Verbose with Joe Stretch at Fallow

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor

Verbose with Joe Stretch at Fallow Cafe, Manchester 23 April 2018 Entrance is free

The monthly live literature night – shortlisted in this year’s Saboteur Awards (which you can vote in until 9 May) – is back after its star-spangled March outing featuring legendary Haçienda DJ Dave Halsam. This time round, the theme for the three headline acts and open mic performers to navigate is coming of age, and who doesn’t have a story about that, say hosts Joanna Howard and Zena Barrie.

Finding out will be headliners Joe Stretch, James Friel and Quina Chapman. Joe Stretch is the author of three novels: Friction, Wildlife and The Adult, which was published by Vintage, nominated for the Portico Prize and picked up the Somerset Maugham Award. As if he weren’t busy enough, penning The Posthumous Affair and four other novels, James Friel is also programme leader of MA Writing at Liverpool John Moore’s University. Quina Chapman is Artistic Director of Poison Apple Theatre and also a storytelling artist who uses spoken word and original live music to tell tales.

Verbose with Joe Stretch at Fallow Cafe, Manchester 23 April 2018 Entrance is free

Where to go near Verbose with Joe Stretch at Fallow

Chancellors Hotel is a Grade II listed Victorian mansion located in South Manchester surrounded by five acres of beautiful landscaped gardens, in a relaxed, scenic and picturesque setting.
Manchester
Hotel
Chancellors Hotel

Chancellors Hotel is a Grade II listed Victorian mansion located in South Manchester surrounded by five acres of beautiful landscaped gardens, in a relaxed, scenic and picturesque setting.

toastrack publication manchester
Manchester
Tourist Attraction
Toast Rack (building)

The iconic MMU Hollings Campus, or the Toast Rack as it is more affectionately known. Nikolaus Pevsner described it as “a perfect piece of pop architecture” when it opened as a Domestic and Trades College in 1960.

Manchester
Park
Platt Fields Park

Platt Fields Park in Fallowfield is steeped in history, the land having been acquired by the Platt family in 1225.

Manchester
Gallery
Gallery of Costume

Re-opened in 2010 after a £1.3m renovation, the Gallery of Costume in Manchester’s Rusholme houses one of the most important costume collections in Britain

Manchester
Restaurant
Al Madina

One of the most highly-rated places to eat on Curry Mile, this modest takeaway has fans all over the UK thanks to its exceptional food.

Manchester
Restaurant
Ice Shack

The first all-vegan desserts parlour in the North, also sold at high-profile venues such as the Deaf Institute, Greens, Croma and more.

City Centre
Restaurant
Monkey Trio

Manchester’s first ever Japanese sake bar, Monkey Trio, is unique in the city. Visit for an evening of quiet luxury.

Manchester
Restaurant
Fuel Cafe

Withington is home to Fuel Cafe, who serve only vegetarian and vegan food, as well as hosting quiz nights and lively open mics. They are well known for their hangover busting, meat free, full breakfast menu, and the decor is pleasantly found-object-eclectic.

What's on: Literature

Tom Branfoot. Photo Eleanor Hall, Museum of the Home
LiteratureWest Yorkshire
Poetry at the Dusty Miller

Poetry at the Dusty Miller is a now regular night with invited readers, organised by Carcanet-published Carola Luther and Judith Willson in the Coiners’ Room in the Mytholmroyd pub.

free entry
Okechukwu Nzelu
LiteratureHuddersfield
Polari at Huddersfield Literature Festival

Huddersfield Literature Festival is back with a packed programme this May, and this Polari-themed special caught our eye, featuring writers including Okechukwu Nzelu and Rosie Garland.

from £10.00

Culture Guides

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Dynamic dance, party-performance, high-energy stand-up and a site-specific show set in a pub. All this and more in our newest theatre guide.

A woman sits in a car with hands holding the steering wheel.
Cinema in the North

Vintage Alfred Hitchcock and a family friendly film festival are amongst our highlights this May.

Sextile
Music in the North

Open air clubs, new festivals and long-awaited gigs. The North West's live music scene is heating up this spring. 

Laura Ellen Bacon, Into Being, 2025. Photo © India Hobson, courtesy Yorkshire Sculpture Park
Exhibitions in the North

Willow weaving, textile collages, digital arts and ecology - all this and more in our exhibition top picks this month

Image by Jonathan Schofield.
Tours and Activities in the North

We've got many a good time in store this month as we round up the best walking tours, cultural classes and makers markets in the land.

Okechukwu Nzelu
Literature Events in the North

If it's inspiring, inclusive events and avant-garde, experimental afternoons you're after, look no further than live literature this spring – we've got you covered.