Musical Theatre Workshop
2023-08-24 12:00 - 2023-08-25 16:00 UTC | Performance Space
Join Manchester Libraries for a super summer musical theatre workshop, brought to you in partnership with the Palace Theatre & Manchester Opera House.
Sessions include a 2-hour practical musical theatre and movement session led by industry professionals. You can also explore the beautiful Palace Theatre on a backstage tour and ask any questions you have about working in theatre.
Suitable for ages 10-16 years
Please email angela.rawcliffe@manchester.gov.uk for more information
Palace Theatre © Phil Tragen

Word Central
2023-08-29 18:00 - 19:45 | Performance Space
Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word
Hosted by Tony Curry
Presented by Flapjack Press & Manchester Libraries
A free event every month at
Manchester Central Library, St Peter’s Square, Manchester M2 5PD
Next event:
Tuesday 29th August, 6.00pm – 7.45pm
(doors open 5.40pm)
with special guest poet Róisín Maguire

Paper Piano Presents: Gideon Conn
2023-08-30 14:00 - 15:00 | Henry Watson Music Library
Another “Paper Piano Presents”, this time with Gideon Conn, the first artist to appear on the label. Known for effortlessly blending acoustic soul, jazz and hip hop, Gideon has a unique performance style that makes people very happy. Thought provoking lyrics glide over catchy melodic hooks with guitar playing different from any you’ve heard before.

‘The people of Britain may not know it yet but Gideon Conn is one of their national treasures.’ Scroobius Pip

Free – just drop in

Back to School Activity
2023-09-02 13:00 - 15:00 | Performance Space
Sharpen your pencils and get your sports kit ready – it’s back to school! Come and decorate your own gym bag and more. Suitable for ages 4–11
Free – just drop in.
Please support our cultural programme by donating at our cash or contactless donation boxes.

Futures for All
2023-09-04 08:00 - 2023-09-29 17:00 | City Library
GMCA: Futures for All is an employability skills programme for young people across Greater Manchester with SEN, that empowers employers to recognise and celebrate the value of a diverse workforce inclusive of young people from the SEND schools and settings.
The exhibition showcases a series of short films co-produced with alumni from SEND schools across Greater Manchester. These films explore a day in the life of each young person working in different jobs across Greater Manchester; from retail, to healthcare, hospitality, to digital.
Young people in SEND settings were shown these inspiring films and took part in creative workshops to visualise their own career aspirations through clay and fabric. This exhibition showcases their work alongside the films that inspired them.
Free – please drop in

Jesse Armstrong: Succession The Complete Scripts.
2023-09-07 18:30 - 20:00 | Performance Space
SOLD OUT
To celebrate the release of The Complete Scripts, we are absolutely thrilled to be welcoming writer and producer Jesse Armstrong to Manchester to talk about his highly acclaimed TV series SUCCESSION. Collected for the first time, the complete scripts of Succession feature unseen extra material and reveal a unique insight into Jesse Armstrong’s writing, creation and development of a TV sensation and a screen-writing masterpiece. Jesse will be in conversation with Terri White.
This event is being held at Manchester Central Library.
Doors: 18.30, event starts: 19.00.
Tickets are £10.00 or free when purchasing any volume of The Complete Scripts. An option to buy all 4 volumes for the discounted price of £60 is also available. You can also purchase copies of Succession: The Complete Scripts on the night and Jesse will be signing copies after the talk – please note, due to time Jesse will only be signing copies of The Complete Scripts. If you would like a signed copy but cannot make the event, please contact us on 0161 274 3331 or manchester@blackwell.co.uk and we can arrange this for you.
About the books:
Everything I’ve done in my life is for my children.
When Logan Roy, the head of one of the world’s largest media and entertainment conglomerates, decides to retire, each of his four grown children follows a personal agenda that doesn’t always sync with those of their siblings — or their father.
Collected here for the first time in four beautiful volumes, the complete scripts of Succession feature unseen extra material, including deleted scenes, alternative dialogue and character directions. They reveal a unique insight into the writing, creation and development of a TV sensation and a screen-writing masterpiece.
“Monstrous, near-Shakespearean perfection.” New Statesman
“The most thrilling and beautifully obscene TV there is.” Guardian
“Extraordinarily entertaining and incisive.” Empire
“One of the most relentlessly paced shows on television.” Rolling Stone
About the author:
Jesse Armstrong is an Academy Award-nominated and BAFTA-winning TV and film writer. In 2016 it was announced HBO had commissioned a 10 part series of his media family drama Succession. The pilot was directed by Adam McKay.
In the UK he co-created, co-executive produced and co-wrote 9 seasons of Channel 4’s BAFTA-winning comedy Peep Show.
He also co-wrote the BAFTA-winning The Thick of It and the Academy Award nominated script for the film In The Loop; the terrorism comedy Four Lions and British Comedy Award-winning comedy drama Fresh Meat.
Jesse was born and educated in Oswestry, Shropshire, and attended Manchester University where he studied American Studies as an undergraduate and American History for his Masters, after which he worked as a researcher for a Member of Parliament.
Working as a solo writer, Jesse wrote The Entire History of You for Black Mirror and the final episode of the first season of HBO’s Veep.
In 2016 Jonathan Cape published his novel set against the background of the Bosnian War, Love Sex and Other Foreign Policy Goals. The New York Times said ‘Armstrong proves to be just as maniacally funny here as he is on the screen.’

