Library Live

Crime Central
2022-09-01 18:00 - 19:30 UTC
We’re back! Thursday 1st September at 6pm!

Crime Central returns with three more fantastic authors. Joining our host Rob Parker this month will be the author Adam Simcox, who’s novels combine murder mysteries with the supernatural. Joining him will be bestselling local author Paul Finch, who’s well known for his brilliant crime and horror novels. We’re also very excited to welcome Miranda Dickinson, who’s swapped her contemporary novel hat for the darker world of crime!

We can’t wait!

Adam Simcox, author of The Dying Squad series.
When Detective Inspector Joe Lazarus storms a Lincolnshire farmhouse, he expects to bring down a notorious drug gang; instead, he discovers his own body and a spirit guide called Daisy-May. She’s there to enlist him to The Dying Squad, a spectral police force who solve crimes their flesh and blood counterparts cannot.

Miranda Dickinson (M J White) author of the Dr Cora Lael novels.
MJ White is the pen name of million-copy selling Sunday Times bestselling author, Miranda Dickinson. Her debut crime series featuring Dr Cora Lael begins with The Secret Voices. A huge fan of crime fiction and particularly police procedurals, Miranda wrote The Secret Voices largely in secret and is chuffed now to finally share Cora, Acting DS Rob Minshull and the detectives of South Suffolk CID with the world!

Paul Finch, author of the DS Mark Heckenburg and DC Lucy Clayburn novels.
Paul Finch is a former cop and journalist now turned best-selling crime and thriller writer, and is the author of the very popular DS Mark ‘Heck’ Heckenburg and DC Lucy Clayburn novels. Paul first cut his literary teeth penning episodes of the British TV crime drama, The Bill, and has written extensively in horror, fantasy and science-fiction, including for Dr Who.

PLEASE NOTE: Tickets for this event are on a “pay what you can” basis. They range from £0 – £8 plus the Eventbrite booking fee.

All tickets allow the same access to the event. This is a just a pricing system to accommodate for individual financial circumstances.

Henry Normal In Conversation with...
2022-09-07 - 2022-09-28
Flapjack Press, Manchester Libraries and New Poetry Society present
Henry Normal in conversation with…
A series of live stream poetry, chat and Q&A every Wednesday evening in September.
Free but booking essential. Just click on the link to each event to register.
Join poet, writer, TV and film producer Henry Normal as he chats and shares poems with award-winning wordsmiths from Flapjack Press.
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Henry Normal in conversation with John Darwin
Wednesday 7th September, 7.00pm – 8.00pm
John Darwin was part of the acclaimed touring troupe A Firm of Poets and his solo poetry show, Happy Hour, won the Best Spoken Word Performance Award at the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival 2021. His new collection, Ultrasilence, is published this autumn.
“His words are visceral, delicate, vulnerable and utterly engrossing.” Matt Abbott, poet & educator
Henry Normal in conversation with Janine Booth
Wednesday 14th September, 7.00pm – 8.00pm
Janine Booth co-edited Flapjack Press’s new anthology NeurodiVERSE. Her poetry and prose collection, The Big J vs The Big C, details her journey from detection and diagnosis of breast cancer, through surgery, to – in her words – “getting over it”.
“Her words encourage and motivate … an inspiration.” Attila the Stockbroker, poet & musician
Henry Normal in conversation with David Viney
Wednesday 21st September, 7.00pm – 8.00pm
David Viney has been poet laureate for Kendal Calling festival, written for and performed on BBC radio, and written and performed two shows at Salford’s Lowry Theatre. His new collection, In Orbit, Back Soon, is part poetry, part comic book, part screenplay, and a rhythmic ride through right now.
“Has a unique talent … I’m constantly impressed.” David Scott, Official Poet for NSPCC & UEFA
Henry Normal in conversation with Rob Steventon
Wednesday 28th September, 7.00pm – 8.00pm
Rob Steventon is founder of Punk in Drublic, the Saboteur Award-winning poetry and comedy night. He co-edited NeurodiVERSE, a unique poetry anthology about the neurodivergent experience by
neurodivergent writers, and his debut collection How I Made My Millions is available now.
“A vital new voice in stand-up poetry. Young, angry and very funny.” Kate Fox, stand-up poet
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Henry Normal is a writer, poet, TV and film producer, founder of the Manchester Poetry Festival (now the Manchester Literature Festival) and co-founder of the Nottingham Poetry Festival. In June 2017 he was honoured with a special BAFTA for services to television.
Henry co-wrote and script edited the multi-award-winning Mrs Merton Show and the spin-off series Mrs Merton and Malcolm. He also co-created and co-wrote the first series of The Royle Family. With Steve Coogan, he co-wrote the BAFTA-winning Paul and Pauline Calf Video Diaries, Coogan’s Run, Tony Ferrino, Doctor Terrible, all of Steve’s live tours, and the film The Parole Officer. Setting up Baby Cow Productions Ltd in 1999, Henry Executive Produced all and script edited many of the shows during his tenure as MD. Highlights of the Baby Cow output during this time include Oscar-nominated Philomena, Gavin and Stacey, Moone Boy, The Mighty Boosh, Uncle, Nighty Night, Hunderby, Camping and Alan Partridge.
Since retiring in April 2016, Henry has written and performed nine BBC Radio 4 shows for his ‘occasional series’ A Normal…, combining poetry, comedy and stories about his life and family.
His latest title, Collected Poems Volume Two, is available now from Flapjack Press, and an all-new collection, The Fire Hills, is coming soon.

