Do you want to shape the literary ecosystem of Manchester? Are you interested in how writing can engage with heritage? What would you want from a new community writing project in the city?

In the 1840s a group of working-class writers and poets gathered regularly at The Sun Inn, a now-demolished timber-and-plaster pub on the corner of Long Mill Gate, by the Football Museum and the gates of Chetham’s School of Music.

So infamous were their gatherings that on maps from the era the corner is labelled, ‘Poet’s Corner’.

Almost two hundred years later we are reviving this artistic and social group at the nearby Manchester Cathedral as part of the National Lottery Heritage Fund project to celebrate the ongoing literary spirit in the city, now a designated UNESCO City of Literature.

This co-created project will run from July 2026 to April 2027 and be entirely guided by you.

We are hosting two community consultations to discover what activities and social spaces are most needed by writers in the city, and how we can best present our work at the end of this project.

If you have any thoughts and opinions about the literary ecosystem of Manchester and want to get involved in a co-created writing project then make sure to attend our initial community consultation on May 21st 6-8pm at Manchester Cathedral.

You will all guide this project, and it will be what you want it to be. Use your voice, get involved!