Heritage Open Days: Family Event
2023-09-09 13:00 - 16:00
Ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at Central Library and Archives+? Join us on this fun, fact-filled library trail as we take you into the depths of our treasured venue. Tours take place on the hour – see links below to book:
1pm tour – book here
2pm tour – book here
3pm tour – book here
Free – please book in advance
Please make a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes or online

Elizabeth Raffald - England's Most Influential Housekeeper
2023-09-13 18:00 - 19:30 | Performance Space
Manchester-based historian Neil Buttery presents a talk about the rise & fall of one of Britain’s most influential cookery writers, Elizabeth Raffald.
Join historian Neil to explore the life, times and legend of the great Elizabeth Raffald of Manchester. Elizabeth was once a household name, and her list of accomplishments would make even the highest of achievers feel suddenly impotent. After becoming the housekeeper at Arley Hall in Cheshire at age twenty-five, she married and moved to Manchester, transforming the Manchester food scene and business community, writing the first A to Z directory and creating the first domestic servant’s registry office, the first temping agency if you will. Not only that, she set up a cookery school and ran a high-class tavern attracting both gentry and nobility. She reputedly gave birth to sixteen daughters, wrote a book on midwifery and was an effective exorciser of evil spirits.
These achievements gave her notoriety and standing in Manchester, but they all pale in comparison to her biggest achievement; her cookery book The Experienced English Housekeeper. Published in 1769, it ran to over twenty editions and brought her fame and fortune. But her great rise was followed by a tumultuous fall, dying at the age of 46. Her book, however, lived on. Influential and often imitated (but never bettered), it became the must-have volume for any kitchen, shaping our modern food culture.
Alongside the talk, there will be an opportunity to view some of the library’s Elizabeth Raffald archive, including that famous book of hers.
Free – booking required

Black British Book Festival on Tour
2023-09-17 11:45 - 17:00
“Manchester has been unveiled as one of cities taking centre stage in a summer tour to celebrate the Black British Book Festival this year.
In its third year the Black British Book Festival is Europe’s largest celebration of black literature and a fast-growing and a widely acclaimed event showcasing black authors and providing a platform for established and up and coming writers across the country.
Championing emerging talent, hear from leading voices in Manchester Central Library on Sunday 17 September and discover your new favourite Black authors at this family festival that aims to banish barriers to entry.
Storytelling, workshops and talks, from key black authors including Derek Owusu, Manchester based poet Jackie Kay and author Kehinde Andrews, British academic and author specialising in Black Studies, will be part of the festival event taking place in Manchester Central Library.
Ore Agbaje-Williams and Lola Jaye will lead workshops, and children and adult and children’s authors Ella Phillips and Kimberley Whittam and Jaqueline Ro will also take part in the planned events.
Manchester Libraries & Archives and Read Manchester will also promote their See Myself in Book collections on the day, which ensure books are racially inclusive.
Tickets for the event are free.
Councillor John Hacking, Executive Member for Skills Employment, and Leisure said:
” We have a wealth of interesting and creative talent in Manchester across diverse communities, so I am particularly pleased that we are hosting this family friendly festival, of established and emerging black British authors representing all literature genres, in Manchester Central Library. We need to be able to reach out to all communities to make literature more accessible and engaging and break down barriers to inspire a love of reading and light the spark for future generations in the city. This is a step in the right direction.”
The festival has partnered with major publishers including Pan Macmillan, Hachette, Penguin and SAGE.

