The Portico are delighted to be working with the Royal Literary Fund and presenting a RLF Collected event. RLF Collected brings local writers to talk about the craft of writing, publishing and, for this event, their inspiration as part of the Year of Reading.

Each writer will read for 15 minutes, followed by a 15 minute Q&A on their craft, publishing, and writing life.

Marnie Riches (Chair):
Since 2015 publication of her award-winning debut, The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die, Marnie Riches has become a bestselling contributor to crime fiction, selling hundreds of thousands of books internationally. She also writes historical romance as Maggie Campbell. When she’s not writing, she teaches for the Royal Literary Fund and has taught the creative writing Masters at Cambridge University.

Livi Michael:
Livi Michael has written novels for adults, young adults and children. Elizabeth and Ruth (Salt 2026) is her 21st novel. Her short stories have been published in various places including Granta, The Lonely Crowd and Fictive Dream. They have been long listed for the BBC National Short Story Award and featured in The Best British Short Stories (Salt 2026). Her play, Singers Not Sinners about the first three women who were allowed to sing in a choir was performed in Oldham in 2022.

Louise Mulvey:
Louise Mulvey is a writer and counsellor, living in Manchester. She is curious about the stories we tell and who listens to them. Simply put: words have the power to change lives.