Library Live

Meet Dani Dyer
2019-04-06 15:00 - 17:00 UTC
Come and meet Dani Dyer signing What Would Dani Do? at Manchester Central Library on Saturday 6th April from 3pm.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Dani Dyer stole the nation’s heart with her genuine warmth and honest personality when she won Love Island this summer. She proves that you don’t need to succumb to peer pressure, be swayed by all too perfect Insta-images or behave in a way that’s not true to who you are. Her first book shows she is wise beyond her years as she shares her experiences around growing up, bullying, relationships, insecurities and being Danny Dyer’s daughter.
Answering questions from ‘why did Danny give you the same name?’ and ‘how do I blow-dry my eyelashes?’ to ‘how can I be more confident?’ and ‘have you ever been to therapy?’, What Would Dani Do? takes real fan questions and plenty of personal insight, to offer Dani’s unique take on the world and her guide to living your best, most authentic life.
Always relatable and at times vulnerable, Dani gives a laugh-out-loud and truly heartfelt account of her journey from Canning Town daughter of Danny Dyer, to runaway Love Island winner and the nation’s sweetheart.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Daughter of Eastenders actor and namesake Danny, Dani won ITV2’s Love Island 2018 with a landslide 80% of the vote and captured the hearts of the nation. Trained as an actor, Dani has appeared in a number of films, including Vendetta (2013), We Still Kill The Old Way (2014) and featured in Nativity! The Musical alongside her dad at the Eventim Apollo i London from 19-31 December. Since leaving Love Island, Canning Town-born Dani has launched a best-selling fashion range with In The Style and has just finished filming her own reality show with partner, and co-Love Island winner, Jack Fincham.
TERMS & CONDITIONS
This is a ticketed event. The cost of the ticket is the retail price of the book, £16.99
Your ticket entitles you to one book and one place in the queue to have your book signed by Dani
You will receive your copy of the book at the event
The exact time at which the event ends will be determined by the promoters on the day.
Due to the anticipated high turnout, please be prepared to queue
To avoid disappointment, we advise you not to arrive any later than the signing start time
Anyone arriving to the venue before 2pm will be asked to return at or after 2pm
Refreshments will not be available at the event but facilities are available at nearby outlets
There will not be an official photographer present at the event
A member of staff will be on hand to take a picture for you. Please ensure that your phone/camera is fully charged on the day and has enough storage. Selfie style pictures may not be possible, depending on scheduling.
Only copies of What Would Dani Do? will be signed. No other merchandise will be signed
Personal dedications within the book may not be possible, depending on scheduling.
Anyone under the age of 14 years must be accompanied by an adult. Accompanying adults will not require a ticket. Due to time and space limitations only one child can be accompanied by one adult
Please note the event may be filmed. As an attendee you consent to footage of you being used for promotional purposes
Tickets cannot be resold or transferred and shall not be purchased or obtained from or through any person, commercial agent, company or otherwise than directly by the applicant from Ticketmaster UK Ltd. Any tickets advertised for sale will be void
Management have the right to refuse entry or remove anyone who does not comply with these rules or who fails to follow reasonable instructions on the day

Word Central - Open Mic Night
2019-04-04 18:00 - 20:00
Word Central returns on Thursday 4th April with the brilliant guest poet Rose Fleeshman!
Actress, writer and poet Rosie Fleeshman writes witty,thought-provoking, brutally honest poetry. A multi poetry slam-winner and Great Northern Slam Champion, she is also the co-runner of SPEAK, a diverse spoken word night in the heart of Manchester. Rosie’s debut play Narcissist in the Mirror won Best Spoken Word Show at the GM Fringe and was nominated for two awards at the Manchester Theatre Awards, winning Best New Play in the process. On the back of a sell-out run at the Edinburgh Fringe, Rosie is currently touring her play across the UK.
You can book your open mic spot for April from 15th March by emailing mail@flapjackpress.co.uk
NB 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

Both Sides Now International Showcase
2019-03-21 18:30 - 20:30
A bold, experimental and genre-spanning evening of new music created as part of a unique cross-European collaboration.
This free one-off performance will showcase new music and visuals by Laura Campbell (UK) and Mari Sainio (Finland) who have been mentored by multi-instrumentalist and producer LoneLady.
The event will begin with an in-conversation with the three artists where they’ll discuss their creative processes, the inspiration behind their new work and why international collaboration is more important than ever.
Campbell and Sainio were chosen by a panel of Brighter Sound and Manchester City Council’s Library staff following a public call-out across the UK and Europe in December 2018.
A Liverpool-based writer and musician, Laura Campbell creates sound and music compositions for installation and film, and was part of 90’s electronic band Mulu.
A native of Helsinki, composer and producer Mari Sainio combines classical music elements with cinematic melodies and electronic soundscapes and has previously worked with the Baltic Sea Philharmonic and Imogen Heap.
This is the first in a series of international commissions as part of Both Sides Now – a groundbreaking initiative to support gender equality in music. This event is brought to you by Brighter Sound and Library Live – a Manchester City Council & Manchester Central Library Development Trust initiative.
Free – booking required

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.

