stories (17 Oct): Northern novelists Jenn Ashworth\, Nicholas Royle\, David Gaffney and Beth Barker read from an anthology turning Britain’s post-war architecture into the uncanny. \nWilly Vlautin (19 Oct): American musician and novelist Willy Vlautin discusses The Left and the Lucky\, his moving new novel of unlikely friendship and working-class life in America. \nM. John Harrison (20 Oct): One of Britain’s most influential writers and Booker Prize 2026 nominee discusses The End of Everything – a darkly funny\, unsettling novel of a fractured near future. \nHernan Diaz (22 Oct): The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Trust introduces Ply\, a wildly original thriller of technology\, capitalism and shifting identity set centuries from now. \nCULTURE: \nFrank Cottrell-Boyce (13 Oct): Beloved children’s’ author discusses A British Childhood\, his warm\, urgent reflection on books\, imagination and the realities of childhood in Britain today. \nNatasha Walter (18 Oct): The campaigner and author explores Feminism for a World on Fire\, connecting women’s rights\, social justice and climate action. \nLady Hale & Lara Feigel (21 Oct): The UK’s first female Supreme Court President and writer Lara Feigel come together to explore law\, motherhood and power; a rare\, candid look at how justice is experienced by families. \nPOETRY: \nIan McMillan (12 Oct): Host of Radio 4’s The Verb launches Red River Valley\, a funny\, poignant new collection drawn from family life and South Yorkshire. \nCarolyn Forché & Kwame Dawes (16 Oct): US ‘poet of witness’ Carolyn Forché and Jamaica’s Poet Laureate Kwame Dawes share five decades of testimony\, survival and political engagement in verse. \nSimon Armitage (18 Oct): The Poet Laureate returns with an exhilarating new verse translation of Gilgamesh\, the oldest surviving epic in world literature\, brought thrillingly to life for a modern audience. \nFAMILIES: \nLittle Reads Family Day (24 Oct): Families are invited to take part in a joyful day of stories\, theatre\, music\, dancing and crafts. Help create some magical shoes with The Elves and the Shoemaker in an interactive show from Peoplescape Theatre\, packed with music\, puppetry\, clowning and storytelling. Strut your stuff with author and West End musical theatre star Robert Tregoning in a confidence-boosting event inspired by his latest picture book Dylan\, Daisy and the Disco Ball and explore storytelling through movement with dancer Magdalen Bartlett. \nYou can check out the full programme\, download a copy of the Festival brochure and book tickets on the Manchester Literature Festival website.  \nWe advise you to book early as many events sell out in advance!
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/manchester-literature-festival-2026/
CATEGORIES:Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/MLF-banner-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20261012T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20261012T170000
DTSTAMP:20261023T232722
CREATED:20260820T094349Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260820T094531Z
UID:14379-1791792000-1791824400@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Manchester Literature Festival presents Ian McMillan
DESCRIPTION:Beloved poet\, broadcaster and performer Ian McMillan launches his moving and inventive new collection Red River Valley. Drawing on family life\, everyday absurdities and the impact of austerity on the South Yorkshire village where he has lived all his life\, Ian creates poems that are funny\, poignant and full of humanity.   \nRenowned for his warmth\, wit and extraordinary live readings\, he brings language vividly to life on the page and on stage. Join one of Britain’s most treasured poets for a celebration of storytelling\, community and the power of words.   \n‘World-class – one of today’s greatest poetry performers’ Carol Ann Duffy  \nHosted by Becky Swain.   \nA Manchester Literature Festival event co-presented with Manchester Poetry Library at Manchester Metropolitan University. Supported by Library Live.  \nIan McMillan was born in Barnsley. He published his first Carcanet book of poems\, The Changing Problem\, in 1980. His collections include Selected Poems (a Poetry Book Society Recommendation)\, I Found this Shirt and To Fold the Evening Star. He has hosted The Verb\, BBC Radio 4’s arts programme since 2002\, and been Barnsley Football Club’s poet-in-residence and Yorkshire TV’s Investigative Poet. \nBook tickets here or click ‘Book Now’ below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/manchester-literature-festival-presents-ian-mcmillan/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Ian-McMillan-PHOTO-Jody-Moore-Bolder-Visual-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20261013T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20261013T170000
