Manchester Literature festival 2023 – photograh by Jon Parker Lee
Manchester Literature Festival’s Cathy Bolton on going all in for the National Year of Reading
I’ve been with Manchester Literature Festival (MLF) since its first iteration in 2006. The Festival was founded on the belief that stories have the power to connect us, entertain us, challenge us, help us make sense of our increasingly complex world and inspire change. Every October we transform venues across the city into spaces for conversation, debate and discovery; with internationally renowned authors, poets and cultural thinkers appearing alongside emerging voices.
This year we’ve signed up as a Pledge Partner for the National Year of Reading and we’ve been fully embracing the Go All In campaign encouraging people to indulge their passions through reading. Of course, not everyone knows where to start their reading journey and that’s where literature/book festivals come into their own. MLF has always managed to attract avid readers and curious cultural lovers to events, so we’ve been interrogating what it is that makes live literature encounters so special and developing new ways to help spread the joy of reading. Not everyone knows what to expect from a live literature event and I often come across people who think it’s not for them because they’re worried it will be too dull or highbrow, but once they’ve actually taken the risk to attend an event they usually become converts.
Jon Parker Lee
We put a lot of care into curating events, often pairing authors with other creatives to spark fresh and insightful conversations. This interdisciplinary approach has become somewhat of a USP for MLF. In previous years we’ve featured literary novelist Jeanette Winterson comparing recipes and favourite books with celebrity chef Nigella Lawson and Elbow front man Guy Garvey discussing creative influences with Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage. This year we’re looking forward to hosting celebrated screen writer Russell T Davies in conversation with Booker Prize-winner Bernardine Evaristo about the power of television to bring our nation together. We’ve also got DJ and writer Dave Haslam with acclaimed TV actor John Simm, Joy Division and New Order drummer Stephen Morris, and composer Afrodeutsche coming together to talk about the highs and lows of being a creative professional. These types of conversations offer audiences remarkable insights into the creative process and allow them to not only dive into the pages of a book but swim over its edges.
Poetry has remained central to the Festival’s identity reflecting its roots in Manchester Poetry Festival. Being able to hear poetry performed by its creator is a revelatory experience – like watching a musician bringing a score to life, you get to immerse yourself in the music and understand the subtle intentions, quiet humour or buried grief of a poem. Once you’ve heard a poem performed in the voice of the poet, whether it’s Jackie Kay’s warm Glaswegian lilt or Linton Kwesi Johnson’s Jamaican patois, you carry it with you forever.
Manchester Literature festival 2023 – photograh by Jon Parker Lee
As the proliferation of Book Clubs across the country testifies, we readers cherish the opportunity to get together with other like-minded people to share theories on the baffling book we’ve just read or wax lyrical about the amazing writer we’ve just discovered. The Festival is all about expanding reading horizons and we do so through events such as My Life in Books with popular crime writer Lee Child. Over the last few months, we’ve also been inviting local creatives such as artist Stan Chow, 6 Music DJ Deb Grant, baker and Companio co-founder Baneta Yelda, actor Julie Hesdmondhalgh and author and broadcaster Natalie Haynes to share their favourite reads and the books that have inspired them or helped shaped their careers. We’ve had a wonderful response to our short film interviews with lots of followers sharing their own book recommendations.
The National Year of Reading has been prompted by the sharp decline in children reading for pleasure – everyone involved in publishing and live literature promotion is acutely aware of this looming crisis and the likely impact it will have not just on our industry but society as a whole. For several years now, MLF has been curating a year-round Creative Learning programme to nurture the next generation of writers and readers. Projects such as our Little Reads programme of fun, interactive workshops use drama, dance, songs and craft to bring picture books to life and support parents’ confidence in reading to their children. When it comes to programming, we try to appeal to all young readers, whether they are into football or dance, spy fiction or comics. For me there’s nothing more rewarding than observing a group of young children completely absorbed by a story being read or performed to them – that live interaction captivating them in a way that passive scrolling on a screen or tablet doesn’t.
As part of our Story Explorers summer holiday creative activity workshops offered to children in receipt of free school meals, we’ve been talking to our young participants about their interests and hobbies and then gifting them a book to match their passion. Many of the participants don’t own books and their parents have reported how amazed they’ve been to see their child not only come home with a book but actually sit and read it! Of course, we all know a puppy isn’t just for Christmas and MLF will be nurturing the joy of reading long beyond this National Year of Reading.
Cathy Bolton is Co-Director at Manchester Literature Festival. Find out more about the festival at manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk
