Manchester Literature Festival 2025

Celebrating its 20th year, Manchester Literature Festival returns 11-26 October, and tickets for the initial line-up announcement are now on general sale.

First up, the master of British spy fiction Mick Herron, discussing his highly anticipated new thriller Clown Town, the hit Apple TV+ series Slow Horses and the blistering world of espionage. The ninth instalment in his internationally bestselling Slough House series, Clown Town drags Jackson Lamb’s team of misfit spies into dangerous territory when a buried operation from the Troubles resurfaces. As Diana Taverner sees a chance to fix a current crisis – by using the past as leverage – River Cartwright investigates his grandfather’s mysterious legacy, and the slow horses once again find that nothing stays harmless for long. (Wednesday 15 October, 7.30pm, HOME, £20 / £18)

Next, join award-winning author and broadcaster Elizabeth Day as she discusses her gripping new novel, One of Us. Set against a backdrop of politics and scandal, One of Us follows Martin, once the best friend of rising political star Ben Fitzmaurice, as he’s drawn back into the inner circle. As their stories intertwine, a family – and a nation – unravels under the weight of its secrets. Elizabeth Day’s previous novels include The Party, Scissors, Paper, Stone and the Sunday Times bestseller Magpie. The creator of the chart-topping How to Fail podcast, her non-fiction books include How to Fail, Failosophy and Friendaholic: Confessions of a Friendship Addict. (Friday 17 October, 7pm, Central Library, £12/£10)

The third sneak peek is the internationally acclaimed author of Convenience Store Woman and Earthlings, Sayaka Murata, discussing her provocative and visionary new novel, Vanishing World. In a society where sex, love and parenting have been reimagined, Amane – born from a taboo act of love – struggles to conform. As an adult, she explores anime relationships and sanctioned extra-marital sex, until she and her husband join Paradise-Eden: a utopian experiment of mass insemination, artificial wombs and collective child-raising. But can this bold experiment build the brave new world Amane desires, or will it push her to breaking point? Sayaka Murata has sold over two million books worldwide and won many of Japan’s literary prizes including the Akutagawa Prize and Mishima Yukio Prize, and this event is presented in partnership with Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester, and supported by The Japan Foundation and Japan House. (Saturday 18 October, 7pm, Central Library, £12/£10)

Finally, for now, international bestselling author Jung Chang brings us Fly, Wild Swans, the long-awaited sequel to her iconic memoir Wild Swans – a book that has sold over 15 million copies worldwide and defined a generation and remains banned in China. Fly, Wild Swans picks up where Wild Swans left off, tracing Chang’s life and China’s transformation from the end of the Mao era to Xi Jinping’s authoritarian rule today. Chang explores how the political and cultural shifts of the last five decades have shaped her life and that of her mother, offering an immersive and deeply moving account of what it is like to live in a communist dictatorship and the threats modern China poses to the international world order. Jung Chang’s acclaimed works on Chinese history have been translated into over 40 languages and she holds a CBE for services to literature. (Sunday 19 October, 2pm, Central Library, £12/£10)

If you can’t wait until then, “bookend” events include a rare UK appearance by Yellowface author Rebecca F Kuang, reading from her highly anticipated dark fantasy novel Katabasis – it’s also your chance to get your hands on a copy before it goes on general sale. Described as “thrilling”, the new book plunges readers into the dark depths of the underworld, where two academic rivals embark on a rescue mission to save their advisor. The bestselling author and literary phenomenon will be at Aviva Studios on Friday 22 August (7.30pm, tickets £20 / ticket & book (RRP £22) £36). Rebecca F Kuang is one of the most compelling young voices in contemporary fiction, and her novel Yellowface was the publishing sensation of 2023 – a number one Sunday Times bestseller, a Reese Witherspoon’s Book Club pick, a BBC Radio 4 at Bedtime and Foyles Fiction Book of the Year.

Running city-wide across a variety of venues in October, bringing new writers and more established names to the city, Manchester celebrates literature in all its forms. Be sure to check back as we’ll be revealing the line-up nearer the time.