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!

International Women's Day – Family Event
2019-03-09 12:00 - 16:00 | Performance Space
Join us to celebrate International Women’s Day with an afternoon of free activities for families. Pop in and enjoy a range of craft making, watch films and see some of our amazing archives, created by famous suffragettes.
Free – please drop in

International Women's Day with Flapjack Press
2019-03-08 18:00 - 20:00 | Performance Space
Celebrate International Women’s Day with Flapjack Press.
Join us for an evening of poetry hosted by Rosie Garland (“Literary hero” – The Skinny), with performances from award-winning poets, playwrights and spoken word artists Cathy Crabb, Sarah Miller, Anna Percy, Melanie Rees and Geneviève L. Walsh.
Manchester Central Library, St Peter’s Square, Manchester M2 5PD.
Doors open 5.30pm. Free entry.
Flapjack Press: exploring the synergy between performance and the page.
Shortlisted Northern Publisher of the Year, Northern Soul Awards.
www.flapjackpress.co.uk

Meet Angie Thomas
2019-03-06 19:00 - 20:00
With over 2 million copies sold worldwide, countless awards and accolades and a major movie adaptation, The Hate U Give has been a complete sensation as author Angie Thomas’ debut novel. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, it told the story of a young girl named Starr who was the only witness to the death of her childhood friend, unarmed at the hands of a police officer. It’s been on the New York Times Bestseller list since it published, and among its many award wins, was named Waterstones Children’s Book Prize winner in 2018.
Back in the UK on an exclusive trip to launch her second novel, On The Come Up, Angie is here to discuss the inspirations behind her new book. This time we follow Bri, an aspiring rapper stepping in the footsteps of her father, who was on track to hit the big time until he was shot dead by a local gang. When Bri’s mum loses her job and bills start piling up, poverty threatens their family, and Bri’s dreams start to feel like their only way out. But how much of herself is she willing to sacrifice to make it?
Don’t miss out on the chance to hear this ground-breaking, inspirational author speak and get your hands on her fantastic new novel.
Tickets £5 general admission or £10, includes entry and a copy of On the Come Up RRP £7.99 (booking fees included)
Suitable for ages 13+
If you have any questions please contact events@waterstones.com

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

Mancunian Tongues: Why language diversity matters for Manchester
2019-02-21 18:30 - 19:30 | Performance Space
A public discussion to celebrate UNESCO International Mother Language Day with:
Esme Ward (Director, Manchester Museum)
Lemn Sissay MBE (Author and Chancellor of the University of Manchester)
Councillor Luthfur Rahman (Executive Member for Schools, Culture and Leisure, Manchester City Council)
Presented in partnership between Manchester City Council, Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Manchester as part of Manchester City of Literature
Free to attend and open to all – please register in advance

International Mother Language Day
2019-02-21 13:00 - 16:00 | Performance Space
Celebrate UNESCO International Mother Language Day with free games, crafts and activities for all. Come along and listen to multilingual storytelling, watch performances of dance and music and even learn how to play the African drums! Multilingual Manchester will be hosting an exhibition exploring the city’s language diversity. Plus, don’t miss the chance to record your own multilingual poetry in special poetry pods.
Presented in partnership between Manchester City Council, Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Manchester as part of Manchester City of Literature
Free – just drop in

The Poetry Exchange
2019-02-21 09:30 - 2019-02-22 17:00
Is there a poem that has been a friend to you? You’re invited to book an individual slot to come and explore a poem that has been a friend to you, in conversation with The Poetry Exchange team. The conversation will take place in a warm and relaxed environment, over a cup of tea, with two members of The Poetry Exchange team. Together, you’ll explore your chosen poem and the ways in which it has been a friend to you. In exchange, you’ll receive a gift: a special recording of your chosen poem, inspired by your thoughts and feelings about it.
In association with The Manchester Writing School and Manchester UNESCO City of Literature
Individual slots lasting 45 mins are available from 10am on Thursday 21 Feb and 9.30am on Friday 22 Feb

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.

