Splash Fiction at Victoria Baths

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor

Visit now

Splash Fiction

Victoria Baths, Manchester
7 September 2019

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

Writer Sarah-Clare Conlon. Photo by Gwen Riley Jones.
Book now

The amazing Grade II* listed Victoria Baths are following up the first-ever Weekend of Words festival back in June with this special September pop-up. Then, participants let their imagination run wild in three separate two-hour writing workshops, including flash fiction with Synaesthesia magazine’s Resident Writer Tania Hershman (seen recently at a Peterloo reading and also at Didsbury Arts Festival), while a poetry panel explored the theme of water and six specially written short stories inspired by the building were performed by writers Kate Feld, David Gaffney, Phil Olsen, Joe Stretch and Lara Williams, whose much anticipated debut novel, Supper Club, just hit the bookstands. The new fiction was commissioned by the Baths’ inaugural Writer-in-Residence, Sarah-Clare Conlon, and this September event sees her present some more of the work she has been producing in that role.

This will be only the third time public swimming has been held at Victoria Baths in 26 years, so it’s well worth popping by

The Splash Fiction event forms part of Victoria Baths’ annual two-day Swim For Restoration shindig, when the Gala Pool is filled and members of the public can take the plunge. You’re too late for swimming (no running, please – tickets went on sale last month and sold like hot towels), but you can visit the bathhouses for free and look around while there is water. Join other spectators in the balcony seating overlooking the Gala Pool – there is also a Swimming Showcase on Saturday evening featuring swimmers from Manchester Grammar School, Manchester High School and Stretford Water Polo Club, with tickets costing £15 to raise money for more much-needed maintenance to the stained glass windows. It’s the perfect opportunity for seeing the Baths after hours and the bar will be open so it’s a fun alternative Saturday night out. This will be only the third time public swimming has been held at Victoria Baths in 26 years, so it’s well worth popping by to see the pool in action.

The Saturday-afternoon reading event will also see the Writer-in-Residence presenting a prize-giving ceremony for the winner and runners-up of the summer Splash Fiction creative writing competition, so it’ll be your chance to hear even more brand-new pieces. Victoria Baths is inviting entries for this until midnight on Sunday 4 August – send in short-short stories on the theme of water, up to 300 words long. The judges are on the lookout for short stories that make a real splash – take municipal baths, lidos, wild swimming, ponds, water parks, rivers, canals, indeed anything watery as your jumping-off point and dive in. There’s a cash prize up for grabs! Full entry details can be found here.

Where to go near Splash Fiction at Victoria Baths

Manchester
Gallery
Chuck Gallery

Chuck Gallery is the first private art space in North West England dedicated to the promotion of contemporary African art in Manchester and beyond. Our focus is the provision of a varied collection of high quality, original and exceptional artwork

Manchester
Museum
Elizabeth Gaskell’s House

Elizabeth Gaskell’s House has been lovingly restored; you can now sit at her desk, see where Charlotte Brontë hid behind the curtains, and have tea in the downstairs café. The Pankhurst Centre is also nearby.

Manchester
Library
Gaskell Society

These regular talks in both Manchester and Knutsford unpack the meaning and significance of Elizabeth Gaskell’s writing.

Manchester
Music venue
O2 Apollo

Originally built as a cinema in 1938, The Apollo is a majestic, Grade II listed Art Deco-style music venue.

The Giving Tree
Manchester
Restaurant
The Giving Tree

The Giving Tree is a cafe and community hub based in Rusholme, a short walk from the city centre.

Manchester
Restaurant
MyLahore

Modern cafe and restaurant on Manchester’s Curry Mile. encouraging

Pankhurst Centre
Manchester
Museum
The Pankhurst Centre

The Pankhurst Centre houses a small museum and heritage centre that remains as a legacy to the Pankhurst family and the Suffragette movement born in this city.

Manchester
Shopping Centre
Longsight Market

Sick of overpriced “vintage” markets? Try Longsight’s bustling neighbourhood market which, every Tuesday, lays on a thriving flea market that’s a miniature (albeit slightly less glamorous) version of the famous Les Puces in Paris.

What's on: Literature

Andrew McMillan and Maria Ferguson
Until
LiteratureLeeds
Leeds Lit Fest 2025

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.

From £0.00
SLAMCHESTER Poster
LiteratureManchester
SLAMCHESTER at 53Two

This June, Manchester welcomes the launch of SLAMCHESTER, a one-night-only spoken word slam featuring a a special performance by Jardel Rodrigues.

From £6.00
Poet Tom Sastry.
LiteratureManchester
Verbose at The King’s Arms

Verbose is one of Manchester’s longest-running spoken word events, and welcomes Tom Sastry and Molly Naylor for June.

Free entry

Culture Guides

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Experimental performance, thought-provoking new writing and our picks of Manchester International Festival - here’s what’s taking centre stage this summer.

Cloudwater Production One
Tours and Activities in the North

Go forth with wild abandon to dance the pavements, dabble with the paint and down the pints in this month's tours and activities guide.

Classical Music in the North

Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.

Experience a unique deep listening art installation inviting audiences to lay down and be bathed in sound and light.
Exhibitions in the North

From city-wide art festivals to open-air sculptural installations, we have exhibitions from all around the North, both indoors and out.

A young boy with a white sash around his left arm cries.
Cinema in the North

Outdoor cinema announcements, a major retrospective at HOME, and the best of indie cinema.

Music in the North

Gigs are coming in hot this spring – from long-awaited returns to one-off happenings you’ll blink and miss if you're not careful.