DTSTAMP:20261023T232722
CREATED:20260820T102807Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260924T071626Z
UID:14388-1791878400-1791910800@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Manchester Literature Festival presents Frank Cottrell-Boyce
DESCRIPTION:Beloved author\, screenwriter and Waterstones Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce brings his trademark wit and warmth to a moving conversation about books\, imagination and the stories that shape our lives.   \nInspired by his new non-fiction book\, A British Childhood\, as well as many of his own favourite reads\, Frank reflects on what it means to grow up in Britain today\, sharing stories gathered from children\, families\, schools and libraries across the country\, who have grown up in the shadow of Covid and austerity. Along the way\, he’ll celebrate the books that have inspired him\, champion the importance of reading and share why storytelling remains one of the most powerful and essential gifts we can give children.  \n“Frank Cottrell-Boyce is truly a great champion for children and childhood… No home\, no school\, and especially no library should be without this story and this book.”  Michael Morpurgo  \nA Manchester Literature Festival event supported by Library Live.  \nFrank Cottrell-Boyce is one of Britain’s most acclaimed writers for children\, whose bestselling novels include Millions\, Cosmic\, Framed and The Astounding Broccoli Boy. Waterstones Children’s Laureate from 2024 – 2026\, he is also an award-winning screenwriter whose work includes Doctor Who\, Kensuke’s Kingdom and\, with Danny Boyle\, the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympics. Expect wit\, warmth\, insight and plenty of memorable book recommendations. \nBook tickets here or click ‘Book Now’ below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/manchester-literature-festival-presents-frank-cottrell-boyce/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Frank-Cottrell-Boyce-photo-credit-Rich-Barr-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20261015T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20261015T170000
DTSTAMP:20261023T232722
CREATED:20260820T103747Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260820T103747Z
UID:14394-1792051200-1792083600@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Manchester Literature Festival presents Louise Kennedy & Wendy Erskine
DESCRIPTION:Two of Northern Ireland’s most acclaimed\, contemporary authors\, Louise Kennedy and Wendy Erskine\, join BBC 6 Music broadcaster Deb Grant for an unmissable conversation about storytelling and identity.   \nLouise Kennedy (Trespasses) introduces Stations\, one of the most anticipated novels of 2026\, a moving and immersive story of first love\, friendship\, freedom and reinvention that spans decades and explores the choices that echo throughout our lives.   \nWendy Erskine (Dance Move) discusses The Benefactors\, her Women’s Fiction Prize-longlisted novel: a bold\, darkly funny and razor-sharp examination of class\, power\, motherhood and social exclusion in contemporary Northern Ireland.  \nA Manchester Literature Festival event supported by Library Live.  \nLouise Kennedy is the bestselling author of Trespasses\, winner of multiple awards including Debut Fiction Book of the Year at the British Book Awards\, and the acclaimed short-story collection The End of the World Is a Cul de Sac.   \nWendy Erskine is the award-winning author of Sweet Home and Dance Move\, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature\, broadcaster and interviewer and works as a secondary school teacher in Belfast.  \nBook tickets here or click ‘Book Now’ below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/manchester-literature-festival-presents-louise-kennedy-wendy-erskine/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Louise-Kennedy-photo-credit-Alexis-Kirschbaum-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20261016T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20261016T170000
DTSTAMP:20261023T232722
CREATED:20260820T104451Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260820T104451Z
UID:14402-1792137600-1792170000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Manchester Literature Festival presents Carolyn Forché & Kwame Dawes