500 Days of Summer - 10th Anniversary Screening
2019-02-19 18:00 - 20:00 | Performance Space
Just after Valentines 2019, RAD invite you to Central Library for more of an anti-valentines film, a film that isn’t a love story, but a cult film about love and its highs and lows: 500 Days of Summer! Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (10 Things I Hate About You) and Zooey Deschanel (New Girl), this comedy goes through the 500 days of a relationship, from flirtation right through to reconnecting as exes, soundtracked by the likes of Black Lips, The Smiths, Doves, Regina Spektor, Pixies, Feist and more.
Join us for a look back at this modern indie cult classic upon its 10th anniversary.
Doors 17:40 // Film 18:10

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

Clore Art Studio Costume Factory
2019-02-18 13:00 - 2019-02-19 15:00 | Lower Ground Floor Link
In preparation for World Book Day on the 7 March, let us help you get your character ideas flowing and costumes started! Come along for inspiration and assistance in designing, cutting and stitching felt masks, headdresses and logos to bring your Gruffalos and Gangsta Grannies to life.
Costume Factory sessions will also take place at Manchester Art Gallery.
Free – please drop in

See My Dunya: Double-Take Event
2019-02-16 11:00 - 17:00 | Performance Space
A chance to meet the artists behind the exhibition and explore their world…A day of workshops, a Q&A and more to celebrate the continuation of See My Dunya: See My World, an exhibition spotlighting the Somali community in Manchester. Through photography, film, music and sculpture; See My Dunya brings to focus the rarely celebrated faces, the un-heard stories and dreams that make up the Somali-British experience.
Want to know more about See My Dunya?
Follow @seemydunya on Instagram
Follow @seemydunya on Twitter
Free – booking recommended

Drag Queen Bingo
2019-02-15 20:00 - 22:30 | Performance Space
SORRY, THIS EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT
Welcome to our first Drag Queen Bingo Night at Central Library.
We are proud to present the fabulous Angel Delight for a practically perfect evening of comedy, fun and frolics. Angel will be your gorgeous host for the evening, that will also feature Mary Poppins as you’ve never seen her before…
We’ll also be having the odd game of bingo, but not as you know it!
BIG Bingo Prizes to be won on the night.
Doors open at 7.30pm. Bar will be open all evening.
This event is part of our LGBTQ History Month Celebrations. For the full programme of events go to https://manclibraries.blog

Chinese New Year Celebration
2019-02-10 12:00 - 16:00
Come and welcome in the Year of the Pig at Central Library!
Beginning with a Lion Dance at the front of the Library to let the new year in, there will be music and dance performances, and a demonstration of the Chinese Tea Ceremony. Plus we have lots of crafts and activities for you to try, all of them free!
Free – just drop in

WORD CENTRAL - Open Mic Night
2019-02-07 18:00 - 20:00 | Central Library – 2nd Floor Meeting Room, St Peter's Square, Manchester
WORD CENTRAL
a semaphore-exploding mind-flow
open mic poetry & spoken word hosted by Tony Curry
With special guest poet Ciarán Hodgers
Ciarán is a multi-award-winning spoken word poet from Drogheda, currently touring his debut collection Cosmocartography. He is the Sean Dunne National Young Writer 2010, an International Pangaea Poetry Slam Champion 2015 and the Word War 3 Slam Champion.
You can book your open mic spot for February via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk
NB 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

2084 - An Immersive Orwell Experience
2019-02-05 17:00 - 2019-02-14 18:30
It is the age of total surveillance.
Everything you say or do is scrutinised and recorded. Even your innermost thoughts are probed. You cannot be too careful; there are enemies everywhere.
This unique immersive performance will plunge you into an authoritarian world where you will learn to identify traitors and expose their thought crimes.
This event is for 18+ only.
Welcome to the Future.
Audience reviews from the company’s 2018 production of Frankenstein:
“It was amazing. I felt as if I was in a completely different world.”
“I was fully immersed in the story and deeply moved.”
“A unique experience in a remarkable space. I would not change a thing.”
Tickets are £15 (£12 concessions)

Holocaust Memorial Day 2019
2019-01-27 12:00 - 16:00
On this day of reflection we will be screening the UK Premier of the film, Who Will Write Our History, which tells the story of historian Emanuel Ringelblum who defied his captors to ensure the Oyneg Shabes archive would survive the war. Performances by young people throughout the afternoon and family activity sessions based around this year’s theme, ‘Torn from Home’.
Film screenings start at 12.30pm and 2.15pm
Free – please drop in

It’s the Wrong Way to Tickle Mary
2019-01-24 18:00 - 20:00 | Performance Space
Mad Theatre Company and the Delaney (Community) Theatre Group invite you on a funny and poignant journey through the north west’s rich cultural history to the time of the suffragettes and the First World War.
This event at Manchester Central Library will feature selected scenes from Moston-based MaD Theatre Company’s original play, It’s the wrong way to tickle Mary, which sold-out in autumn 2018 at the Lowry Theatre, Salford, Rochdale Literature and Ideas Festival and the Met Theatre, Bury.
MaD writer/directors Rob Lees and Jill Hughes will then join cast members to discuss their experience of creating and staging the play in an audience-led Q & A session.
This event comes ahead of a final full performance of It’s the Wrong Way to Tickle Mary at Salford Arts Theatre on Thursday 7 February 2019:
http://www.salfordartstheatre.com/
It’s the Wrong Way to Tickle Mary is part of an Arts and Humanities Research Council and John Fell Fund-funded partnership involving the University of Oxford, MaD Theatre Company, Charlotte Delaney, the Guinness Partnership, Salford Women’s Aid and the Working Class Movement Library.

