Events at the Centre for New Writing
The Centre for New Writing organises the 'Literature Live' reading series, bringing the best known contemporary writers from all over the world to Manchester to discuss and read from their work.
In the past, we've hosted an impressive line-up of literary luminaries including Martin Amis, Colm Tóibín, Sarah Waters, John Banville, Hilary Mantel, Neil Gaiman, Paul Muldoon, Rose Tremain and Hanif Kureishi.
We are looking forward to welcoming our audiences back to our in-house literature live events. For now, we hope you enjoy watching our online literature events. Keep checking our social media pages or sign up to our newsletter for further news and updates.
Upcoming events
Manchester Literature Festival presents Maggie O’Farrell
Maggie O'Farrell makes a welcome return to Manchester Literature Festival with her extraordinary new novel, Land - a sweeping, multi-generational epic inspired by her own family history and the dramatic landscapes of Ireland’s Atlantic coast. Set in 1865, in the shadow of the Great Hunger, the novel follows mapmaker Tomás and his son as..
SOLD OUT: Manchester Literature Festival presents Sarah Hall: Burning Snowflake – The 2026 Faber Lecture
Award-winning author Sarah Hall delivers the 2026 Faber Lecture: Burning Snowflake. The natural world is burning. Time is running out. You know the story. So what possible role could something as flimsy as fiction play? From the pioneering pen of a continually visionary writer, Burning Snowflake is a fierce and rallying cry – to shr..
Manchester Literature Festival presents Paul Mason: Reds
A decade after PostCapitalism, Paul Mason returns to Manchester Literature Festival to discuss REDS: A Global History of Communism, his provocative new book exploring one of history's most powerful and contested political ideas. In his bold and unsettling re-evaluation of communism, Paul traces the story of communism across centuries and co..
Manchester Literature Festival presents The Observer Book Club with Deborah Frances-White
Author, comedian and host of The Guilty Feminist podcast, Deborah Frances-White joins us for a lively and illuminating conversation about her latest book, Six Conversations We’re Scared to Have, exploring how to navigate polarisation, disagreement and the increasingly heated debates shaping public life. Drawing on her belief in the import..
Manchester Literature Festival presents Patrick Radden Keefe
A gripping evening with Patrick Radden Keefe, bestselling author of Empire of Pain and Say Nothing. Patrick joins us to discuss his new work London Falling - a riveting true story of wealth, lies and the dark currents running beneath modern London. When teenager Zac Brettler dies after falling from a luxury riverside apartment, his parents unc..
Manchester Literature Festival presents The Observer Book Club with Yann Martel
Booker Prize-winning author Yann Martel, internationally acclaimed for the modern classic Life of Pi, visits Manchester Literature Festival for this exclusive North West event to discuss his remarkable new novel, Son of Nobody. Inspired by Homer's Iliad, Yann reimagines the Trojan War through the eyes of an ordinary foot soldier, interweavi..
Manchester Literature Festival presents Sufiyaan Salam and Monika Radojevic
Discover two fresh and uncompromising voices from Stormzy’s #Merky Books as Sufiyaan Salam and Monika Radojevic come together to discuss their acclaimed debut novels and the stories shaping a new generation of writers. Though radically different in style and setting, Wimmy Road Boyz and Strangerland are united by powerful themes of identity,..
Manchester Literature Festival presents Lady Hale and Lara Feigel
Lady Hale, the first female President of the UK Supreme Court and author of the Women’s Prize longlisted With the Law on Our Side, joins acclaimed writer Lara Feigel, author of Custody: The Secret History of Mothers, for a compelling conversation on law, family and power. Drawing on real cases and lived testimony, Lady Hale opens up the..
Manchester Literature Festival presents The Observer Book Club with Min Jin Lee
Acclaimed Korean American author Min Jin Lee, internationally celebrated for the bestselling Pachinko, discusses her long-awaited new novel, American Hagwon. Spanning decades and continents, this sweeping contemporary epic follows three generations of one family as they navigate migration, identity, sacrifice and the enduring pursuit of a..
Manchester Literature Festival presents Karen Solie: Rylands Poetry Reading
This year’s annual Rylands Poetry Reading is delivered by Karen Solie. Her latest collection Wellwater, exploring the profound impact of economic and environmental crises on human culture alongside vivid childhood memories of growing up in rural Canada, won both the T.S. Eliot Prize and Forward Prize for Best Collection in 2025. Don’t miss..