Call us biased but we think Manchester has one of the best spoken word scenes in the country, if not the world. Proven in that Manchester have won international slam tournament Slamovision twice in 4 years, and our thriving spoken word scene produced a Forward Prize Winner in 2025.

There is an undeniable feeling that our city is at the cutting edge when it comes to nurturing spoken word talent – and with more than a dozen regular nights taking place across the city, there’s room for everyone to take their place at the mic stand.

A selection of those 12+ regular events include:

• Word Central hosted by Tony Curry and taking place at Manchester Central Library
• Verbose Manchester at The King’s Arms in Salford
• The Poetry Place at Aviva Studios
• Peter Barlow’s Cigarette at The Carlton Club
• Poets and Players at The Whitworth, if poetry and music together is your thing
• Slamchester at 53Two
• Sayin? Manchester usually based at The Old Abbey Taphouse
• Beatification at Wythenshawe Library
• Young Identity’s One Mic Stand
• Mouth Manchester at MX Spinningfields
• Speak Easy at The Dulcimer in Chorlton
• Bad Language, a stalwart of the scene who occasionally return for one-off specials

Our What’s On is a great place to get tickets to the next spoken word event in the city and if you’re hosting your own spoken word night, please do add it to our calendar.