Sikh Community Book Launch
2023-09-21 17:00 - 19:00 | Performance Space
Join Sarup Singh Landa, whose father was the first Sikh High Priest of the Sikh Temple in Moss Side, for the book launch of the history of Sikh communities’ achievements in Manchester over the past 70 years.
Free – for more details email rrarchive@manchester.ac.uk

Morning Music Performances
2023-09-23 11:00 - 12:00 | Henry Watson Music Library
We will be joined by two very different local artists for some short musical performances. One is a young acoustic guitar student working toward grade exams, who will give her first live performance ever. The other is an experienced composer of experimental rock/pop music, an enthusiastic live performer and a library regular:
Steve Manning aka Jupiter Canal System, or JCS for short, is a songwriter who lives in the heart of Cheshire. His craft is heavily influenced by his love of the New Wave era of the late 70s and early 80s, often paying homage to the aggression of The Jam, the controversy of The Stranglers and the wit of XTC. Despite trying to sonically replicate the genre, Steve does try and remain original with his song writing, especially lyrically and melodically. He is currently working on his 5th album and today he will be singing along to backing tracks which he has recorded and produced himself.
Free – please drop in

European Day of Languages Storytime
2023-09-23 14:00 - 15:00
Hello! Ciao! Hola! Bonjour! Celebrate European languages and learn some new vocabulary with a very special storytime, as we share stories in Spanish, Italian, French and English, with craft activities. The event is hosted with Manchester’s Alliance Française, Instituto Cervantes and Società Dante Alighieri.
Suitable for children aged 4-7
Free – drop in – please consider making a donation at our cash or contactless donation boxes

The Declining Winter
2023-09-23 15:00 - 16:00 | Henry Watson Music Library
In association with Paper Piano, The Declining Winter will perform in the Henry Watson Music Library, preceding their November tour with epic45. The self-described “(un) popular music group based in West Yorkshire” creates ethereal, spacious arpeggiated music and unique live experiences.
Yorkshire based The Declining Winter are led by Richard Adams, the co-founder of the Domino Records group Hood. They are purveyors of a unique form of pastoral pop taking in influences from lo-fi, electronica and post rock with a strong visual aesthetic inspired by the countryside of Yorkshire and beyond. Their latest album ‘Really Early, Really Late’ has been universally praised and compared to the likes of Talk Talk and Bark Psychosis.
Free – please drop in

Word Central
2023-09-26 18:00 - 19:45 | Performance Space
Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word. Presented by Manchester Libraries and Flapjack Press Tuesday 26th September, 6.00pm – 7.45pm.
Hosted by Tony Curry with special guest Janine Booth
Book your open mic slot from noon on Tues 12th September via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk
N.B. Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer – it is essential that you stay within this timeframe
Performance slots are allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis from the stated booking time. If they are already filled you will be offered a place on the reserve list.
Event host Tony Curry is a performance poet, playwright, and workshop facilitator. Raised in Crawley by English and South African parents, he has lived and worked in Manchester for three decades, running literature-in-the-community projects with a specific leaning towards mental health and wellbeing. Tony’s solo spoken word shows include Brit Boy, Complicit Relations, Moving and The Odyssey, performed at Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre. His play, The Teddy Bear, was staged at Manchester’s Contact Theatre and his work has been exhibited at the city’s art gallery and museum. His latest poetry collection, We Kid Ourselves, is available from Flapjack Press.
September’s special guest is Janine Booth, a Marxist, trade unionist, Labour Party member, socialist-feminist, supporter of Workers’ Liberty, autistic, bi, author, poet, disaffected middle-aged woman and Peterborough United fan. She writes and delivers trade union training, particularly on equalities issues, and speaks widely on socialist politics, history, disabled people’s rights, autism, and neurodiversity. Janine co-edited the anthology NeurodiVERSE for Flapjack Press and her collection of prose and poetry, The Big J vs The Big C: Issues, Experiences and Poems in the Battle Against Breast Cancer, is also available now.

