Since its first outing in December 2023, Calder Valley reading series Poetry at the Dusty Miller (in the Coiners’ Room in the Mytholmroyd pub) has been inviting three or four guests to read each month, gathering considerable steam.

As part of the Poetry Reading Series at Manchester Poetry Library, on 29 May, Canal Laureate Roy Macfarlane will be in conversation with the series curator and award-winning poet Helen Mort.

Leeds live literature regular Chemistry offers an exciting mix of open mic acts and invited poets – this month for Chemistry 19, the headliners are Helen Ivory and Luke Samuel Yates.

Now in its 20th year, Manchester Literature Festival returns this autumn, running city-wide across a variety of venues in October. If you can’t wait until then, fear not – there’s a special programme of spring events!

Celebrated poet and musician John Hegley is back at Waterside Arts with his latest show, An American In Luton, which contains a good deal of yet-to-be-published material alongside some back catalogue favourites.

Festival Of Libraries is a five-day multi-venue celebration of Greater Manchester’s libraries, returning for the fifth time in 2025 and running from 4 to 8 June. We’re really looking forward to The Embassy of Utopia, back due to popular demand following 2024’s UK premiere, and featuring newly crowned multilingual city poet Nóra Blascsók.

Throughout 2025, the team at Elizabeth Gaskell’s House is taking a deep dive into Ruth, one of the famous 19th-century author’s most shocking texts.

Throughout 2025, Elizabeth Gaskell’s House is celebrating its tenth anniversary, having first opened to the public a decade ago. From a close brush with dereliction to being awarded official accredited museum status in August 2024, it’s been an important decade in the building’s almost 200-year history.

The award-winning Leeds Lit Fest is back, this year running from 14 to 22 June 2025, and bringing together local talent and big-name authors for a lively programme of talks, workshops, performances and spoken word events.

If ecopoetry is your bag, then this event on 19 June – featuring Isabel Galleymore and Hannah Copley in conversation – will be right up your traffic-calmed, pedestrianised street.

Award-winning poet David Morley is launching his latest collection, Passion, giving us extracts from the new book and chatting about it with another great Carcanet Press-published poet, Sinéad Morrissey.

On 22 June, Manchester welcomes the launch of SLAMCHESTER, a one-night-only spoken word slam hosted by acclaimed Salford poet and co-founder of long-missed cult night Evidently Kieren King, and featuring a special performance by Jardel Rodrigues.

World Poetry Slam Champion Harry Baker is celebrating all things wonderful in his critically acclaimed show Wonderful 2.0, brought to The Crescent on 29 June by regular York spoken word promoter Say Owt.