The popular image of libraries is that they are a space of silent reflection and stacks of sanitised books, this is certainly not the case in Manchester.

Year-round libraries champion creativity and access to resources for making your dreams a reality. At Festival of Libraries 2025 there are numerous events encouraging people to learn new skills and try new things. All the creative workshops are free, although booking is required in most cases, so why not sign-up now and see what you can make!

Broadcasting and production

Multi-award-winning Manchester radio station Reform Radio will be holding DJ workshops in Gorton (6th June) and Abraham Moss (4th June) where you can get hands on experience on the decks as well as an insight into DJ life. At the end of the sessions participants will have an understanding of the basics of crossfading beat-matching to beginner level mixing.

Become a podcasting pro and sign up for The Podcasting Phenomenon: How to get started and how to keep going at Ashton Library 5th June 5.30-7.30pm. We know you have something important to share!

 

Comedy

Connecting Communities of Women through Comedy takes place at Wigan Library on 4th June 1-3pm, bringing women together to share laughter through games, jokes and story telling before giving a short performance of what they have developed during the workshop.

Comedy Queens on the TV Screen, led by Dr Laura Minor, Lecturer in Television Studies, and Ric Michael, former Head of Development for Baby Cow Manchester and Development Producer on Gavin & Stacey, explores how women use comedy to tell stories about class, gender, and the realities of life up North. Grab your tickets and join in at Stalybridge Library on 4th June 6-7pm. Through creative writing exercises inspired by The Royle Family and other local comedies, participants will explore how to transform their own experiences into comedy gold and how humour can be a powerful tool for storytelling and social commentary.

 

Gaming

Are you a D&D player or board game fan and fancy developing your own game? Join Remake Reuse Replay: Game Jam in Droylsden, team up with other like-minded board gamers and designers to create a new game with the materials you’re given. Participants will learn an easy, quick, repeatable technique that will allow them to use games as a form of creative expression.

 

Writing

Are you more interested in making with words?

Join Creative Manchester and the Linguistic Diversity Collective at Cheadle Library on 4th June for a ‘blackout poetry’ session where you will pull apart scientific texts by selecting words and redacting the result to make a visual piece of art. Researchers will be on hand to help show you how to start and prompt you in different creative directions. Most importantly, the key is to be as free with words as possible and to let your artistic and scientific imagination combine and take flight! You will leave the workshop with your very own ‘found poem’ made up from the scraps of your mind and materials around you. Writing for Wellbeing and What’s in a Dictionary will also be held in multiple venues across the festival by Creative Manchester.

Award-winning local author Reshma Ruia will be facilitating a creative writing workshop on 5th June at Stretford Library 6-7.30pm. Her latest novel Still Lives was awarded the 2023 Readers’ Choice award and is long-listed for the Peoples’ Book Prize.

The Poetry of Humphry Davy will take place at Manchester Poetry Library 6.30-8pm on 5th June, where participants will read some of Davy’s poems and discuss them, examining the many ways in which the arts and sciences come together in his work.

 

Zine-making

Do you love collage and the idea of making your own themed booklet? Join University of Salford lecturers Dr Keren Poliah and Dr Vashti Gbolagun Suwa for a zine-making workshop inspired by South African 1950’s/60’s DRUM Magazine in Moss Side on 3rd June. DRUM was a publication that was vital for Black representation and anti-racist action under apartheid. You can learn paper folding techniques, gain knowledge about the history of zines as a tool for activism and community engagement, and you can create something to take away with you, share with friends and perhaps even inspire you to start your own magazine.

There’s also One Way to Make A Book at the newly refurbished Chorlton Library 6-7pm on 3rd June. Exploring the impact of creative collaboration and writer groups on a writing practice, plus tips on editing, financing and marketing your book too.

Pop Poetry will appear in 4 boroughs across the festival, offering lightning poetry workshops in an outdoor greenhouse! The team will create a zine from the submissions they receive.

Head over to the brand new Stockroom in Stockport for Chosen Family Album Zine Making on 6th June 4-6.30pm to celebrate the launch of their new exhibition.

 

Crafts

Are you an avid knitter or have you never picked up a needle but would like to try your hand at making a scarf or farmyard animal? Join Knit and Knatter at Walden Library on 5th June or at Heywood Library on 6th June for a chat, knit, and skills development in a friendly group open to both beginners and advanced knitters.

There are also lego-clubs, colouring with the Shady bunch and comic workshops for younger audiences too. See the full festival programme for info and scroll through all the listed workshops below for more information and ticket booking links.