Crime Central
2023-09-28 18:00 - 19:30 | Performance Space
As the nights get darker, Crime Central returns with three amazing authors and three new books to chill your bones. Rob Parker welcomes Fiona Erskine, Luca Veste and Neil Broadfoot to Central Library!

Fiona Erskine
Engineer by day, writer by night.
Fiona was born in Edinburgh, and grew up playing guitar, riding motorbikes and jumping into cold water. After studying Chemical Engineering at University she learned to weld, cast and machine with apprentices in Paisley before working internationally as a professional engineer. She is now based in the north east of England.
Her latest novel, Phosphate Rocks: A Death in Ten Objects is published by Sandstone Press in June 2021.
Fiona’s debut novel, The Chemical Detective (2019), was shortlisted for the Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award. Her second thriller in the Jaq Silver series, The Chemical Reaction (2020), was shortlisted for the Staunch Prize.

Luca Veste
Luca Veste is a writer of Italian and Liverpudlian heritage, married with two young daughters, and one of nine children. He studied psychology and criminology at university in Liverpool. He is the author of the Murphy and Rossi series, which includes DEAD GONE, THE DYING PLACE, BLOODSTREAM, and THEN SHE WAS GONE.
Part psychological thriller, part police procedural, his books follow the detective pairing of DI David Murphy and DS Laura Rossi. The novels are set in Liverpool, bringing the city to life in a dark and terrifying manner…with just a splash of Scouse humour.
“Astringent and artfully constructed.” The Financial Times
“A darkly impressive novel… disturbing and intelligent.” The Times
“A chilling début from a writer to watch…” Mark Billingham
“Gripping, unpredictable, genuinely shocking and impossible to put down, Dead Gone is a remarkable début.” Steve Mosby
“A twisty, psychological crime debut in a gritty setting: a new favourite for police procedural lovers” Clare Mackintosh
“Tense and darkly playful.” Chris Ewan
He is a former civil servant, actor, singer and guitarist (although he still picks it up now and again), and now a full-time writer.

Neil Broadfoot
“Neil should be better known and more widely read. A true rising star of crime fiction.”
– Ian Rankin
Neil Broadfoot worked as a journalist for 15 years at both national and local newspapers, including The Scotsman, Scotland on Sunday and the Evening News, covering some of the biggest stories of the day.
Falling Fast, which was shortlisted for the Dundee International Book Prize, is the first in the Edinburgh-set McGregor and Drummond series of thrillers.
His Stirling-set series, which begins with No Man’s Land and features close protection expert Connor Fraser, has been hailed as “tense, fast moving and bloody” and “atmospheric, twisty and explosive” with a “complex cast of characters and a compelling hero”. No Man’s Land was longlisted for the 2019 McIlvanney Award.

Drag Queen Cabaret with Angel Delight
2023-09-30 14:00 - 16:00 | Performance Space
Angel invites you to a Saturday afternoon of fun and games.
We all love a game of bingo! but add in some ‘play your cards right’ and ‘name that tune’ with a sprinkling of singalongs and surprises, who could resist!

Brushstrokes of Bridgerton
2023-10-02 17:30 - 19:30 | Performance Space
Brushstrokes of Bridgerton will be a delightful evening of painting ‘the Ton’. Partake in a glass of wine with top-quality music and enjoy a panel discussion about the show, colour-blind casting, changing the narrative, and our experience within the world of theatre, TV and film. Period costume is optional. An UBUNTU Festival of Events activity.

Deborah Levy
2023-10-07 08:00 - 17:00 | Performance Space
‘I projected myself into her and she became music.’ In August Blue, the latest novel by acclaimed author Deborah Levy, virtuoso pianist Elsa M. Anderson sees a woman in a flea market in Athens who she believes is her double. Following a catastrophic performance where she walked off stage, Elsa is on the run from her talent, men and history. Spending the summer moving across western Europe, the two women repeatedly cross paths, until they finally confront each other in a rainstorm in Paris.
One of our greatest contemporary novelists and a thoughtful and interesting speaker, Deborah engages in ideas about time, culture, identity. She is the author of the living autobiographies Things I Don’t Want to Know, The Cost of Living and Real Estate and several novels including the Booker Prize listed The Man Who Saw Everything, Hot Milk and Swimming Home. Presented by Manchester Literature Festival in partnership with the Centre for New Writing & Creative Manchester. Supported by Sofas & Stuff.
Image credit: Sheila Burnett

