What’s On

Manchester City of Literature is inspired by the possibilities from our city to bring people together to celebrate stories. You’ll find everything that’s going on here, whether you’re a reader, a writer, you want to support independent publishers or are looking for something to entertain you or young children. Don’t forget that you can add your own events here too, if you’re an organiser. 

  • Filter events:
  • All
  • Calendar +
  • Download listings as pdf
event

The Observer Anthony Burgess Prize for Arts Journalism

Location: International Anthony Burgess Foundation
find out more
event

IMLD26: Bridge of Sunflowers Exhibition

find out more
event

International Mother Language Day 2026

find out more
event

Christopher Isherwood: Delving into the Writer’s Family Archives

find out more
event

February Half-Term Family Fun at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House

find out more

Long-running Events

HOSTING A LITERATURE EVENT?

If you are arranging or hosting a literature event in Manchester which is open to a public audience, and would like us share via our network, please get in touch.

Submit your event
event

A DECADE: 10 Years of us, 10 years of YOU! (Girl Gang’s 10th Birthday Party)

find out more
event

Poetry Workshop: The Less Said The More We’ll Shut Up About It

find out more
event

‘Reading Teachers’ Reading Group with Sarah Bagshaw-McCormick

find out more
event

‘Broken Biscuits; and Other Male Failures’ with Adam Farrer

find out more
event

Word Central with Zena Barrie

Location: Manchester Central Library
find out more
event

ELIZABETH & RUTH: Livi Michael in conversation

find out more
event

The Hill in the Dark Grove: Liam Higginson in conversation

find out more
event

IMLD26: Community & Care: A Fuse Poetry Night

find out more
event

ADRIFT: Will Dean in conversation with Neil McRobert

find out more
event

Keshed: Stu Hennigan in conversation with Terri White

Location: Serenity Booksellers
find out more
event

Ece Temelkuran in conversation with Carole Cadwalladr

find out more
event

One Mic Stand

find out more
event

Broken Biscuits: And Other Male Failures — with author Adam Farrer

find out more
event

Voiced: The Festival of Endangered Languages

find out more
event

Voiced: Seed Syllable Exhibit

Location: The Holden Gallery
find out more
event

THE STORY OF THE DEER WOMAN: Heidi Hinda Chadwick in conversation

find out more
event

Voiced & IMLD26: Opening Event

find out more
event

IMLD26: Layers of Identity from Dunedin

find out more
event

IMLD26: “Many Languages, One Community” [多語.同心] – Family Art Workshop

find out more
event

IMLD26: Banner Bingo

Location: People's History Museum
find out more
event

IMLD26 in Jakarta: Membahasakan – Perayaan Hari Bahasa Ibu Dunia

find out more
event

IMLD 26: Family Fun Day at North City Library

find out more
event

IMLD26: Linguistic Landscapes in Manchester and Beyond

find out more
event

Voiced & IMLD26: Writing and Mosaics Workshop with Lydia Hounat

find out more
event

IMLD26: Events in Kozhikode

find out more
event

Oldham Writing Festival

find out more
event

IMLD26: Family Fun Day at Longsight Library

find out more
event

IMLD26: Spanish Storytime – Mi primer Platero

find out more
event

IMLD26: Family Fun Day at Manchester Central Library

find out more
event

IMLD26: Looking for Languages – Family friendly trail at Manchester Museum

Location: Manchester Museum
find out more
event

IMLD26: Family Fun Day at Forum Library

find out more
event

Voiced & IMLD26: Multilingual Open Mic

find out more
event

The Disfluencies CoLab: Embodying Mother Languages through Poetry & Drawing

find out more
event

IMLD26: Words Left Behind

find out more
event

MACFEST & IMLD26: Forgotten Foods: Memories and Recipes from Muslim South Asia

find out more
event

IMLD26: Chinese literary translation workshops at Manchester in Translation 2026

find out more
event

Motherfaker – Anna Brook-Mitchell in conversation with Hannah MacDonald

find out more
event

Verbose with Kieren King and t.m/o

find out more
event

IMLD26: Spanish as a Heritage Language in the United Kingdom

find out more
event

MAY WE FEED THE KING: Rebecca Perry in conversation

Location: Blackwell's Bookshop
find out more
event

Do I Look Like an Atmosphere?: Online Book Launch

find out more
event

An Evening with Tanya Sweeney

find out more
event

Voiced & IMLD26: Polari and Poetry in Manchester

find out more
event

Online Talk: Elizabeth Gaskell- An Introduction

Location: Online
find out more
event

Online Reading Workshop: The Gothic – Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

