Centre for New Writing at bluedot

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor

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Centre for New Writing at bluedot

9 July 2017

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Author David Gaffney. Credit Phil Rigby (Cumbria Life).
Author David Gaffney. Credit: Phil Rigby (Cumbria Life).
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The University of Manchester’s Centre for New Writing will be at this weekend’s bluedot festival for the second time since the inaugural event last year, presenting varied readings from a number of writers in the atmospheric setting of the Dome planetarium plus book-signing in the Blackwells Bookstore tent.

There will be three threads of literature on Sunday afternoon: Science and SF, Poetry at bluedot and New Fiction from Manchester. Award-winning sci-fi author and Centre for New Writing lecturer Geoff Ryman will be reading in the 2.30pm slot, then he’ll be chatting to his colleague John McAuliffe, co-director of the department.

From 3.10pm, poet John will head up the poetry section, featuring PhD student Janet Rogerson and lecturer Vona Groarke. The New Fiction from Manchester readings will start at 4.10pm and feature flash fiction specialist and novel writer David Gaffney, a former visiting fellow at the Centre for New Writing, plus alumni Usma Malik and Valerie O’Riordan, and Booker Prize-shortlisted novelist and Centre for New Writing co-founder Ian McGuire.

Where to go near Centre for New Writing at bluedot

Cheshire
Tourist Attraction
Nether Alderley Mill

Eateries, shops and toilet facilities can be found at nearby National Trust site Quarry Bank, located approximately 7 miles away. Alternatively, Nether Alderley Mill is also approximately 1.4 miles from the high street of Alderley Edge which has a range of cafes, restaurants and shops.

Yu Alderley Edge

High-end Chinese restaurant that combines traditional Cantonese cooking and modern ideas. Based in Alderley Edge.

Alderley Edge
Restaurant
Les Deux Pizza Bar

Charming independent pizza and cocktail bar in Alderley Edge, that prides itself on only using the freshest ingredients.

Cheshire
Hotel
The Courthouse Cheshire

A one-of-a-kind hotel experience in Knutsford, this beautiful dog-friendly venue is – as you may have already guessed – a renovated court house, with plenty of original fixtures and fittings.

Cheshire
Restaurant
Barristers Restaurant & Bar

The in-house restaurant for The Courthouse in Knutsford, serves high-end but pleasingly traditional food with a fantastic range of drinks for the thirsty traveller.

Cheshire House Bar and Grill
Cheshire
Restaurant
Cheshire House Bar and Grill

Based in the heart of Knutsford, Cheshire House Bar and Grill combines a beautiful location with top-level cuisine and a superb range of drinks.

Bar or Pub
The Church Inn, Mobberley

This is one of our favourite cosy pubs: not far from Manchester, The Church Inn is Grade II-listed and dates back to the 18th-century.

Danes Moss Nature Reserve
Macclesfield
Park
Danes Moss Nature Reserve

Danes Moss near Macclesfield is an oasis of lowland raised bog, one of the scarcest and most threatened habitats in the UK. The open areas of the bog are covered with cotton grass, cross-leaved heath and at least six species of sphagnum moss.

Macclesfield
Museum
West Park Museum

West Park Museum was purpose built to house the Egyptian collections of Victorian explorer Marianne Brocklehurst, daughter of the Macclesfield mill owner, John Brocklehurst.

Macclesfield
Restaurant
Picturedrome

Macclesfield’s first ever cinema re-imagined as a gourmet food hall by the minds behind Altrincham Market, Manchester’s Mackie Mayor.

What's on: Literature

Deryn Rees-Jones. Credit Alison Dodd Photography
LiteratureLiverpool
Deryn Rees-Jones at Open Eye Gallery

For the seventh Matt Simpson Memorial Reading, hosted by Liverpool Poetry Space (LiPS), Deryn Rees-Jones will be reading from her new collection, Hôtel Amour.

Free entry

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