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

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?

Saturday Take Over
2019-01-19 12:00 - 16:00
It’s a children’s take over today! Manchester school children have chosen a Victorian and Time Travelling theme for the activities and content for our popular January family spectacular. Pop in and join us for free family fun. We’re sure you’re going to love it!
Free – please drop in

Manchester’s Tramways on Film
2019-01-16 18:00 - 20:00 | Performance Space
THIS EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT
Reflecting on the 70th anniversary of the closure of Manchester’s original tramway network in January 1949, the North West Film Archive opens up its collection of footage of tramways from around the region from the 1890s to the 1950s. Curated and presented by a member of the archive’s staff this show will be a must for all transport lovers.

Josie and the Pussycats - Film Screening
2019-01-15 18:00 - 20:00 | Performance Space
For the first RAD Screenings event of 2019 they’ll be helping you get over the January blues by turning the volume up and bringing their fave cinematic, feline themed rock band to the big screen: Josie and the Pussycats!
This cult classic opens on a totally fictional world where, for years the record industry has inserted subliminal messages into music so that they can turn teenagers into brain dead zombies who do nothing but buy, buy, buy; but whenever the musician or band finds out the truth, the record company silences them to keep the truth from coming out. When the One Direction of the time, DuJour discovers this, their manager, Wyatt Frame, under his evil, corrupt boss, Fiona, has the plane they are flying in crashed and him looking for a new band to use for their evil schemes. Enter Josie, Melody, and Valerie, from Josie and the Pussycats, a small band who wants to make it to the big time. When they are discovered by Wyatt, they give in and become big rock stars. But will they find out that they are just pawns for the record industry or will fame take them over?
Doors 17:30 / Film starts 18:00

See My Dunya
2019-01-15 08:00 - 2019-03-23 17:00 | Lower Ground Floor Exhibition Space
Through photography, film, music and sculpture; See My Dunya: See My World brings to focus the seldom seen faces, the un-heard stories and dreams that make up the Somali-British experience.
An invitation into the Somali-Mancunian experiences, it hosts the images, testimonies, sounds and swag of the many individuals that make up this seldomly centred yet hyper-visible community; inviting the viewer to discover and share in the marvellously mundane.
The exhibition features photography by Sharmaarke Ali Adan, film by SSCOPE, music by HMD and 3D sculptural installation by Somali Architecture.
See My Dunya is an experiment, a local and grass roots initiative conceived in conjunction with Big People Music as way of carving out a space in dialogue with the Somali community in Manchester.
This exhibition will Launch in HOME as part of: Push Festival 2019
Want to know more about See My Dunya?

Follow @seemydunya on Instagram
Follow @seemydunya on Twitter

Free – please drop in

Word Central with Rose Condo
2019-01-03 18:00 - 20:00
Welcome to the first Word Central Open Mic and Spoken Word Night of 2019!
Hosted by Tony Curry with special guest poet Rose Condo.

January’s special guest Rose Condo is a Canadian spoken word artist and educator currently residing in the North of England. A multiple slam champion, she has been performing her work extensively at spoken word nights and festivals throughout the UK and Canada since 2013, including performances for Amnesty International, Apples & Snakes, Hammer & Tongue and guest slots supporting Hollie McNish and Shane Koyczan. She has been the host and organiser of the monthly spoken word event Queenie’s Coffee House Night since 2015.
Rose has written and toured two spoken word shows, The Geography Of Me and How To Starve An Artist – the latter voted runner-up for Best UK Spoken Word Show at the Saboteur Awards 2017.
Her work is unapologetically feminist, oftentimes wry, occasionally raw, but always honest and compassionate.
Word Central’s host Tony Curry is a poet and playwright for stage and radio. His solo shows include Brit Boy, Complicit Relations, Moving and most recently The Odyssey, which he performed at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre. He has two collections of poetry published by Flapjack Press, The Noble Savage [“A window into yesterday … historical and poetic. I love it!” – Mike Garry] and Tall Tales for Tall Men Who Fall Well Short [“This is our poetry, these are our poems.” – Tony Walsh].
Open mic spots for January will be available to book from 14th December via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk.
N.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes maximum.
Word Central is a Manchester Library and Information Service and Flapjack Press co-production.