An Evening with Claire Mooney and Special Guests
2022-09-08 18:00 - 19:30 | Performance Space
Join Claire Mooney and special guests at Central Library for a night of music and poetry like no other.
Claire Mooney is a singer songwriter with numerous albums and international airplay to her credit. Described by NME as ‘a real talent’ and Music Week as ‘a people’s songstress’ Claire mixes the political with the playful and blends it all together into a performance of serious fun.
For personal reasons, Dave Puller is now unfortunately unable to perform at this event, but we are delighted to announce that Claire will be joined by award winning playwright and poet Alex Keelan and Manchester based writer and poet Marie Crook.

RETRO SILENT DISCO IS BACK!!!
2022-09-09 20:00 - 23:59 | Performance Space
You may have been living on a prayer that our super popular Silent Disco was ever going to return, but we were never gonna give you up!
If you’re desperate to strut your funky stuff to the best retro pop, rock and soul, Central Library is the place you wannabee. Since you’ve been gone, the fab DJ John has been creating some magic new mixes for you to get bootylicious to and reach for the stars!
So, don’t stop believin’ and get booking those tickets now.
Tickets range from £6 (+ booking fee) to ‘4 tickets for the price of 3’ bundles!
We can’t wait to see you on 9th September!

Salford and Cheetham Hill - iconic photos from the 1950s and 60s
2022-09-15 08:00 - 2022-09-30 17:00 | First Floor Exhibition Hall
This unique collection of photographs shows aspects of life in Cheetham Hill and Salford in the 1950s and 60s. There are images of whit walks , shops, factories, schools, family snaps, products and fashions of the period. There are also photo’s of the diverse migrant communities who came to live in Cheetham Hill and their ancestors. There are over 12,000 images in the collection. Many can be seen here: www.salfordandcheethaminfocus.co.uk
Free – drop in – please consider making a donation if you can either online or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

The Prostate Gap
2022-09-15 08:00 - 2022-10-29 17:00 | Lower Ground Floor Exhibition Space
Photographer Ian Smith presents this exhibition with the objective of raising awareness of prostate cancer in the under-represented. It focuses on the lack of understanding of how prostate cancer affects minority groups. The message is aimed at the general public to dilute the stereotyping of ‘the under-represented section of the population – groups with cultural differences, BME, gay and trans women communities.’ Individuals that live with a social stigma as well as a life changing illness.
Free – drop in – please consider making a donation if you can either online or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

History of Carnival Workshops by Linford Sweeney
2022-10-05 17:30 | Performance Space
The history of Caribbean Carnivals is much more complex than many realise. Carnival has origins based in colonialism and religious conversion, but it has now become a festival and celebration tied to freedom and emancipation from slavery. Learn about how established African-Caribbean communities transferred the traditions associated with carnival to Manchester as we explore the roots of the different aspects of carnival.

