• The Longplayer Conversation: David Attenborough and Chris Watson

    Performance Space

    A LIVE SCREENING FROM THE BRITISH LIBRARY An evening of extraordinary sounds and discussion The 2017 Longplayer Conversation brings together long time collaborators, sound recordist Chris Watson and naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough. Join us for what promises to be a fascinating conversation informed by their shared interests and experiences as sound recordists in […]

  • Gordon Brown: A Life in Politics

    Performance Space

    This event is sold out The former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, will talk about a remarkable 40 years on the political frontline. Join us for this landmark event to celebrate the release of his forthcoming memoir, My Life, Our Times, which reflects candidly on an extraordinary career; from New Labour's 1997 landslide electoral victory, to the 2008 global […]

  • Jennifer Egan

    Performance Space

    Acclaimed American author Jennifer Egan makes a rare UK visit to talk about her forthcoming novel, Manhattan Beach – her first foray into historical fiction. Set during the Depression and then the war, it tells the story of Anna Kerrigan, a navy diver making her own way at a transformative time for women; in a […]

    £10
  • Homeless Film Festival Screening – Mr Stink

    Performance Space

    Join us for a screening of the film Mr Stink. The film is presented by the Homeless Film Festival which is a registered charity and the world's biggest festival dedicated to using film screenings, special events and film making workshops as a way of highlighting and tackling homeless issues. Free - to book email homelessfilmfestival@gmail.com

  • War Memories

    Performance Space

    With the endorsement of WarGen, Manchester Central Library together with one of its volunteer groups, the Manchester Indie Film Makers Group (MIFMG), are presenting a single performance of War Memories, a production written by the MIFMG using film and written material from the published WarGen pages on the internet. WarGen is currently uploading film and transcriptions of the experiences of […]

  • WORD CENTRAL open mic poetry & spoken word

    Performance Space

    WORD CENTRAL is back on Wednesday 1st November at Central Library. 6pm - 8pm , free entry This month's special guest is poet Mark Mace Smith Glastonbury Festival Poetry Slam Winner 2008, BBC MediaCity Poet in Residence 2011-2015, and author of A Fruit Filled with Bitter Ashes. All open mic slots are already filled, but if you want […]

  • Harry Potter: A History of Magic Live Screenings

    Performance Space

    SORRY, THESE EVENTS ARE NOW BOOKED UP. Journey to where magic and myth began! Have you ever wanted to delve into Divination, ponder the peculiarities of Potions and discover enchanting creatures? Now you can. Watch lecturers at the British Library unveil rare books, manuscripts and magical objects from the British Library's collection, capturing the traditions […]

  • Michael Symmons Roberts

    Performance Space

    In his eagerly anticipated seventh collection, Michael Symmons Roberts shows us a place at once familiar and strange. Mancunia is located where real crosses unreal, a Manchester of the mind: occupied, abandoned, liberated and rebuilt. In these finely wrought, capacious poems, we encounter wayward mariners in bars, meet invisible bureaucrats, and hear history shouting through […]

    £7
  • Hollie McNish & Jackie Hagan

    Performance Space

    THIS EVENT IS NOW FULLY BOOKED Join two captivating artists for an unforgettable evening of performance poetry. The winner of The Poetry Society’s 2017 Ted Hughes Award for New Work, Hollie returns to MLF to read from her wise, sometimes rude and piercingly candid new collection, Plum. In her debut Nobody Told Me, Hollie’s plainspoken writing about the joy and confusion of […]

    £10
  • Howard Jacobson

    Performance Space

    Join us for an evening with award-winning Mancunian writer and critic Howard Jacobson, in conversation with MLF Patron and host Rachel Cooke about the art of satire and writing as resistance. Written ‘in a fury of disbelief’ following the election of U.S. President Donald Trump, Howard’s latest novel, Pussy, is a fierce and funny take on POTUS, power, […]

    £8
  • The Writing Squad

    Performance Space

    THIS EVENT IS FULLY BOOKED Is reading for six minutes as good for you as five a day or a brisk walk? We think so, especially if it is about you, about where you live. Come and hear six minute ensembles written and performed for Read Manchester by the brilliant children from Manchester schools (Levenshulme High School for Girls, […]

  • Refugee Tales: Volume II

    Performance Space

    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 […]

    £8