What's on

Creative Writing Class

Chief Librarian's Office

Writer Cathy Crabb is running a weekly drop in for anyone who would like to spend a couple of hours strolling through storytelling. With a different exercise per week it could be anything from a screenplay to flash fiction to songwriting - just to give your mind a welcome circuit break and a bit of […]

Word Central Open Mic Night

Performance Space

Manchester Libraries and Flapjack Press present Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word. Hosted by Tony Curry with special guest Ben Willems. Our special guest for the first Word Central of the year is beat-inspired performance poet Ben Willems. Ben has featured in numerous publications, including Citizen 32, The Recusant, Beatification and Some Roast Poet, as well as appearing in […]

Don’t worry, we will survive!

First Floor Exhibition Hall

Come and reflect on these vibrant abstract and portrait paintings by artist, Sarbjit Johal. Have a dialogue with our past and present in Britain and beyond. Buy a painting and support Saheli Asian Women’s Project.  Prices start from £10. Telephone 07944 565620 for more details.   Free - drop in - please consider making a donation […]

Chinese New Year Celebration

Help us celebrate the Year of the Tiger in Central Library on one of our special Sunday openings. Join in the fun as we offer themed family activities and crafts for everyone to enjoy   Free - drop in event - please consider making a donation if you can either online or at one of […]

Titanic: A Maritime Mistake?

Performance Space

A thrilling new take on the 1912 tragedy, as those tasked to keep the secret safe go on the run from an elite group of political figures. When Lancashire author Alan Veale began research for his latest novel 'The Titanic Document', he built a story around the 1912 disaster. They do say truth is stranger […]

¡No Pasarán! – North West International Brigade Memorial Group

Performance Space

North West International Brigade Memorial Group invite you to join us for ¡No Pasarán!, a day of commemoration of those Greater Manchester men and women who fought against Franco, Hitler and Mussolini in the Spanish Civil War. 11.30- 1PM 85th anniversary commemoration of the battle of Jarama. In February 1937 around 500 men of the […]

David Gaffney ‘Out of the Dark’ Book Launch

Performance Space

A young man has rented a flat at the top of a high rise block in Birmingham where he watches the same video over and over again, an old British film noir called Out Of The Dark. This film holds some important information for him, something which will help him deal with his recent tragic events.  But what is […]

International Mother Language Day

Performance Space

Communities across Manchester will come together to enjoy an afternoon of celebration for all the family. Sharing their stories, language, music, dance and food, it is sure to be a joyful gathering. Confirmed for this year are the Lithuanian Community, and the first time in our event history, members of both the Libyan and Moroccan […]

TO PARADISE – Hanya Yanagihara in conversation with Kamila Shamsie

Performance Space

Hanya Yanagihara, author of the million-copy bestseller A Little Life, introduces her incredible new novel TO PARADISE. About this event We're thrilled to be welcoming Hanya Yanagihara, author of the modern classic A Little Life, to Manchester for one of just four UK dates celebrating the release of her phenomenal new book TO PARADISE - […]

£10 – £25

A Masterclass: Queer History

Performance Space

When did the popular ‘GAY’ LGBT+/Human Rights Campaign really start?  1964 North-Western Homosexual Law Reform Committee 1966 Compton's Cafeteria riot 1967 Passing of the Sexual Offences Act 1968 The Stonewall Riots Earlier? 1958 Wolfenden Committee Report 1928 Publishing of The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe ​ How about the ‘Gay’ Reform Movement of the 1830’s!? Pioneering […]

Feeding the Darkness

Performance Space

‘Art Thou in Darkness? Mind it not for if thou dost, it will fill thee more…...’ - James Naylor (17th century Quaker) 'Feeding the Darkness' is a 65-minute immersive performance piece which demonstrates the stark impact of state-sanctioned torture on victims, perpetrators, families and those who collude in the ‘process’. It uses verbatim monologues, dramatic […]

International Women’s Day: Songbird

Archives+ Ground Floor

Join us in the oculus area on the ground floor for this short concert by the RNCM Chamber Choir, in celebration of International Women’s Day. Inspired by birdsong, ‘Songbird’  is an all female composer programme. The programme will include works by Fanny Mendelssohn, Sarah Quartel and Roxanna Panufnik. The RNCM Chamber Choir is an auditioned […]