Wednesday 5 October at 5.30pm – suitable for age 14+

Book via www.racearchive.org.uk/events/black-history-month/

Sex Pistols in Manchester - Exhibition
2022-10-07 08:00 - 2022-12-31 17:00 | First Floor Display Cases
On 4 June 1976, the Sex Pistols played for the first time in Manchester at the Lesser Free Trade Hall. The gig is seen as the catalyst for the Manchester music scene which followed. Paul Welsh was the only person there on the night taking photographs, which have since been sold world-wide through Getty Images. However, this is the very first time all the photographs taken on that night have been shown to the general public.
Free – please consider making a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme either online or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

Jan Carson & Louise Kennedy
2022-10-09 14:00 - 16:30 | Performance Space
Two award-winning stars of Irish writing join us to discuss their acclaimed novels. Jan Carson’s The Raptures is a playful, inventive whodunnit set in the small town of Ballylack. Hannah’s classmates are dying of a mystery plague to which she’s immune. As each of the dead children visit her, Hannah begins to question her religious upbringing as the adults fall apart. Louise Kennedy’s beautifully vivid Trespasses tells of an affair between Catholic primary teacher Cushla and Michael, a Protestant lawyer nearly twice her age. Set in and around Belfast against a backdrop of the Troubles, lives are changed forever.
Jan’s second novel, The Fire Starters, won the EU Prize for Literature. Her stories have won the Harpers Bazaar short story competition and been shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award. Louise has been twice shortlisted for the Sunday Times Audible Short Story Award and is the author of the acclaimed collection The End of the World is a Cul de Sac. Hosted by Caroline Magennis, Reader in 20th & 21st Century Literature at University of Salford.
Tickets £8 / £6. Book on 0343 208 0500 or via ‘Book Now’ link below

Kit de Waal
2022-10-09 16:00 - 17:00 | Performance Space
‘I live with the dread that one day when my young muscles rebel, can take no more stillness and the brutal confinement of my very self, I will stand and strip naked and burst out of my skin.’ Without Warning and Only Sometimes is Kit de Waal’s memoir of a childhood of opposites and extremes. Raised in Moseley, Birmingham, with her siblings, food was scarce. Their Irish mother worked multiple jobs and believed the world would end in 1975. Their Caribbean father’s paradise was home – St Kitts – and when he wasn’t splurging on fancy clothes and a car, he was saving to build his dream house there. Eventually teenage Kit found a route that led to her becoming an award-winning writer.
Kit is the author of three previous books. My Name Is Leon won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the year, was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award and has been adapted for TV by Lenny Henry’s production company. The Trick to Time was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Hosted by broadcaster and Literary Editor Ellah P. Wakatama. Presented in partnership with the Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester.

Tickets £10 / £8. Book on 0343 208 0500 or via ‘Book Now’ link below

Paterson Joseph in Conversation
2022-10-09 19:00 - 20:30 | Performance Space
It’s 1746 and Georgian London is not a safe place for a young Black man, especially one who has escaped slavery. So how does Charles Ignatius Sancho meet the King, write and play highly acclaimed music, become the first Black person to vote in Britain and lead the fight to end slavery? In his captivating debut novel, The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho, much-loved actor Paterson Joseph tells a story hidden for 300 years. An attempt ‘to correct the colour-balance that has allowed an historical distortion of British history to exist’ and ‘to add to the growing canon of Black Historical Fiction’ as entertaining as any of the revered classics.
A star of stage and screen, Paterson is best known for his roles in Casualty, Peep Show and Green Wing amongst many others. He recently appeared in the BBC series Vigil and as Kamal Hadley in the adaptation of Malorie Blackman’s Noughts + Crosses. Hosted by broadcaster and Literary Editor Ellah P. Wakatama.
Tickets £12 / £10. Book on 0343 208 0500 or via ‘Book Now’ link below

Damon Galgut in Conversation
2022-10-10 19:00 - 20:30 | Performance Space
One family, four decades, four funerals, one unfulfilled promise. Winner of the 2021 Booker Prize, Damon Galgut joins us to discuss his masterpiece The Promise, a gripping, beautifully written family saga based around a farm in South Africa. Through the members of the Swart family, Damon explores personal and political change as the family splinters and apartheid ends, questioning whether reparations for Black South Africans can ever be sufficient. The Promise was a Book of the Year in The Guardian, The Observer, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times and the New Statesman. Author of nine novels and four plays, Damon was previously twice shortlisted for the Booker Prize with The Good Doctor and In a Strange Room. Hosted by broadcaster and Observer critic Alex Clark and presented in partnership with the Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester.
This event will be BSL interpreted
Tickets £12 / £10. Book on 0343 208 0500 or via ‘Book Now’ link below

Monica Ali
2022-10-11 19:00 - 20:30 | Performance Space
The bestselling and much-loved author of Brick Lane, Monica Ali visits MLF to celebrate her brilliant new novel Love Marriage, her first book in a decade. Yasmin’s engaged to fellow Junior Doctor Joe, but when they bring the two families together – one love-matched, long-married Bengali immigrants who thrive on home cooking and the other a single white middle-class feminist academic writing on porn who gets the caterers in for parties – cracks appear in everyone’s lives and stories that have long been told have to be rewritten with significant consequences.
Monica Ali is the author of five novels which have been translated into 26 languages. Her debut, Brick Lane, was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and led to her being chosen as one of Granta’s 2003 Best of Young British Novelists. A television adaptation of Love Marriage is in development.
Tickets £12 / £10. Book on 0343 208 0500

Nihal Arthanayake: Let’s Talk
2022-10-13 19:00 - 20:30 | Performance Space
Award-winning BBC broadcaster Nihal Arthanayake brings a defibrillator to our ailing ability to connect through conversation. In Let’s Talk: How to Have Better Conversations, Nihal considers what’s happened to discourse, both public and private, over recent years. How Brexit, lockdown and social media have led to division, monologues, and a lack of in-person discussions. Through skills honed by his career on radio and, ultimately, the beauty of connection shown to him by his mother, Nihal shares with us all how we can become better conversationalists, bridge divides, and become less lonely.
Nihal has built a platform of 1.2 million listeners a week on BBC Radio 5 Live who regard him as one of the best people of his generation at having public conversations. He is the winner of two Sony Gold Awards, a BBC Radio and Music Award for Interview of the Year and was inducted into the Radio Academy’s Hall of Fame in his 40s. Hosted by poet and writer Andrew McMillan.
Tickets £10 / £8. Book on 0343 208 0500

From Millworkers to Millennials: Jean Hobson
2022-10-14 08:00 - 2022-12-17 17:00 | First Floor Exhibition Hall
From Millworkers to Millennials: paintings, drawings and screen prints by Jean Hobson

When Jean Hobson started drawing Manchester’s old buildings in 2007, she did not realise she was charting a pivotal moment in the City’s history.

This new body of work explores the story of Manchester’s second renaissance. It looks at how the city’s rich architectural heritage shares its space with the bold new buildings which make the city such an exciting place in which to live, work and relax.

Jean takes an original and colourful look at Manchester’s vibrant transformation, she hopes visitors will take a fresh look at their surroundings, appreciating the past and celebrating the present.
Free – please consider making a donation to support our Library Live cultural programme either online or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

Little Reads Family Day
2022-10-15 10:30 - 12:30 | Performance Space
Looking for a fun way to introduce children to important environmental issues? Sarah Roberts, author of the acclaimed Somebody Swallowed Stanley, will be sharing her latest beautifully illustrated book Somebody Woke Wilson. For millions of years, Wilson has slept toasty deep underground, along with billions of other carbon atoms. But when Wilson is suddenly woken, he is swept away on a startling adventure.
Sarah will be joined by our wonderful Little Reads artist Nanya Lad providing a big fun craft session making recycled craft to take home. You can also go on an adventure around Central Library with our Earth Activity Trail. Collect your activity sheet and follow the big footprints to learn about the world around you. Collect your prize at the end!
Suitable for ages 3 – 6 (please note all children must be accompanied by a responsible adult)
Book on 0343 208 0500 or ‘book now’ link below

Nick Hornby: Dickens & Prince
2022-10-17 19:00 - 20:30 | Performance Space
At first glance, it seems unlikely that the white English Victorian writer Charles Dickens and the Black American musician Prince Rogers Nelson have anything in common. But as two of Nick Hornby’s ‘artists who have shaped me, inspired me, made me think about my own work’ he set out to see whether there was anything he could learn from these two great artists and their prolific bodies of work. What did they do with their phenomenal talent? Did it damage them in some way, personally, professionally? Is there any way of knowing where it came from? Did it kill them?
With wit, curiosity and deep admiration Nick Hornby traces their extraordinary lives – from their difficult beginnings to the women they fell for to their limitless energy for work, to their money and the movies – and brilliantly illuminates their very particular kind of genius. Come along and find out more. Nick is the bestselling author of eight novels including Just Like You, High Fidelity and About a Boy and several works of nonfiction including Fever Pitch. He has also written several award-winning screenplays including Brooklyn, Wild and State of the Union. Nick will be in conversation with broadcaster and Observer critic Alex Clark. This event is sponsored by Weightmans.
Book on 0343 208 0500 or ‘book now’ link below

