
The Festival of Libraries will celebrate the literary scene that Manchester has to offer, running from Wednesday 12 − Sunday 16 June all over the region. It will be full of exhibitions, performances, talks, workshops and art installations that all reflect Greater Manchester’s huge pride in its libraries and their value to their communities. The events are scheduled to take place around the whole of Greater Manchester, across 133 libraries.
Sharing their love of libraries this year are authors, poets, performers, artists and historians, including Konnie Huq, LYR (Simon Armitage, Richard Walters and Patrick Pearson), Maxine Peake, Christopher Eccleston, Joseph Coelho and more. Taking part are the city region’s 133 libraries, including the internationally renowned Central Library, Chetham’s, The Portico Library and John Rylands Research Institute and Library, and everyone is invited.
The Festival of Libraries programme is full of imagination, ideas, connections and discussion with exhibitions, author talks, performances, installations, live music, workshops and international collaborations, which are all free to take part in.
The festival is here as a reminder to people of the breadth of what libraries offer and the incredible contribution they make to communities as places that not only give access to books, but provide services, learning and creativity; all with an open invitation to anyone. As a UNESCO City of Literature, Manchester believes passionately in the value of libraries and the Festival of Libraries, which is Arts Council England funded, is a reflection of this.
Poet Laureate Simon Armitage said: “Libraries are very close to my heart […] I want to support the under-pressure services that play a vital role in shaping the cultural, imaginative and intellectual life of this country, and often stand at the core of communities.
“Libraries are the ultimate democratic institutions – places of sharing – and having taken so much out this is an opportunity for me to give something back. Let’s say I’m balancing the books.”
This is the fourth Festival of Libraries, with last year’s festival including 111 events and involved Greater Manchester’s whole library network, making it a unique celebration. Find out more and book individual events here.