Literature Events in Manchester and the North

Lockdown may be looming large, but Live Literature Land has you covered: from book launches and literary salons to online open mics and full-on festivals, activities and events continue virtually.

As January draws to a close, Manchester Poetry Library hosts poet Valerie Bloom and illustrator Ken Wilson-Max as they launch their illustrated children’s poetry book Stars With Flaming Tails on 26 January and Libby Tempest doffs her bonnet to Elizabeth Gaskell on Wednesday 27 January in an online talk, with more Cranford action chalked up for February. Friday 29 January sees No Matter’s Nell Osborne join the line-up helping poets Kyle Lovell and Maria Sledmere as they co-launch their new pamphlets into the world at Each Sharper Halo.

Word Central is back on 4 February, with guest poet Elizabeth McGeown and a compliment of open mic acts, and Liverpool’s A Lovely Word is on, hosting queer poet Sam Grudgings, while the Write Out Loud Open Mic Poetry online Zoom edition is beaming out of Wigan on 11 February for the second time this year. Manchester publisher Comma Press has two events to bolster its Protest and Resist collections of stories – with Christopher Eccleston on 9 February and Maxine Peake on 10 February – while Carcanet Press continues its online events programme for 2021 with the launch of GC Waldrep’s The Earliest Witnesses on 3 February and Judith Willson’s new poetry collection, Fleet, reading from the work and chatting about it with fellow Carcanet poet Helen Tookey on 10 February.

The annual Manchester In Translation conference this year heads online for three days 16 to 18 February, preceding Manchester City of Literature’s fourth International Mother Language Day, on 21 February. From the Confucius Institute to the new Manchester Poetry Library, IMLD activities include a multi-language mushaira night of song and poetry and the creation of a special Manchester Audio Cookbook by artist Sumay Wu, plus the launch of a brand new Chinese Language poetry collection at Manchester Poetry Library on 16 February with Jennifer Lee Tsai, Kit Fan and Natalie Linh Bolderston.

In Liverpool, The Reader kicks off a series of exciting author events on 18 February with Chocolat author Joanne Harris. The Sefton Borough of Culture: An evening with… returns on 11 March with poet Kei Miller and on 25 March with novelist Max Porter.

Festival wise, Kendal Poetry Festival has a full-to-bursting online programme and runs 19 to 28 February, while March sees both Lancaster Litfest (12-21 March) and Huddersfield Literature Festival (18-28 March) taking place virtually.

Be sure to check back for news of some upcoming literature festivals heading into the ether and don’t forget to scroll down for more events and activities. Check out our Guide To Bookshops In Manchester – many of the indies will order books for you and deliver locally while the libraries are shut – plus our literary guides to Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield and Cumbria.

We are so grateful to National Lottery players, The National Lottery, DCMS and Arts Council England for supporting our freelance writers during this crisis. This means that, although venues remain shut and campaigns cancelled, our writers can be reengaged to help arts organisations and artists across the North of England share their online content with our culture-hungry readers.

Here are our picks