After Sylvia
2022-10-18 19:00 - 20:30 | Performance Space
With Moniza Alvi, Romalyn Ante, Rebecca Goss, Ian Humphreys & Carola Luther
One of the most dynamic and admired American writers of the 20th Century, Sylvia Plath’s legacy as a fiercely intelligent, confessional feminist poet and novelist continues to inspire generation after generation. After Sylvia: Poems & Essays in Celebration of Sylvia Plath marks the 90th anniversary of Sylvia Plath’s birth. At this special event, poets Moniza Alvi, Romalyn Ante, Rebecca Goss, Ian Humphreys & Carola Luther will perform new work inspired by and responding to Sylvia Plath’s work and legacy, drawing on the themes of Rebirth, Womanhood, Magic, Mothers & Fathers and Nature.
Moniza Alvi has been shortlisted for the TS Eliot Prize three times with her collections The Country at My Shoulder, Europa and At the Time of Partition. Romalyn Ante is the author of Antiemetic for Homesickness which was shortlisted for the Jhalak Prize and longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize. Rebecca Goss is the author of four poetry collections. Her Birth was shortlisted for the 2013 Forward Prize for Best Collection. She is winner of the Sylvia Plath Prize 2022.  Carola Luther is the author of three poetry collections. Her most recent collection On the Way to Jerusalem Farm is shortlisted for the Derek Walcott Prize for Poetry. Ian Humphreys is a writer and editor. His debut collection Zebra was nominated for the Portico Prize and his work has been highly commended in the Forward Prizes for Poetry. He is the producer and co-editor of After Sylvia.
Presented in partnership with Manchester Poetry Library.
This event will be BSL interpreted
Book on 0343 208 0500 or ‘book now’ link below

Mariana Enriquez & Max Porter in Conversation
2022-10-20 19:00 | Performance Space
‘“Is it true?” Gaspar had asked. “Is it true that the dead travel fast?” His father had finally looked up and said, simply: “Some do.”’ Argentinian mistress of dark literature, Mariana Enriquez joins us in Manchester to discuss her superb, brutal novel Our Share of Night (translated by Megan McDowell). Gaspar is six years old when the Order first come for him. For years, they have exploited his father’s ability to commune with the dead and the demonic, presiding over macabre rituals where the unwanted and the disappeared are tortured and executed, sacrificed to the Darkness. Now they want a successor. The novel spans the brutal decades of Argentina’s military dictatorship and its aftermath, offering a critique of its rule.
Mariana is the author of the short story collections Things We Lost in the Fire and The Dangers of Smoking in Bed (also translated by Megan McDowell), which was shortlisted for the 2021 International Booker Prize. Our Share of Night was awarded the prestigious Premio Herralde de Novela. Mariana will be in conversation with Max Porter, award-winning writer of Lanny and Grief Is the Thing with Feathers. Presented in partnership with Instituto Cervantes.
Book on 0343 208 0500 or ‘book now’ link below

creative:connection
2022-10-21 13:00 - 14:00 | Performance Space
We are delighted to partner with the award-winning charity Create once again. The creative:connection project brings together disabled and non-disabled children to create, build connections and break down barriers. Children from four schools in Manchester and Salford joined forces with top class musicians to write songs and create new pieces of music inspired by nature and the environment, which they will perform at this special celebration event.
Tickets are free – booking essential. Email miriam@manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk

