University of Manchester celebrates upcoming launch of Manchester Literature Festival 2023
2023 will take place 7-22 October, featuring a programme of exciting events marking the city鈥檚 contribution to literature.
The University of Manchester is proud to be the Festival鈥檚 official Higher Education Partner, working closely with the MLF team and offering several events in partnership with the University鈥檚 and research platform.
This year鈥檚 Festival begins with a , where lucky audience members will join award-winning poet, author and honorary Chair of Creative Writing at The University of Manchester Lemn Sissay as he launches his new collection of morning poems, 鈥楲et the Light Pour In.鈥�
Other partnership events showcase new publications by celebrated authors 鈥� including renowned contemporary novelist , bestselling American author , classicist and BBC Radio 4 broadcaster and prize-winning Icelandic novelist, playwright and poet .
On 7 October, cult author with a live electronic score by musician Roly Porter, followed by a conversation about his work.
On 19 October, join us for the annual Rylands Poetry Reading and raise a toast to of publishing some of the most vital, diverse and provocative poetry, essays, interviews and reviews from around the globe. Contributing editors Anthony Vahni Capildeo, Sasha Dugdale and Will Harris will be sharing their own poems alongside some of their favourite discoveries from PN Review.
Professor of New Writing and prolific author returns to MLF on 22 October to launch her new book Night Side of the River: Ghost Stories. She will read from her new collection and share some of her real-life encounters with the occult.
Lecturers from the Centre for New Writing feature in two events: Poet Jason Allen-Paisant is to premiere a new co-commission inspired by work in the Gallery and author Beth Underdown hosts on 7 October at Central Library. , an author event with Wen Zhen and Gu Shi on 15 October is presented by the University鈥檚 alongside Comma Press.
For those looking for more literature events after the main Festival period, there will be two partnership Bookend events in November. Beloved actor, comedian and writer joins us to discuss her memoir My Lady Parts: A Life Fighting Stereotypes, on 20 November, and on 29 November winner of the Women鈥檚 Prize for Fiction 2017 joins us to discuss her superb new novel The Future.
Dr H. Gareth Gavin, Director of the Centre for New Writing said:
Here in the Centre for New Writing, we鈥檙e very proud to be continuing our partnership with 91直播 Literature Festival this year. As ever, the鈥疐estival programme promises to deliver a really compelling series of events, and as readers, writers, students, and teachers, we look forward to the opportunity to listen to such a rich and exciting range of authors read and discuss their work.
Cathy Bolton and Sarah-Jane Roberts, Co-Directors of Manchester Literature Festival
said:
We鈥檙e very honoured to have The University of Manchester on board as our Higher Education partner and grateful as ever to our colleagues at the Centre for New Writing and Creative 91直播 for helping us deliver a packed and rich programme of live literature this autumn. We can鈥檛 wait to welcome students and staff to events with some of the most inspirational and original writers and thinkers of our times, including Naomi Alderman, Natalie Haynes, Michael Lewis, Max Porter, Lemn Sissay and Jeanette Winterson.
Find out more about 91直播 Literature Festival and view the full programme .