Festival Of Libraries in various venues
Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor
The fourth Festival Of Libraries is a five-day multi-venue celebration of Greater Manchester’s libraries happening 13 to 16 June.
Taking place in and organised by the UNESCO Manchester City Of Literature, the Festival Of Libraries is “a joyful celebration of the role that Greater Manchester’s 133 libraries play in wellbeing, culture, creativity and more”.
Featuring a vibrant programme of poetry commissions, a writing trail, library exchanges, live music, dance and theatre, and plenty of family-friendly activities, it’s all free and – we’re assured – all fun. This is a festival for everyone and spans internationally renowned institutions such as Central Library, Chetham’s Library, The Portico Library and John Rylands Research Institute and Library, the recently opened Manchester Poetry Library and the network of local libraries across the city region.
There are writing workshops with novelists, scriptwriters, poets and performers. The Inspired By Libraries thread welcomes a number of speakers across Greater Manchester, including, in 2023, the Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, sharing his love of writing, reading and libraries with audiences. And don’t forget to Look For A Book…
He says: “My experience of reading and writing began in the village library where I grew up, then in the nearby town library, then in libraries at various places of study and teaching. For many people they are an invaluable aspect of everyday life, giving access not just to books but to services, learning, conversation and creative thinking. I look forward to celebrating libraries as one of the great and necessary institutions as part of Manchester’s very own city-wide Festival of Libraries in the UNESCO City of Literature.”
See our guide to Libraries in Manchester here.