Susanna Clarke & Max Porter in Conversation
2022-10-21 19:00 - 20:30 | Performance Space
Piranesi lives in the House. Having no memory of how he arrived or even who he is, Piranesi keeps careful records of the labyrinth of halls, the many statues and the weather. Once a week he meets his friend the Other, but he has no contact with any other living person until someone begins to leave him messages and the possibility arises that this perfectly constructed existence could crumble from within.
Piranesi won the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2021, the Red Tentacle prize at the Kitschies and was declared a Book of the Year in numerous publications. Susanna Clarke’s bestselling debut Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell won the British Book Awards Newcomer of the Year, the Hugo Award and the World Fantasy Award. It was turned into an acclaimed BBC television series. Susanna will be in conversation with Max Porter, award-winning writer of Lanny and Grief Is the Thing with Feathers, for her only in-person event this Autumn. Presented in partnership with the Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester.
Book on 0343 208 0500 or ‘book now’ link below

Natalie Haynes
2022-10-23 14:00 - 15:00 | Performance Space
Stone Blind, Natalie Haynes’ latest feminist mythological retelling, is the story of how a young woman became a monster. And how she was never really a monster at all. It’s the story of Medusa, the mortal raised by her Gorgon sisters, mistreated by Poseidon, and hunted by Perseus. It’s a version that sheds light on who’s really angry, who’s privileged, who’s wronged, who’s content, and who’s an arrogant brat; turning the story you think you know on its snake covered head.
Natalie is the author of three previous novels, The Amber Fury, shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize; The Children of Jocasta and A Thousand Ships, and non-fiction books The Ancient Guide to Modern Life and Pandora’s Jar. She is the writer and performer of the BBC Radio 4 show, Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics. In 2015, she was awarded the Classical Association Prize for her work in bringing Classics to a wider audience. Hosted by Naomi Frisby, writer and co-host of Late To It podcast.
Book on 0343 208 0500 or ‘book now’ link below

George Saunders in Conversation
2022-10-23 16:00 - 17:00 | Performance Space
‘The best short story writer in English – not “one of”, not “arguably”, but the best’ – Time. In his latest short story collection, Liberation Day, George Saunders considers what it means to be human and a member of communities whose actions impact each other. Through inventive scenarios including an underground amusement park and a household with reprogrammed humans, George comments on current society, questioning whether this is the right way to live. Join us for what promises to be an unmissable conversation with a master of short stories on his first visit to the UK in five years, and his only event outside of London. George is the author of ten books including the Booker Prize winning Lincoln in the Bardo, Tenth of December and his recent exploration of Russian short stories, A Swim in a Pond in the Rain. Hosted by writer Kate Feld.
Book on 0343 208 0500 or ‘book now’ link below

Word Central
2022-10-25 18:00 - 19:30 | Performance Space
Word Central
Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word presented by Manchester Libraries and Flapjack Press
Tues 25th October, 6.00pm – 7.30pm (doors open 5.30pm) Free entry
Hosted by Tony Curry with guest poet Stevie Turner
Book your open mic slot from noon on Tues 11th October via mail@flapjackpress.co.uk
NB Open mic slots are 3 minutes per performer
Performance slots are allocated on a ‘first come first served’ basis from the stated booking day
If they are already filled you will be offered a space on the reserve list
Event host Tony Curry is a performance poet, playwright and workshop facilitator, who runs 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 collection, We Kid Ourselves, was published by Flapjack Press in 2021.
September’s special guest Stevie Turner is a political and passionate poet whose work often pushes boundaries. Their debut collection Lost Decades was published this summer by Bent Key Publishing and is a personal yet relatable account of life without restrictive lines, examining the deep human connections we make throughout life. Stevie performed with the Northern Poetry Takeover at this year’s Brighton and Camden Fringe festivals and launched a new poetry event, Absinthe Nights, at Northern Monk earlier this month.

History of Carnival Workshops by Linford Sweeney
2022-10-26 14:00 - 17:00 | Performance Space
The history of Caribbean Carnivals is much more complex than many realise. Carnival has origins based in colonialism and religious conversion, but it has now become a festival and celebration tied to freedom and emancipation from slavery. Learn about how established African-Caribbean communities transferred the traditions associated with carnival to Manchester as we explore the roots of the different aspects of carnival.

