Spotlighting the impact of the genre on the region’s community with a free exhibition of Hip Hop memorabilia and materials from the 1980s to present day, marking over 40 years of Hip Hop lifestyle and culture in the city. Made up of clothing, photographs, cassettes, records, graffiti sketchbooks, posters, flyers and oral histories documenting the […]
Word Central Open Mic Poetry and Spoken Word Hosted by Tony Curry Presented by Flapjack Press & Manchester Libraries Monday 27th September, 6.00pm with special guest Gus Jonsson Gus is a poet and writer who was brought up on the Isle of Wight. Now living in Littleborough, his two autobiographical volumes of poetry and prose, Vectis Voices and Vectis […]
THE FREE TRADE HALL – THE MOST IMPORTANT POPULAR MUSIC VENUE IN GREAT BRITAIN BETWEEN 1951 AND 1996 Richard Lysons, author of 'Were You There? Popular Music At Manchester's Free Trade Hall 1951-1996' will talk to veteran Manchester music writer, Mick Middles about his widely acclaimed book. Manchester's Free Trade Hall was arguably the most […]
We host a living library event to mark the launch of a new campaign that breaks stereotypes on what an activist looks like and showcase how generations are working together to tackle climate change. The ‘This Is What An Activist’ campaign launch coincides with the International Day of Older Persons and the living library event […]
We’re celebrating Older People’s Day in style, with an afternoon of bingo. But this is Manchester. We do things differently here! Join the fabulous Angel Delight for a sparkling afternoon of fun, including stand up bingo, bongo bingo, singalongs and loads more. Please phone 0161 234 1932 to book your FREE tickets. Maximum of six […]
Spondylux Press, Manchester Poetry Library and Manchester Libraries are proud to invite you to the book launch of 'Goalkeeper' The Memoir of poet Peter Street. One 'alone, but not lonely' boy's triumph over adversity, motivated by his dream of becoming a professional footballer and a longing for truth and connection. Street's childhood memoir is a […]
MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL ‘How did we get here? Where might we go?’ Is the future ‘a screen onto which we project our fantasies and terrors’? What can the past tell us about the future? Are we all doomed? And what’s gender got to do with it? Jeanette Winterson’s latest book 12 Bytes considers our relationship with […]
MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL ‘Later I saw that change came as change always comes, from a chain of events with a long history, too long to see from back to front, till it come.’ In The Mermaid of Black Conch, Monique Roffey’s Costa Book of the Year winner, the life of David, one of the island’s […]
MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL A fig tree with a tale to tell; a grieving teenage girl who wants to know her family’s story; two sets of lovers hiding from society. In her enchanting new novel, The Island of Missing Trees, Elif Shafak considers how the story of humans and the natural world are entwined. Set in London […]
MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL Much-loved former Labour MP Alan Johnson makes a welcome return to MLF. Following his series of successful memoirs – This Boy, In My Life, The Long and Winding Road and Please, Mr Postman, Alan has turned to fiction, joining us to discuss his thrilling debut novel The Late Train to Gypsy Hill. Featuring a Ukranian waitress mixed up in […]
MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL Celebrating a landmark new series curated by Booker Prize winning writer Bernardine Evaristo, Black Britain Writing Back re-introduces lost or hard-to-find books by Black writers who wrote about Black Britain and the diaspora across the Twentieth Century. Joining Bernardine is Jacqueline Roy whose novel The Fat Lady Sings tells the stories of Gloria and […]
#LikeChopin – The Mysterious Story of Chopin in Manchester In August 1848 Fryderyk Chopin travelled to Britain. During the visit he also gave a performance in Manchester. The concert took place at the Manchester’s Gentleman Concert Hall on Peter Street. The Hall was demolished in 1887 and The Midland Hotel was built on the […]
MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL Granta’s second selection of Best of Young Spanish Language Novelists showcases the work of 25 of the most exciting writers in the Spanish-speaking world. Valerie Miles, editor, writer, translator, co-founder of Granta’s literary journal in Spanish joins us to discuss the selection, which encompasses thirteen countries and territories. Two of the chosen authors will […]
MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL ‘I can make no sense of the present. It is all confusion. I know nothing about the future.’ In his extraordinary new novel, The Magician, Colm Tóibín conjures up the past and the life of writer Thomas Mann. Against the backdrop of two world wars, Colm charts Mann’s rise to prominence and the […]
MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL What do you want to be when you grow up? Curated by Stormzy and the #Merky Books team, Superheroes is a new children’s book celebrating modern day heroes from across the worlds of sport, music, food, the arts and more. Join us to celebrate the launch with an interactive workshop run by performance poet […]
MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL Chris Haughton & Daishu Ma 10.00 – 10.45 Music & Drama Family Workshop 11.15 – 12.15 We are delighted to present a very special in person event with Chris Haughton, the acclaimed picture book creator of titles including Oh No George! and Shh! We Have a Plan for an action-packed family event celebrating his story Maybe… He will […]
MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL What do you want to be when you grow up? Curated by Stormzy and the #Merky Books team, Superheroes is a new children’s book celebrating modern day heroes from across the worlds of sport, music, food, the arts and more. Join us to celebrate the launch with an interactive workshop run by performance poet […]
MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL Chris Haughton & Daishu Ma 10.00 – 10.45 Music & Drama Family Workshop 11.15 – 12.15 We are delighted to present a very special in person event with Chris Haughton, the acclaimed picture book creator of titles including Oh No George! and Shh! We Have a Plan for an action-packed family event celebrating his story Maybe… He will […]
Due to unforeseen circumstances this Manchester Literature Festival event is cancelled Join us for an afternoon with three fabulous, inventive poets who raise questions about our relationships with language, landscape and identity. Vahni Capildeo’s Like a Tree, Walking explores ecopoetics and silence, with poems originating from nocturnes and lullabies in hilly Port of Spain to ‘stillness exercises’ recording […]
Due to unforeseen circumstances this Manchester Literature Festival event is cancelled Join us for an afternoon with three fabulous, inventive poets who raise questions about our relationships with language, landscape and identity. Vahni Capildeo’s Like a Tree, Walking explores ecopoetics and silence, with poems originating from nocturnes and lullabies in hilly Port of Spain to ‘stillness exercises’ recording […]
Venture Arts Presents Full Studio Show - Completely A Hustling Place – With Work From 70 Artists This autumn, one of Manchester’s leading visual art studios, Venture Arts, which supports learning disabled and neurodivergent artists to play an active role in the cultural sector, is presenting a thrilling full studio show where you can experience […]
MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL We are delighted to welcome national charity, Create, back to MLF. Create believe in the power of creativity to change lives. Their creative:connection project brings together disabled and non-disabled children to create, build connections and break down barriers around disability. This October children from four schools in Manchester and Salford (Chatsworth High School, Grange Academy, […]
MANCHESTER LITERATURE FESTIVAL We are delighted to welcome national charity, Create, back to MLF. Create believe in the power of creativity to change lives. Their creative:connection project brings together disabled and non-disabled children to create, build connections and break down barriers around disability. This October children from four schools in Manchester and Salford (Chatsworth High School, Grange Academy, […]
A free, interactive festival of exploration and experiments and a great chance for kids to discover the fun behind science and engineering. ScienceX is a festival like no other: bursting with fun, exciting activities for children, and open to all. Discover what the world of science and engineering is really about as we focus this […]
A free, interactive festival of exploration and experiments and a great chance for kids to discover the fun behind science and engineering. ScienceX is a festival like no other: bursting with fun, exciting activities for children, and open to all. Discover what the world of science and engineering is really about as we focus this […]
A free, interactive festival of exploration and experiments and a great chance for kids to discover the fun behind science and engineering. ScienceX is a festival like no other: bursting with fun, exciting activities for children, and open to all. Discover what the world of science and engineering is really about as we focus this […]
A free, interactive festival of exploration and experiments and a great chance for kids to discover the fun behind science and engineering. ScienceX is a festival like no other: bursting with fun, exciting activities for children, and open to all. Discover what the world of science and engineering is really about as we focus this […]
And We Rise; Together. Performance and Protest Poetry A Young Identity curated event of poetry and readings from material gathered from workshops with community groups based in Moss Side. 1.30 pm-3.30 pm: A Young Identity curated event where material gathered from community workshops are woven together to produce spoken word and poetry performances by the […]
Nathan Geering’s critically acclaimed and award winning short film screening ‘Still a Slave’, plus a lecture delivered by Nathan and an audience Q&A. The film is a powerful and artistic response to the social media comments that undermined the Black Lives Matter movement. It illustrates the many ways black people are still bound by society […]
1001 Inventions invites families in Greater Manchester to join us on a fascinating learning journey and to unravel some mysteries from the science of CHEMISTRY. Fun and educational sessions will bring the magic of wizards and potions to help cast a spell on children so that they fall in love with science! Follow in the […]
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.