What's on

Bobbins: Frank Sidebottom and Chris Sievey

Archives+ Ground Floor

A fantastic multimedia exhibition dedicated to Manchester's most unique artist. Containing the cream of the Frank Sidebottom/Chris Sievey archive, as featured in the new documentary Being Frank: The Chris Sievey Story. Expect art, video, audio and bobbins puppets. Fun for the whole family. You know it is, it really is. Photo credit: Dave Arnold Free […]

A Radical Tradition – Eine Radikale Tradition

First Floor Exhibition Hall

This exhibition explores the work of three relatively unknown twentieth century German photographers, Hans Saebens, Hans Retzlaff and Erich Retzlaff. Their work during the 1930s and 1940s was produced as part of a widely circulated visual framing of German peasants and their ‘Heimat’ or homeland.  Free - please drop in

Meet Angie Thomas

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 […]

£5 – £10

International Women’s Day with Flapjack Press

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 […]

International Women’s Day – Family Event

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

China in Drag: Travels with a Cross-Dresser

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. […]

Steve O’Connor ‘Extrano’ Book Launch for World Poetry Day

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 […]

Both Sides Now International Showcase

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 […]

Word Central – Open Mic Night

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 […]

Meet Dani Dyer

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 […]

£16.99

Voice in Cookery Writing: Nigella Lawson, Ella Risbridger and Bee Wilson

2nd Floor Seminar Suite

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A LIVE SCREENING OF AN EVENT AT THE BRITISH LIBRARY How do you tell the story of a recipe? A recipe is so much more than a set of instructions; it is a story, an experience waiting to happen. We explore the role of voice, narrative and storytelling in cookery books […]

10 Things I Hate About You (20th Anniversary Screening)

Performance Space

RAD, Manchester's home of retro, awesome cult movies, are back with one final cult American comedy to cap their season of shorts at Central Library, celebrating the 20th anniversary of 10 Things I Hate About You. In an updated version of Shakespeare's Taming of the Shrew, this film follows new kid, Cameron James (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), […]

£5.50