Wednesday 26 October at 2pm for families – suitable for age 10+

Book via www.racearchive.org.uk/events/black-history-month/

We Are Carnival! Party
2022-10-27 14:00 - 19:00 | Performance Space
Explore historical carnival memories through archives via an exhibition, film provided by North West Film Archive, music by Manchester Carnival affiliated DJ and host Kemoy Walker, a family arts workshop by local artist Tina Ramos Ekongo, spoken word performances by Young Identity and delicious Caribbean food courtesy of Buzzrocks Caribbean Restaurant.
Book via www.racearchive.org.uk/events/black-history-month/

Manchester Loving Earth Project - Textile Exhibition
2022-10-28 08:00 - 2022-11-29 17:00 | Ground Floor
This exhibition of over 70 Loving Earth Project textile panels will be at six city centre venues in Manchester. Central Library is one of these venues and has 10 panels on display.
Each panel is individually crafted and depicts places, creatures and other things that the maker loves, but which are threatened by growing climate crisis and destruction.
More than 200 panels were displayed at COP26 in Glasgow and this Manchester exhibition will take place during COP27 in Egypt. Go to Archives, City (lending) and Music Libraries to see 2-3 panels in each location.
Also look out for leaflets about the whole city centre trail and a Reflections Book for your comments on the exhibition as well as the growing climate crisis.
Free – please drop in
Please consider making a donation to support our Library Live programme, either online or at one of our cash or contactless donation boxes in Central Library

Dominic Berry & John Darwin Book Launch
2022-11-01 18:00 - 19:30 | Performance Space
Flapjack Press and Manchester Libraries invite you to the book launch of new poetry collections of two of Manchester’s finest.
John Darwin: Ultrasilence
From the provincial peccadilloes of Prestwich in Manchester to coffee houses and bars by the Bosporus in İstanbul, John Darwin explores life’s three stages of arriving, staying for a bit, and then leaving.
A poetic reflection on the ennui of the everyday, intermittent pleasures, and the quest to understand love and belonging from the Greater Manchester Fringe Festival 2021 Best Spoken Word Performance Award winner.
“Gets to grips with the parts of life we’d rather forget.” – Dave Morgan, Write Out Loud Co-founder
“From early doors to last orders, John Darwin’s poetry leaves us drunk on its honesty and thirsty for more.” – Tony Walsh AKA Longfella, Poet
Dominic Berry: YES LIFE
“How can I be now?”
This is a book charting one journey from challenging times to friendship and joy. To euphoric excitement and blissful rest, from old He-Man toys, choose-your-own-adventure books, moving music in grin-packed pubs and fantastic festivals, sublime seaside solitude, and many different ways for a person to play.
“Love is who we are.”
“Rhythmic, vibrant, and gentle, Yes Life is a love letter to the many ways in which we get to see the world.” – Desree, spoken word poet & educator
“A homage to youth, to growth, and to growing up. Whether it be the Latin rhythms of the paperback dancefloor or the 8-Bit energy of the nineties, Berry comes in full force.” – Alex Vellis, poet
AUTHOR PERFORMANCES, AUDIENCE Q&A, BOOK SIGNING – FREE ENTRY.
Content warning: Adult themes and language.

Crime Central
2022-11-03 18:00 - 19:30 | Performance Space
Crime Central returns in November with three more amazing writers!
Lauren North – writes psychological suspense novels that delve into the darker side of relationships and families. Lauren’s love of psychological suspense has grown since childhood and from her dark imagination of always wondering what’s the worst thing that could happen in every situation.
Roger Price – spent over 30 years as a Detective Inspector in the Lancashire Police Force, the Regional Crime Squad and the National Crime Squad before leaving to concentrate fulltime on writing best selling crime novels.
Laure Van Rensburg – is a French writer living in the UK and an Ink Academy alumna. Her stories have appeared in online magazines and anthologies such as Litro Magazine, Storgy Magazine, The Real Jazz Baby, Best Anthology, Saboteur Awards 2020).
Hosted by the wonderful Rob Parker.
PLEASE NOTE: Tickets for this event are on a “pay what you can” basis. They range from £2 – £8 plus the Eventbrite booking fee.
All tickets allow the same access to the event. This is a just a pricing system to accommodate for individual financial circumstances.

Launch of the Grass Roots Books Archive
2022-11-07 17:30 - 19:30 | Archives+ Ground Floor
Grass Roots Books was Manchester’s radical bookshop from 1971 to 1990, becoming the largest outside London and a worker’s co-operative. Former workers have collected memories and archive material about it. At this launch you will have the chance to see radical books and ephemera from the period. Archive material will also be on display in the library throughout November. We are seeking recollections from customers who visited the shop. Send your memories to grbhistory@gmail.com.
Free – just drop in