Kate Mosse in Conversation
2023-10-07 16:30 - 18:00 | Performance Space
‘I am, indeed, notorious, feared over sea and land. I am the one they did not believe could exist. I am the commander of the Ghost Ship.’ In her gripping new novel, The Ghost Ship, internationally acclaimed author Kate Mosse tells the tale of a woman in a man’s world. A tale of adventure and liberation, of hidden identities, of love and revenge. Inspired by two real eighteenth-century female pirates, the legendary Anne Bonny and Mary Read, this is a swashbuckling, swaggering tale set against the backdrop of the French religious civil wars and their aftermath.
Kate is the international bestselling author of ten novels and short story collections and several books of non-fiction. These include Labyrinth, Sepulchre, The Burning Chambers and Warrior Queens & Quiet Revolutionaries. She is the Founder of the Women’s Prize for Fiction and the global campaign #WomanInHistory. Hosted by Beth Underdown, author of The Witchfinder’s Sister and The Key in the Lock. Presented by Manchester Literature Festival and supported by Sofas & Stuff.
Image copyright: Ruth Crafer

Elif Shafak: My Life in Books
2023-10-08 08:00 - 17:00 | Performance Space
Much loved Turkish-British novelist and regular MLF guest Elif Shafak joins us for a very special event. Elif will discuss some of the writers and poets that have influenced and inspired her in her work and her life, some of the books she returns to regularly for pleasure and guidance and her own life-long passion for reading, writing and storytelling. Elif is a warm, engaging and intelligent speaker whose enthusiasm for literature shines through. This will be a unique event, not to be missed.
Elif is the author of 19 books, including the novels The Island of Missing Trees, 10 Minutes 38 Seconds in this Strange World and The Forty Rules of Love. An inspiring public speaker and an advocate for women’s rights, LGBTQ+ rights and freedom of expression, Elif was awarded the Halldór Laxness International Literature Prize for her contribution to ‘the renewal of the art of storytelling’. Presented by Manchester Literature Festival and supported by Sofas & Stuff.
Image credit: Ferhat Elik

Christie Watson & Lorraine Candy
2023-10-08 08:00 - 17:00 | Performance Space
‘THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED DUE TO UNFORESEEN CIRCUMSTANCES’
‘Is this the beginning of the end? Or the end of the beginning? How many women like me are changing like this, all at once, from a butterfly into a caterpillar?’ Through their latest books, Quilt on Fire: The Messy Magic of Friends, Sex & Love and What’s Wrong With Me? Christie Watson and Lorraine Candy make smart, funny, relatable contributions to the growing conversation about women and midlife. How do we navigate perimenopause, parenting and friendships with brain fog, sleepless nights and changing brains and bodies? Hear these two friends and fabulous women share their experiences and feel less alone in navigating yours.
Christie is the author of the bestseller The Language of Kindness, a critically acclaimed book about nursing and our need for compassion. She won the Costa First Novel award for her debut, Tiny Sunbirds Far Away. She was a nurse for 20 years and is now Professor of Medical Humanities at the University of East Anglia. Lorraine is an award-winning journalist, formerly editor-in-chief of Sunday Times Style, ELLE and Cosmopolitan. She is the co-host of the podcast Postcards from Midlife, which features the stories of spirited midlife women and tackles parenting adolescents. Presented by Manchester Literature Festival and supported by Sofas & Stuff.
Image credit: Rebecca Reid

When the Dust Settles - Exhibition
2023-10-09 08:00 - 2023-12-30 17:00 | Archives+ Ground Floor
There are currently thousands of refugees in the UK waiting for decisions on their family reunion applications. Forced migration and the traumatic consequences of separation, as well as of the obstacles to the reunification process, are well documented, as are the most immediate needs of families, once reunited. The longer-term lived experience of reunited refugee families, in contrast, is poorly understood, despite recognition that family reunion is not the end of a journey, but the beginning of another long road for families to be able to settle and build their lives in the UK, free from persecution.
When the Dust Settles is a participatory, mixed media research project that addresses this research gap, by examining the ongoing challenges reunited refugee families face after their first year together in their new home. Created by Dr Maria Abranches (School of International Development, UEA) and Amy Lythgoe (Together Now), and supported by a British Academy Innovation Fellowship.
Free – just drop in
Please make a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes or online

