THIS EVENT IS FULLY BOOKED Join us for an intimate evening with one of Ireland’s best-loved writers, Roddy Doyle, discussing his books, his films, and his forthcoming novel, Smile. It tells the captivating story of Victor Forde, for whom a chance meeting in a pub conjures up long-buried childhood memories – and it’s a book about how we all […]
Manchester Metropolitan University’s Manchester Fashion Institute is involved in an exciting new project that explores the individual and civic identities of Greater Manchester’s young people through style, fashion and dress. Academics Jo Jenkinson, John Earnshaw and Zoë Hitchen have been working with young people to establish how clothing can be used as a catalyst for self-awareness and personal expression, capturing portraits of […]
THIS EVENT IS NOW FULLY BOOKED A sharp-eyed, merciless commentator on modern times and modern mores, from the sublime to the ridiculous – no one writes quite like Will Self. Join us for a conversation with the cult author, broadcaster and critic about his new novel, Phone, a wildly funny send-up of contemporary British life. Through the chronicles of Jonathan […]
To celebrate the publication of the new Bloodaxe DVD-anthology, In Person: World Poets, we are delighted to present a special film screening featuring some of the most extraordinary contemporary poets from across the globe, including Robert Adamson, Tishani Doshi, Roy Fisher, Choman Hardi, Jaan Kaplinski, Nikola Madzirov, Ruth Stone, Arundhathi Subramaniam, Brian Turner and Chase Twichell. […]
In 1940 Evert Dax and David Sparsholt, two men from very different backgrounds, are thrown together at Oxford University, amid the fear and recklessness of war. In Alan Hollinghurst’s long-awaited new novel, The Sparsholt Affair, we follow the two through the decades as fashions change and their country is transformed around them, ending in a […]
THIS EVENT IS FULLY BOOKED When Harriet Harman entered politics, a woman couldn’t sign for a mortgage and jobs were advertised at a lower ‘woman’s rate’. We’ve come a long way since then, but as Harriet shows in her new book, we have longer still to go. Join us for a searching and intimate conversation with the leading Labour […]
Join Reni Eddo-Lodge for a discussion about her critically acclaimed book, Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race – an urgent and powerful analysis of race in Modern Britain from one of the country’s most inspiring young journalists. Taking its title from the viral blog post that voiced the frustrations of so […]
A day bursting with family fun featuring CBeebies stars Ben Faulks (Mr Bloom) and Michael de Souza (Rastamouse), a draw along with Ed Vere (author of Mr Big and Max the Brave), a Kitchen Disco and a Bathroom Boogie. There’s also a Children’s Bookswap and lots of free craft activities. This event is part […]
Two gifted, cosmopolitan novelists come together for an evening of boundary-crossing fiction, from Asia to Britain. One of the most widely read writers in her native Turkey, Elif Shafak’s nine acclaimed novels have been translated into 40 languages and include The Architect’s Apprentice, Honour, and The Bastard of Istanbul. She will read and discuss her […]
The Things I Would Tell You is an anthology that features 22 British Muslim Women Writers whose stories and poems transcend time, place and stereotypes to blow away the narrow image of the ‘Muslim woman’. Nikesh Shukla describes it as an ‘exquisite collection full of energy, experimentation, honesty, beauty, fury, heartbreak and laughs. Defiantly multi-cultural.’ […]
Arundhathi Subramaniam attended the first Manchester Literature Festival in 2006 and we are thrilled to welcome her back to the city to share her sensual and soulful poetry exploring the contradictory nature of living in a Third World megalopolis. She has published two books of poetry in Britain with Bloodaxe, Where I Live: New & […]
By sharing our stories, we have the power to transform the world. Amid a global migration crisis, the Refugee Tales project was conceived as a way of giving voice to people who have been held in indefinite immigration detention. Offered as a modern reworking of The Canterbury Tales, the project’s second book tells the stories […]
From dedicated performance spaces to stairwells, screens, nooks and domes, Central Library might directly inspire your next event or intervention. Contact us to arrange a tour.
