What's On


Shirley May will support participants in creating poetry to celebrate the contributions of Black women to the infrastructure of Manchester.

Rosa Grindon’s journey from modest beginnings in a Derbyshire village to becoming a leading figure in literary and theatrical circles in Manchester, a ground-breaking Shakespearean scholar and, as a Suffragist, an outspoken champion of women’s rights.

The UK’s biggest music-literary Festival returns for its eleventh year with a huge line-up, from Will Sergeant (Echo and the Bunnymen) to Nick Banks (Pulp), Napalm Death’s Shane Embury, and Penetration’s Pauline Murray.

An evening of live performance art about the ways we perform for love and acceptance, mixing opera, poetry, and art instructions.

At MLF23, Simon Armitage discusses his love of language, compositions and his collaborations with musicians.
Part of Manchester Literature Festival

One of our most fearless voices on nature, climate change and the environment, George Monbiot visits Manchester Literature Festival.
Part of Manchester Literature Festival

Karl Ove Knausgaard makes his Manchester Literature Festival debut to discuss his dazzling new novel The Wolves of Eternity.
Part of Manchester Literature Festival

Cities Untold provides lyrical, surprising, sensual, and sometimes surreal impressions of the three cities through fresh lenses.
Part of Manchester Literature Festival

Decolonising My Body with Afua Hirsch looks at ideas of how notions of beauty are constructed and stripped away.
Part of Manchester Literature Festival

Lisa Nandy sets out a way in which we can turn around the global changes, political divisions and economic crises that have rocked the UK.
Part of Manchester Literature Festival

Monica Heisey & Sheena Patel discuss their debut novels, strong women characters and the perils of modern love and relationships.
Part of Manchester Literature Festival

Jeremy Deller talks about the power of imagination, creativity, collaboration, Manchester and his joyful book Art is Magic.
Part of Manchester Literature Festival

One of our most prolific and inspiring storytellers, Jeanette Winterson returns to MLF to launch her new book, Night Side of the River: Ghost Stories.
Part of Manchester Literature Festival

A founding member of Sonic Youth, Thurston Moore discusses his journey to becoming one of the most influential musicians of his generation.
Part of Manchester Literature Festival

British actor, comedian and writer Doon Mackichan joins MLF to launch her memoir, My Lady Parts: A Life Fighting Stereotypes.
Part of Manchester Literature Festival