Annie Macmanus
2023-10-12 08:00 - 17:00 | Performance Space
‘To be honest with you, I want to make music.’ In Annie Macmanus’ absorbing second novel The Mess We’re In it’s the early noughties and 21-year-old Orla Quinn has made her way to London with a burning desire to become part of the music industry. Moving into a squalid house in Kilburn with her friend Neema and up-and-coming rock band Shiva, Orla works in the local Irish pub and takes work experience at a record label. Negotiating hedonism, sex, parties, the pub locals and life in London, all soundtracked by her favourite artists, Orla learns what it will take to make it.
A dynamic and enthusiastic speaker, Annie will discuss the journey she’s undertaken from discussing other people’s stories to telling her own. Annie is internationally renowned as a DJ, broadcaster and host. Her debut novel Mother Mother was critically acclaimed. She hosts the podcast Changes where she talks to people from all walks of life about the challenges they’ve faced. Hosted by Caroline Magennis, Reader in 20th & 21st Century Literature at the University of Salford. Presented by Manchester Literature Festival. Sponsored by The Edwardian Manchester and supported by Sofas & Stuff.
Image credit: Stephanie Sian Smith

Paper Piano Presents: DJ Goalpost
2023-10-13 08:00 - 17:00 | Henry Watson Music Library
Anyone who has visited the Paper Piano exhibition may have wondered who or what DJ Goalpost is. To answer that, and to mark the end of the exhibition, Paper Piano will be giving away a limited edition DJ Goalpost book. The book is part exploration of what an alter-ego can be, part self-help guide and part treasure chest of memories, past and future. The book is easily identified as it has a photo of DJ Goalpost on the front and features all the Paper Piano trademarks including a CD-R and tea cards. Numbers are extremely limited and will be available from 4pm.

Free – please drop in

Terrance Hayes, Anthony Anaxagorou & Selina Nwulu
2023-10-13 18:30 - 20:00 | Performance Space
Three dynamic poets perform work from their latest collections, exploring identity, heritage and injustice. Terrance Hayes returns to MLF with his blistering new work So to Speak. Exploring what it means to be an artist and a Black man, Terrance writes about figures including Bob Ross, Lil’ Wayne, David Berman and George Floyd, navigating his way through the predicaments of the present. Anthony Anaxagorou’s daring second collection Heritage Aesthetics asks what it means to have heritage. Considering Cyprus and the diasporic experience, Anthony looks at colonialism and the impact on the public and the personal. Selina Nwulu’s superb debut collection A Little Resurrection melds the golden light of Senegal with the harsh winds of Yorkshire. Exploring grief, injustice and an identity in constant flux.
Terrance Hayes is one of America’s most exciting and innovative poets. His last collection American Sonnets for My Past And Future Assassin was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize and was the Sunday Times Poetry Book of the Year. Anthony Anaxagorou is a British-born Cypriot poet. His previous collection After the Formalities was shortlisted for the T.S. Eliot Prize and Heritage Aesthetics was awarded the 2023 Ondaatje Prize. He is the artistic director of Out-Spoken. Selina Nwulu was the Young Poet Laureate for London 2015-6. Her first chapbook collection, The Secrets I Let Slip is a Poetry Book Society recommendation.
Presented by Manchester Literature Festival in partnership with Manchester Poetry Library. Supported by Sofas & Stuff.
Image credit: Kathy Ryan

Robert John Watson: The Sky Above Her
2023-10-14 08:00 - 2023-12-30 17:00 | First Floor Exhibition Hall
Exhibiting work spanning 20 years, Robert Watson (one of the country’s leading documentary and contemporary photographic artists) returns to Central Library. This free exhibition features images of Manchester Pride and his internationally exhibited Blackpool seascapes. It premiers the series ‘The Sky Above Her’; these vibrant and soulful pictures illustrate the kaleidoscope of colours, seen in the evening skies above his Mother’s headstone.
Free artist’s talk and Q&A followed by exhibition tour at 2pm on 25 November. Book your free place here via eventbrite
Free exhibition – just drop in. Please support our cultural programme by donating online or at our cash or contactless donation boxes

