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

BASE NOTES: Adelle Stripe in conversation

18:30 - 20:00 29 April 2025

We're excited to welcome Adelle Stripe to hear her discuss her wonderful new book, BASE NOTES: The Scents of a Life. Doors: 6.30pm, starts: 6.45pm Tickets are £4. Admission is free when purchasing a copy the book. About the book: A bedroom dreamer with a headful of Warhol, Adelle Stripe's formative years were ones of daytime drinking and..

Manchester Literature Festival: Kevin Barry

19:00 - 20:15 01 May 2025

‘A true wonder’ – Max Porter Tom Rourke, poet, doper, drinker is struggling to make a life for himself amongst the Irish migrant workers seeking to make their fortunes in Butte, Montana. Then Polly Gillespie, wife of a mine captain, walks into his life. Sparks fly, the lovers flee West, but will they reach the sunset before they’re ca..

Manchester Literature Festival: Laura Bates

19:00 - 20:30 13 May 2025

AI-powered technologies are revolutionising our lives and putting women and girls in danger. In her urgent and gripping new book The New Age of Sexism, Laura Bates delves into our future and finds it wanting. From chatbots to sex robots, from deep fakes to the metaverse, Laura examines how existing forms of discrimination, inequality and haras..

Saba Sams and Eley Williams in conversation

18:30 - 20:00 19 May 2025

We are thrilled to welcome Saba Sams and Eley Williams to the shop. Saba Sams, the multi-award-winning author of Send Nudes is back with her debut novel GUNK; a nuanced exploration of friendship, queerness and love. Eley Williams' MODERATE TO POOR, OCCASIONALLY GOOD, is a poignant and playful collection of short stories exploring the nature of..

Writing for Wellbeing (Festival of Libraries 2025)

14:30 - 16:30 05 June 2025

Expressing yourself and crafting an object have long been studied and considered a way to relieve stress and emotional turbulence. We are told that “talking helps” and that making “something out of nothing” can make us feel better. Writing is a form of speech. And so, as part of the Festival of Libraries, we would like to invite you to..

Writing for Wellbeing (Festival of Libraries 2025)

12:00 - 14:30 06 June 2025

Expressing yourself and crafting an object have long been studied and considered a way to relieve stress and emotional turbulence. We are told that “talking helps” and that making “something out of nothing” can make us feel better. Writing is a form of speech. And so, as part of the Festival of Libraries, we would like to invite you to..

Writing for Wellbeing (Festival of Libraries 2025)

12:00 - 14:00 07 June 2025

Expressing yourself and crafting an object have long been studied and considered a way to relieve stress and emotional turbulence. We are told that “talking helps” and that making “something out of nothing” can make us feel better. Writing is a form of speech. And so, as part of the Festival of Libraries, we would like to invite you to..

Rowe Irvin and Gurnaik Johal in conversation with Kaye Mitchell

18:30 - 20:00 09 June 2025

We are thrilled to welcome Rowe Irvin and Gurnaik Johal to the shop to discuss their stunning debut novels LIFE CYCLE OF A MOTH and SARASWATI. The authors will be in conversation with Kaye Mitchell. Doors: 6.30pm, starts: 6.45pm Tickets are £4. Admission is free when purchasing a copy the book. About LIFE CYCLE OF A MOTH: Maya and Daughte..

Manchester Literature Festival: Colm Tóibín

19:00 - 20:30 16 June 2025

We are delighted to welcome Colm Tóibín back to Manchester to discuss his latest novel Long Island. Set twenty years after the events of Brooklyn, Eilis Lacey returns to Enniscorthy, Ireland for her mother’s 80th birthday after she discovers her husband Tony has fathered a child with another woman. Her arrival disturbs the balance of the t..

Manchester Literature Festival: Attica Locke

19:00 - 20:30 16 July 2025

‘This is the best kind of thriller: as literate and thoughtful as it is fast-moving. Attica Locke has bags of style, and sings the blues on every page’ - Mick Herron (Slow Horses) We’re thrilled to welcome American crime writer Attica Locke to Manchester Literature Festival for a rare UK event. In Guide Me Home, the latest of her grippi..

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