The final results from the Festival of Libraries 2025 evaluation have been published to coincide with CILIP’s Green Libraries Week.

Named as the second Most Inclusive UK Literature Festival 2025 and winner of Best Event at the Manchester Culture Awards 2024, Festival of Libraries returned 4-8th June 2025 with a packed programme of fun across all 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester.

“A lot of the events are participatory, which feels different from other literary festivals.”

– Audience member

 

 

With over 140 events over 5 days, we’re delighted to share some highlights:

• Average audience rating from events at Festival of Libraries 2025 was 9.2/10 and 96% of attendees enjoyed their events
• In total there were 22.5k attendees to festival events
• 82% of attendees felt the festival showed their library had ‘more to offer than they previously thought’
• 44% of audiences made or created something themselves during the festival
• 84% of attendees felt the festival ‘made them feel more connected to the local community’
• 65% of audiences felt they had learnt something new

 

 

“I think it’s one of the best festivals in the city now, and there are quite a lot to choose from.”

– Library partner

 

 

You can download and read the full impact highlights report below, with thanks to independent evaluator Eric Hildrew for his work on this. The dates for Festival of Libraries 2026 are provisionally 10-14th June, so get it in the calendar and subscribe to Manchester City of Literature for updates.

“It’s a tremendous festival and I was amazed at the number of events. I wish I’d had the time to attend more.”

– Audience member

The Festival of Libraries is funded by Arts Council England and this year was delivered at 64 participating venues by library and literature partners across Greater Manchester.