DESCRIPTION:Don’t miss this opportunity to hear two of the world’s most visionary poets read and discuss their sublime poetry\, exploring political engagement and the interplay between survival and testimony.  \nOver five decades\, American poet Carolyn Forché has established herself as both ‘a poet of witness’ and an indefatigable human rights activist. Beautifully crafted\, her poems are testimonies\, enquiries and wonderments. Her anthology\, Against Forgetting\, has been praised by Nelson Mandela as ‘itself a blow against tyranny\, against prejudice\, against injustice.’ Otherwise: New & Selected Poems 1976-2026 brings together poems from her five award-winning collections as well as urgent new work.  \nKwame Dawes is the author of numerous books of poetry\, essays and works of fiction\, most recently the collection Sturge Town featuring poems of acute self-reflection alongside those giving voice to invented characters. He is the Poet Laureate of Jamaica\, the Artistic Director of the Calabash International Literary Festival and Professor of Literary Arts at Brown University. His poetry has been described by Martin Espada as ‘the music of survival and transcendence.’  \nA Manchester Literature Festival event co-presented with Manchester Poetry Library\, Bloodaxe Books and Renaissance One. Supported by Library Live.  \nBook tickets here or click ‘Book Now’ below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/manchester-literature-festival-presents-carolyn-forche-kwame-dawes/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Kwame-Dawes-photo-©-Chris-Abani-scaled-1.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20261017T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20261017T170000
DTSTAMP:20261023T232722
CREATED:20260820T105038Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260820T105206Z
UID:14409-1792224000-1792256400@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Manchester Literature Festival presents Brutalist Ghost Stories
DESCRIPTION:An afternoon exploring the supernatural with writers Jenn Ashworth\, David Gaffney\, Beth Barker and Nicholas Royle – four contributors to Brutalist Ghost Stories\, a haunting new anthology inspired by Britain’s post-war architecture.   \nBlending literary fiction with the uncanny\, these original stories reimagine Brutalist buildings as places where history\, memory and the supernatural collide. From Preston Bus Station and the Barbican to Forton Service Station and a substation in Sheffield\, the collection offers a striking new way of seeing familiar spaces.   \nHear readings from the anthology and discover how four distinctive Northern voices have transformed these monumental settings into unforgettable ghost stories.  \nBrutalist Ghost Stories is edited by Richard V. Hirst and published by Manchester’s Cōnfingō Publishing.  \nA Manchester Literature Festival event supported by Library Live.  \nJenn Ashworth is an award-winning novelist whose books include A Kind of Intimacy\, Fell and Ghosted. Her memoir Notes Made While Falling was shortlisted for the Gordon Burn Prize. She lives in Lancashire.   \nDavid Gaffney is a novelist and short story writer whose books include Never Never\, Out of the Dark and Sawn-Off Tales. His work has been appeared on BBC Radio 4. He lives in Manchester.  \nBeth Barker is a writer from Blackpool. Her work has appeared in publications including Prototype 5 and A Wild and Precious Life. She is one of the emerging voices supported through the New North strand of Brutalist Ghost Stories.  \nNicholas Royle is an acclaimed novelist and short story writer whose books include First Novel\, Antwerp and Ornithology. He is the editor of Best British Short Stories and founder of Nightjar Press.  \nBook tickets here or click ‘Book Now’ below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/manchester-literature-festival-presents-brutalist-ghost-stories/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/1021014.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20261018T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20261018T170000
DTSTAMP:20261023T232722
CREATED:20260820T105849Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260820T105849Z
UID:14417-1792310400-1792342800@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Manchester Literature Festival presents Natasha Walter - Feminism for A World on Fire
DESCRIPTION:An inspiring conversation with acclaimed author and campaigner Natasha Walter about building a more connected and hopeful future.   \nDrawing on her powerful and urgent new book Feminism for a World on Fire\, Natasha explores how the challenges facing women today – from inequality and online misogyny to climate change – are deeply interconnected and why our responses can be too. She offers a vision of feminism rooted in solidarity\, community and care for both people and the planet\, imagining how women’s liberation can sit alongside movements for equality\, justice and environmental protection.   \n‘Natasha Walters is a unique voice and a big picture thinker. She’s right: this is a world on fire. This book will help you understand exactly how’ Carole Cadwalladr   \n‘At the heart of Natasha Walter’s book is a proposition that actually filled me with hope’ Mary Portas  \nJoin us for a thought-provoking and inclusive event full of hope\, as Natasha explores feminism\, social change and the power of collective action.  \nA Manchester Literature Festival event supported by Library Live.  \nNatasha Walter is an award-winning author\, journalist and campaigner. Her books include The New Feminism\, Living Dolls and Before the Light Fades. She is the founder of Women for Refugee Women and her work in her academic roles\, at the University of Cambridge and Queen Mary University of London\, focuses on women’s rights\, climate justice and equality.  \nBook tickets here or click ‘Book Now’ below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/manchester-literature-festival-presents-natasha-walter-feminism-for-a-world-on-fire/
CATEGORIES:Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Natasha-Walter-PHOTO-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20261018T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20261018T170000
DTSTAMP:20261023T232722
CREATED:20260820T110312Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260820T110312Z
UID:14421-1792310400-1792342800@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Manchester Literature Festival presents Simon Armitage: Gilgamesh
DESCRIPTION:The Poet Laureate Simon Armitage returns to present his exhilarating new verse translation of Gilgamesh\, one of the world’s oldest and most compelling\, surviving works of literature. \nOriginating in ancient Mesopotamia nearly 4\,000 years ago\, this epic tale follows King Gilgamesh through adventures\, battles and profound personal loss. The poem explores themes that remain strikingly relevant today: power\, friendship\, love\, loss and what it means to be human. \nA Festival favourite and outstanding live performer\, Simon brings fresh energy and momentum to this ancient story\, capturing its emotional depth and relevance. See him live in what promises to be\, an uplifting journey into the very origins of storytelling. \nA Manchester Literature Festival event supported by Library Live. \nSimon Armitage was born in West Yorkshire and is Professor of Poetry at the University of Leeds. An award-winning poet\, translator\, broadcaster and musician\, he has published over twenty poetry collections and is the author of acclaimed translations including Sir Gawain and the Green Knight\, Pearl and The Owl and the Nightingale. He is the current Poet Laureate (2019-2029). \nBook tickets here or click ‘Book Now’ below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/manchester-literature-festival-presents-simon-armitage-gilgamesh/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Armitage-Simon_credit-Paul-Stuart-Photography-Ltd-2.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20261019T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20261019T170000
DTSTAMP:20261023T232722
CREATED:20260820T111053Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260820T111358Z
UID:14426-1792396800-1792429200@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Manchester Literature Festival presents Willy Vlautin
DESCRIPTION:Join acclaimed musician\, songwriter and novelist Willy Vlautin for a special evening celebrating his powerful new novel\, The Left and the Lucky. Set in Portland\, Oregon\, the novel tells the story of Eddie\, a solitary house painter\, and Russell\, the vulnerable small neighbour who slowly changes his life. Heart wrenching yet uplifting\, The Left and the Lucky is a testament to kindness\, survival and human connection.   \nOne of America’s most distinctive chroniclers of working-class life\, Willy started writing stories and songs at the age of eleven after receiving his first guitar. He joins us to discuss unlikely friendships\, human connection and his commitment to telling working class stories through his work. Don’t miss an evening with one of contemporary fiction’s most charismatic and humane voices.   \n“One of America’s great writers” Roddy Doyle   \n“Willy Vlautin is one of the bravest novelists writing. Murderers\, cheats\, sadists\, showy examples of the banality of evil\, are easy\, but it takes real courage to write a novel about ordinary good people.” Ursula K. Le Guin  \nA Manchester Literature Festival event supported by Library Live.  \nWilly Vlautin is the acclaimed author of seven novels\, including The Horse\, winner of the 2025 Joyce Carol Oates Award. His novels The Motel Life and Lean on Pete became acclaimed films\, while The Night Always Comes was adapted by Netflix in 2025. Born in Reno\, Nevada\, he lives near Portland\, Oregon and teaches at Pacific University’s MFA in Writing programme. He is the founder of the bands Richmond Fontaine and The Delines.  \nBook tickets here or click ‘Book Now’ below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/manchester-literature-festival-presents-willy-vlautin/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Willy-Vlautin-photo-credit-Bobby-Abrahamson.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20261020T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20261020T170000