find out more
event

An Evening with LJ Ross

find out more
event

Queer Fiction Writers’ Day at Chorlton Library

find out more
event

Little Bookworms

find out more
event

SUPER NINTENDO: Keza MacDonald in conversation

Location: Blackwell's Bookshop
find out more
event

The Regency Switch — with author Helen Gaskell

find out more
event

The Natural Way: Online Book Launch

find out more
event

International Women’s Day Walking Tour

find out more
event

Online Event: International Women’s Day – Women of Words

find out more
event

Michael Stewart & Yvonne Battle-Felton in conversation

Location: Blackwell's Bookshop
find out more
event

An Evening with Graeme Macrae Burnet

find out more
event

The Natural Way: Levenshulme Old Library Launch

find out more
event

IMLD26: The Stepmother

find out more
event

Online Reading Course: The Gothic – Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

find out more
event

‘Beyond Palatable’ with Sophie Lee

Location: House of Books and Friends
find out more
event

Manchester Literature Festival presents Satoshi Yagisawa & Emi Yagi

find out more
event

HOME IS WHERE THE HAUNT IS: Tobi Coventry and Róisín Lanigan

find out more
event

Tim Harford – How To Make The World Add Up

find out more
event

Online Talk: Blame the Mother

find out more
event

Among Communists: A Memoir – Online Launch

Location: Online
find out more
event

Storm Over Camelot – Sophie Keetch in conversation with Emma Hinds

find out more
event

Witches, Wolves and the Writing life

find out more
event

‘An Army of Lovers Cannot Fail’ with Hélène Giannecchini

find out more
event

Before Violence: Carcanet Online Launch

find out more
event

MACFEST & IMLD26: Respect my Language: Voices and Experiences

find out more
event

Online Reading Course: The Gothic – The Nurses’ Story and The Poor Clare by Elizabeth Gaskell

find out more
event

An Evening with Siân Hughes

find out more
event

LIKE A CAT LOVES A BIRD: James Bailey in conversation with Jenn Ashworth

find out more
event

Children’s Books with Nadine Kaadan

Location: Online
find out more
event

Collectors, Scientists and Slaves: Islamic Art in Early Modern Italy

find out more
event

Online Talk: Charlotte Brontë and Elizabeth Gaskell- A Friendship

find out more
event

Islamesque: Europe’s Greatest Medieval Cathedrals

find out more
event

From the Dashwoods to Cranford – Sisterhood in the Worlds of Jane Austen and Elizabeth Gaskell

Location: Online
find out more
event

IMLD26: Manchester – One City, Many Voices

find out more
event

MIA Book Club: Reading the Islamic World – Gazing at Mecca and Medina

find out more
event

Online Reading Course: The Gothic – Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu

find out more
event

Eid Celebration with Multilingual Mushaira and International Poetry

Location: Online
find out more
event

Manchester Literature Festival presents Douglas Stuart

find out more
event

Manchester Literature Festival presents Tayari Jones

find out more
event

Online Talk: Cranford – A TV Classic

find out more
event

Roots & Reverence: Poetry from the Punjabi Sufi Tradition

Location: Online
find out more
event

Exploring the Legacy of Islamic Empires with Justin Marozzi

find out more
event

Online Talk: Cranford For Beginners

find out more
event

A 12th Century Novel: Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān by Ibn Tufail, Andulusian novelist

find out more
event

Love Stories Etc: Romantic Fiction Festival

find out more
event

A Conversation with Novelist Diana Abu-Jaber

Location: Online
find out more
event

Elizabeth Gaskell’s Gothic Fiction: An Introduction

find out more
event

Mothers of the Gothic – Writing the Supernatural

find out more
event

Elizabeth Gaskell V Anne Brontë – Monsters and Madmen

find out more