MANCHESTER Literature Festival (1 Sept - 14 Nov) is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year by inviting back a number of familiar faces alongside some of literature's most exciting young writers and storytellers.
Poems from Rudyard Kipling, Carol Ann Duffy and John Cooper Clarke explore the long and illustrious history of the city
The festival is a city-wide celebration of written and spoken word ranging from crime fiction to performance poetry, radical woman to dystopian futures.
Since 2006 the festival has tripled in size, growing from 30 events with an audience of 3,000 to 80 events and 10,000 attendees in 2014. Patrons include Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy, BBC Radio 4’s Dame Jenni Murray and poet/publisher Michael Schmidt.
Much anticipated events this year include Anthony Horowitz's introduction to the new Bond novel, Trigger Mortis; Margaret Atwood's dystopian vision of the future in The Heart Goes Last, in which the lawful are locked up while the lawless roam free; whilst the festival continues to explore the legacy of literary greats including Yeats, Gaskell and old Shakey.
With 85 events to delve into, we’ve narrowed it down to eight must-see events:
This year’s Festival trailblazer is Margaret Atwood, an award-winning and international best-selling author, known primarily for the dystopian worlds she creates. She will join broadcaster and critic Erica Wagner to discuss her forthcoming novel The Heart Goes Last.
27 September (3pm), Royal Exchange, Tickets £12/£10
On the 150th anniversary of the birth of WB Yeats, this event celebrates the great Irish poet’s interest in music, poetry and performance; the high point of which may well have been his 1903 sell-out performance in The Whitworth. 'If we are ever to find a way back to a true harmony between music and poetry,' remarked the Guardian, 'it will almost certainly be by consulting the poet.’
15 October (7.30pm), The Whitworth, Tickets £10/£8
Anthony Horowitz
Following the release of his upcoming James Bond novel, Trigger Mortis, Anthony Horowitz will discuss the legacy of Ian Fleming, the challenges of posthumous collaboration and what makes 007 such an enduring character. This latest Bond instalment takes place in the world of motor racing and features old favourite Pussy Galore. Horowitz’s other work includes the Alex Rider series, Midsomer Murders and Foyle’s War. The event will be chaired by author and comedian Viv Groskop.
9 September (7pm), Central Library, Tickets £8/£6
Anthony HorowitzA History of Manchester in Ten Poems
Poems from Rudyard Kipling, Carol Ann Duffy and John Cooper Clarke explore the long and illustrious history of the city, from Mamucium through Mamcestre to Manchester. The tour, lead by guide Anne Beswick, will take in some of the city's most remarkable buildings.
24 October (1pm), Manchester Town Hall, Tickets £9
A special evening to celebrate the launch of Carol Ann Duffy’s first Collected Poems, which draws together in a single volume the best of eight collections spanning 30 years along with a handful of new poems. Carol Ann will read and discuss her verse and passion with Observer writer Rachel Cooke.
18 October (7.30pm), Halle St Peter's, Tickets £12/£10
MLF and Manchester Jazz Festival unite for a reimagining of William Hogarth's A Rake's Progress (1733) - a series of eight paintings charting the downward spiral of a young man who has come into a few bob and taken off down the road to self-destruction. Here a collection of critically-acclaimed artists create a unique multimedia performance combining words, music and visual art to tell the story of an immigrant’s journey to Manchester.
22 October (7.30pm), The Whitworth, Tickets £17/£15
The WhitworthPaul Mason - A Guide To Our Future
Paul Mason’s new book PostCapitalism: A Guide to Our Futue, argues that we are on the verge of a profound change in how we do business and function as societies, a change that could give the chance of creating a more socially just and sustainable global economy. As Economic Editor for Channel 4 News, Mason is uniquely placed to comment on the emerging changes. Paul will be in conversation with Kay Shaw, Principal Lecturer in Contemporary Literature at Leeds Beckett University.
22 October (7.30pm), RNCM, Tickets £10/£8
Former Panorma and Newsnight reporter and Observer political editor Robert Harris will discuss power, politics, corruption, ambition, history and humanity in the context of his forthcoming novel, Dictator. This novel concludes the Cicero Trilogy, which covers the collapse of the Roman republic, the subsequent civil war and the infamous assassination of Julius Caesar. Harris’ acclaimed work has been translated into 37 languages and he is considered to be one of the UK’s best writers of historical fiction and thrillers.
12 October (7.30pm), Royal Exchange, Tickets £10/£8
Venues across Manchester Monday 12 – Sunday 25 October 2015