DTSTAMP:20261023T232722
CREATED:20260820T112004Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260820T112004Z
UID:14431-1792483200-1792515600@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Manchester Literature Festival presents M. John Harrison
DESCRIPTION:Spend an evening with one of Britain’s greatest contemporary writers as M. John Harrison discusses his remarkable new novel\, The End of Everything\, with acclaimed writer Helen Mort.   \nSet in a fractured near-future where Europe has been mislaid\, governments barely function and mysterious new life forms emerge from the sea\, this unsettling and darkly funny novel follows a scavenger and his aunt – each drawn into separate journeys that challenges everything they think they know.   \nExpect a provocative and wide-ranging discussion about imagination\, literature and how we navigate a world where crisis has become the backdrop to everyday life.   \n‘M John Harrison is the closest thing we have to a present-day Wyndham or Ballard.’ New Statesman   \n‘The End of Everything is at once surreal\, seductive\, shrewdly funny and wholly terrifying.‘ Julia Armfield  \nA Manchester Literature Festival event supported by Library Live.  \nJohn Harrisonis the author of more than twenty books\, including the celebratedViriconium sequence\, Light\, The Centauri Device and The Sunken Land Begins to Rise Again. Regarded as one of Britain’s most influential contemporary writers\, he has received numerous awards and written science fiction\, fantasy and speculative fiction.  His anti-memoir\, Wish I Was Here\, was described as a masterpiece and ‘a deep dive into the mind of a genius’ by Monique Roffey.   \nHelen Mort is a Sheffield based poet\, novelist\, non-fiction writer and creative writing lecturer.   \nBook tickets here or click ‘Book Now’ below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/manchester-literature-festival-presents-m-john-harrison/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/M-John-Harrison-credit-Hugo-Glendinning-1-scaled.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20261021T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20261021T170000
DTSTAMP:20261023T232722
CREATED:20260820T123941Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260820T124027Z
UID:14439-1792569600-1792602000@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Manchester Literature Festival presents Lady Hale & Lara Feigel
DESCRIPTION:Lady Hale\, the first female President of the UK Supreme Court and author of the Women’s Prize longlisted With the Law on Our Side\, joins acclaimed writer Lara Feigel\, author of Custody: The Secret History of Mothers\, for a compelling conversation on law\, family and power.   \nDrawing on real cases and lived testimony\, Lady Hale opens up the legal system with clarity and humanity\, revealing how people experience the law and question where justice lies.   \nLara Feigel explores child custody through the lives of real women who challenged convention and fought for greater freedom and justice\, revealing how motherhood\, power and the law have shaped both family life and feminist progress.  \nTogether they will have a lively conversation about how justice is experienced by children\, mothers and families across history and today.  \nA Manchester Literature Festival event co-presented with the Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester. Sponsored by Weightmans. Supported by Library Live.  \nLady Hale was the first woman to serve on the UK Supreme Court and its first female President. A pioneering legal figure\, she championed landmark reforms in family and disability law.  \nLara Feigel is the author of four highly acclaimed works of cultural history and a novel. She reviews regularly for the Guardian and contributes to a range of BBC radio programmes.  \nBook tickets here or click ‘Book Now’ below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/manchester-literature-festival-presents-lady-hale-lara-feigel/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Lara-Feigel-PHOTO-credit-Johnny-Ring-scaled.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20261022T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20261022T170000
DTSTAMP:20261023T232722
CREATED:20260820T124500Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260820T124527Z
UID:14446-1792656000-1792688400@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Manchester Literature Festival presents Hernan Diaz