Little Reads Family Day with Nathan Bryon & Dapo Adeola
2023-10-14 10:30 - 12:30 | Performance Space
Author Nathan Bryon and illustrator Dapo Adeola’s loveable character Rocket has already taught us about space in the award-winning Look Up! Then she tackled ocean pollution in Clean Up! Now, in Speak Up! she’s back to save her local library which she is horrified to learn is closing for lack of funding. Hear how Dapo and Nathan created Rocket and what inspired her adventures in this action-packed event about speaking up for what you believe in. Includes Speak Up! activity trail and crafting. Presented by Manchester Literature Festival.
Suitable for ages 3 – 6
Image credit: Tim Lane, Penguin Books

Gaia Vince in Conversation
2023-10-15 08:00 - 17:00 | Performance Space
EVENT POSTPONED: Please note that due to travel disruptions we are having to postpone this event. Details of the new date will be confirmed shortly and our box office will be in touch with customers to offer a ticket transfer or refund.
‘Have no doubt, we are facing a species emergency – but we can manage it. We can survive, but to do so will require a planned and deliberate migration of a kind humanity has never before undertaken.’ In her latest book, Nomad Century: How to Survive the Climate Upheaval, Gaia Vince promotes the idea of planned and extensive migration as key to surviving the climate crisis. A brilliant speaker, Gaia will discuss how the relocation of hundreds of millions of people will allow us to adapt habitats and create global economic security.
Gaia Vince is an award-winning science writer, journalist and broadcaster. She writes for the Observer and Guardian and presents on BBC R4. She is the author of the groundbreaking work Adventures in The Anthropocene for which she spent 2.5 years travelling to over 50 countries to map the ways humans are changing the planet forever. Presented by Manchester Literature Festival in partnership with Manchester Museum and hosted by Museum Director Esme Ward. Sponsored by Sofas & Stuff.
Image credit: Phil Fisk

Simon Armitage
2023-10-15 08:00 - 17:00 | Performance Space
‘Perhaps [song lyrics] have something that the poems don’t. Or perhaps they don’t have something that the poems do’. Where do song lyrics and poetry converge? Poet Laureate Simon Armitage has always been inspired as much by music as he is the written or spoken word. His latest book Never Good With Horses collects Simon’s musical outpourings, from the lyrics written for his ambient post-rock band Land Yacht Regatta, to the DIY indie band The Scaremongers to those written for film and theatre productions, including the BAFTA-winning Feltham Sings, for which Simon won an Ivor Novella Award. Join us to hear Simon read some of his favourites and discuss his love of language, his creativity and compositions, his collaborations with musicians, and some of the songwriters and lyricists he admires.
Simon is the author of numerous poetry collections including The Unaccompanied, Seeing Stars and his acclaimed translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. He has won numerous awards including the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry. Presented by Manchester Literature Festival in partnership with Manchester Poetry Library. Supported by Sofas & Stuff.
Image credit: Katie Silvester

Karl Ove Knausgaard in Conversation
2023-10-17 08:00 - 17:00 | Performance Space
Karl Ove Knausgaard, author of My Struggle, ‘the greatest literary invention of the 21st century’, makes his MLF debut to discuss his dazzling new novel The Wolves of Eternity (translated by Martin Aitkin). In Southern Norway in 1986, Syvert Løyning returns home from military service and discovers letters to his late father which lead him to the Soviet Union. In present day Russia, Alevtina cares for her young son and, with the help of her friend Vasilisa, considers the belief in eternal life. But her existence is about to be upended in a way she hasn’t contemplated.
A giant of contemporary literature with the ability to balance unflinching intimacy with big, essential themes, Karl is the much celebrated author of The Morning Star, The Seasons Quartet and the My Struggle cycle of six autobiographical novels. Presented by Manchester Literature Festival and supported by Sofas & Stuff.
Tickets £12/ £30 inc a copy of The Wolves of Eternity (£25 RRP)
Image credit: Sølve Sundsbø
