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MLF Chapter & VerseMLF Chapter & Verse

The Manchester Literature Festival Blog

  • Young Digital Reporter Review: Margaret Atwood

    October 14, 2016

    Our young digital reporter Laura Cooper reports from RCNM Theatre, where acclaimed Canadian author, artistic visionary and teller of magical tales Margaret Atwood discussed her latest novel Hag-Seed, a retelling of The Tempest. Margaret Atwood is a writer defined by the eclecticism of her subject matter. Over her long career her writing has ranged from the stark dystopia of The Handmaid’s […]

  • Review: Yuval Noah Harari

    September 19, 2016

    Is human equality a notion that is approaching its sell-by date? MLF blogger Holly Aszkenasy reports back from our recent event with Sapiens and Homo Deus author Yuval Noah Harari. In his best-selling Sapiens, historian Yuval Noah Harari took us on a grand tour of humankind, beginning with the violent overrun of planet Earth by […]

  • Review: Irvine Welsh

    April 12, 2016

    So what has one of contemporary literature’s most violent psychopaths been up to lately? Festival blogger Fran Slater headed to The Dancehouse to find out, as Irvine Welsh discussed new novel The Blade Artist (and its protagonist, Trainspotting’s notorious Francis Begbie) with Kevin Sampson. Entering The Dancehouse on this wet Sunday evening was a strange experience. We were here […]

  • Review: Helen Macdonald and Jeanette Winterson

    March 29, 2016

    “It’s always about quality of attention”: MLF’s Kate Feld reports on our recent in-conversation event with Jeanette Winterson and Helen Macdonald, which featured compelling insights into Macdonald’s hit memoir as well as inspiring talk on the writer’s craft. A meeting of two such multi-faceted and curious minds as Jeanette Winterson and Helen Macdonald is a rare treat, and our event with the Centre […]

  • Review: Gloria Steinem

    March 7, 2016

      “Masculine and feminine prisons – we all have all the human qualities.” Young Digital Reporter Alex Stone is moved by our event with Gloria Steinem at Waterstones, following publication of new memoir My Life on the Road. A hush descends upon the audience as Gloria Steinem takes to the stage. There is nothing arrogant or […]

  • Review: Gaeia Manchester Sermon with Elif Shafak

    December 7, 2015

    Our blogger Jonti Dalal-Small reports from Manchester Cathedral, where Anglo-Turkish author, journalist and critic Elif Shafak delivered an unforgettable 2015 Gaeia Manchester Sermon “I don’t think writers should preach. I find it annoying.” So says Elif Shafak who, from behind a pulpit in Manchester Cathedral, has just delivered a sermon. Who is she? I am […]

  • Review: Northern Lights Writers’ Conference

    November 24, 2015

    Adrian Slatcher enjoys a day of informative and entertaining talk on the craft of writing at the Northern Lights Writers’ Conference In its third year at the Waterside Arts Centre in Sale, the Northern Lights Writers’ Conference continues to attract a good crowd of writers with different levels of experience and background. With a mix […]

  • Review: Rising Stars Day

    November 17, 2015

    Three literature events in a day?  Our blogger Benjamin Judge takes on the challenge of blogging our Rising Stars Day, but discovers he may have bitten off more than he can chew. Hey, Manchester Literature Festival. Shall we? Shall we count the ways? Yes, let’s. Three events, one day, six writers, one host, one blogger… […]

  • Review: Paul Mason

    November 6, 2015

    Louise Bolotin is spellbound by an evening with the brilliant Paul Mason. Paul Mason is familiar to many as Channel 4 News’ economics editor, and to the musically minded as a Northern Soul aficionado, but it was in his journalistic capacity that he took to the stage to expound on his theories about the future […]

  • Review: Simon Armitage

    November 6, 2015

    Young Digital Reporter Elizabeth Gibson is thrilled by a first encounter with one of her favourite poets. I have long been a fan of Simon Armitage: his poem “Homecoming” is one of my absolute favourites. So it was with great excitement that I sat down in the Central Library to see him for the first […]