DESCRIPTION:See Pulitzer Prize-winning author Hernan Diaz (Trust) discuss his brilliant new novel Ply. Set centuries from now\, Ply follows an orphan in a city on the brink of profound change\, drawn into an underground world of art\, music and risk – and a discovery that could reshape reality. A novel of ideas built from a story of people\, it blends Dickensian odyssey\, family drama and scientific thriller to explore selfhood\, connection and the distance between us and those we love.  \nRecently featured on Dua Lipa’s Service95 Book Club\, Hernan Diaz’s work continues to inspire readers worldwide. Don’t miss this unforgettable conversation with one of contemporary fiction’s most visionary voices.  \nA Manchester Literature Festival event supported by Library Live.  \nHernan Diaz was born in Argentina\, grew up in Sweden and now lives in New York. His acclaimed novels include Trust and In the Distance. Trust is currently being developed as a limited series for HBO\, and it has been named one of the New York Times’s Best 100 Books of the 21st Century. His work has been translated into thirty-seven languages.    \nBook tickets here or click ‘Book Now’ below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/manchester-literature-festival-presents-hernan-diaz/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/HERNAN-DIAZ-photo-copyright-Pascal-Perich-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20261023T130000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20261023T150000
DTSTAMP:20261023T232722
CREATED:20260820T124950Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260820T124950Z
UID:14453-1792760400-1792767600@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Manchester Literature Festival presents Writing Creative Non-Fiction with Dave Haslam
DESCRIPTION:Dave Haslam\, author of the memoir Sonic Youth Slept on My Floor and books including My Second Home: Sylvia Plath in Paris\, 1956\, leads us through strategies to express a true story or life events in a way that incorporates imagination\, subjectivity\, novelistic elements\, and unconventional structures. The workshop is aimed at aspiring and early career writers and will include a study of works by the likes of Tom Wolfe and Deborah Levy.   \nA Manchester Literature Festival event supported by Library Live.  \nDave is an author\, broadcaster and DJ based in Manchester. His books include Manchester England\, Life After Dark and the forthcoming Creative Journeys\, drawing on four decades of conversations with some of the most compelling voices in music\, literature\, film and art.  His Art Decades series includes A Life in Thirty-Five Boxes: How I Survived Selling My Record Collection; We the Youth: Keith Haring’s New York Nightlife and Strawberry and the Big Apple: Grace Jones in Stockport\, 1980.    \nBook tickets here or click ‘Book Now’ below
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/manchester-literature-festival-presents-writing-creative-non-fiction-with-dave-haslam/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/4793-Writing-Creative-Non-Fiction-with-Dave-Haslam-Landscape.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20261119T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20261119T190000
DTSTAMP:20261023T232722
CREATED:20260904T143905Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260904T143905Z
UID:14591-1795111200-1795114800@librarylive.co.uk
SUMMARY:Manchester Confucius Institute presents: The Chinese story of bamboo: Sustainability in Material and Culture
DESCRIPTION:Join us for our next public talk with Manchester Confucius Institute to learn about the Chinese story of bamboo with Fang Zong. \nBamboo\, as a model of sustainability\, is deeply rooted in Chinese traditions of material application and cultural representation. This talk explores the dual identity of Chinese bamboo both as a vital ecological resource and a profound cultural symbol. Fang Zong\, a multidisciplinary scholar\, tells the Chinese story of bamboo through historical bamboo wares to modern innovation\, scientific basics to artistic presentation\, and natural environment to human spirit. \nFree – book your ticket on Eventbrite here or click ‘Book Now’ below \nThe Manchester Confucius Institute Public Talk Series – Manchester Confucius Institute public talks are free\, informal and informative lectures aimed at anyone with an interest in Chinese culture and language.
URL:https://librarylive.co.uk/event/manchester-confucius-institute-presents-the-chinese-story-of-bamboo-sustainability-in-material-and-culture/
LOCATION:Performance Space
CATEGORIES:Talks
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://librarylive.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Chinese-story-of-bamboo.png
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