Centre for New Writing

23/09/2026

The Observer Book Club with Min Jin Lee

📅 Wednesday 21 October
⏰ 7.30-8.45pm
🎟️ £15 (£32 including book)
📍 Contact

Acclaimed Korean American author Min Jin Lee, internationally celebrated for the bestselling Pachinko, discusses her long-awaited new novel, 'American Hagwon' at this unmissable Manchester Literature Festival event.

Tickets and info: https://manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk/events/the-observer-book-club-with-min-jin-lee

18/09/2026

The Observer Book Club with Yann Martel

📅 Wednesday 14 October
⏰ 7.30-8.45pm
🎟️ £12/£10
📍 Martin Harris Centre

Booker Prize-winning author Yann Martel, internationally acclaimed for the modern classic 'Life of Pi', visits Manchester Literature Festival for this exclusive North West event to discuss his remarkable new novel, 'Son of Nobody'.

Tickets and info: https://manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk/events/the-observer-book-club-with-yann-martel

17/09/2026

The Observer Book Club with Deborah Frances-White

📅 Sunday 11 October
⏰ 4.30-5.45pm
🎟️ £12/£10
📍 Martin Harris Centre

The author, comedian and host of The Guilty Feminist Deborah Frances-White brings her sharp wit and fresh perspective to Manchester Literature Festival for a lively conversation about Six Conversations We’re Scared to Have and how we can navigate disagreement, polarisation and difficult conversations. Expect big questions, bold ideas and plenty to discuss.

Tickets and info: https://manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk/events/the-observer-book-club-with-deborah-frances-white

16/09/2026

Paul Mason: Reds

📅 Sunday 11 October
⏰ 2-3.15pm
🎟️ £14/£12
📍 Martin Harris Centre

Join writer, broadcaster and political strategist Paul Mason at Manchester Literature Festival for a lively conversation on Reds: A Global History of Communism - exploring communism’s global legacy and what it means for our world today. Expect big ideas, bold questions and a thought-provoking conversation.

Tickets and info: https://manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk/events/paul-mason-reds

04/09/2026

Join our graduating master's students for the launch of this year's Manchester Anthology!

📅 Monday 19 October
⏰ 6-9pm
📍 International Anthony Burgess Foundation
🎟️ Free – Booking required

The evening will include live readings from some of the city's most exciting fiction, non-fiction, and poetry writers, followed by a complimentary drinks reception.

Tickets and info:

Come celebrate the launch of the latest Manchester Anthology!

03/09/2026

Congratulations to our former BA and MA student Rebecca Perry, winner of the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize for her novel 'May We Feed the King'.

Rebecca's novel has also been long listed for this year's Booker Prize.

Read more:

The longlist for the Booker Prize 2026 has been announced, featuring two previous winners and three debut novelists

01/09/2026

Manchester Literature Festival is back for 2026 – and once again, we're hosting a series of partnership events with Creative Manchester.

Our highlights include influential and much-loved literary voices, conversations with acclaimed debut novelists, podcast recordings, poetry readings and much more!

To find out more and book tickets, visit our website:

Manchester Literature Festival returns from 9-25 October, featuring exciting partnership events from Creative Manchester and the Centre for New Writing.

10/07/2026

Massive congratulations to our former MA student Tom Pyle, winner of this year's Brotherton Poetry Prize!

Tom said: "It is a massive honour to receive this award, especially among such a high calibre of poets.

I’ve been writing poems for the last six years and over that time, I’ve spent more and more time doing it. This is the first award I’ve won for poetry, which feels like a massive stepping stone.

“I’m going to continue working towards my first collection, and being here tonight is making my ideas crystallise a bit more."

Read the full story:

An English teacher based in Zagreb, Croatia has won the Brotherton Poetry Prize, out of the highest number of entries in the prize’s history.

09/07/2026

The University of Manchester is proud to be among the global universities, screenwriting labs, film festivals and filmmaker programs partnering with the Academy’s Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting to help identify possible Nicholl Fellows.

Gonzalo Maza, screenwriter and lecturer in the Centre for New Writing, said:

"It's an honour that the Academy has chosen University of Manchester as one of a select group of international institutions for this partnership. For us it represents an extraordinary opportunity to give visibility to the creative talent we nurture in Manchester, and to connect our screenwriters with one of the world's most prestigious platforms for new screenwriting talent."

Read more:

The University of Manchester is proud to be among the global universities, screenwriting labs, film festivals and filmmaker programs partnering with the Academy’s Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting to help identify possible Nicholl Fellows in the 2026-2027 program cycle. The University of Manch...

02/07/2026

Book now for An Afternoon with Elif Shafak, our Manchester Literature Festival event in partnership with Creative Manchester:

📅 Sunday 25 October
⏰ 3pm
📍 RNCM - Royal Northern College of Music
🎟️ £22 (£37 including book)

The Internationally-acclaimed novelist returns to celebrate her extraordinary new novel, In One Brief Moment All Eternity. Spanning decades and continents, from revolutionary 19th-century France to Istanbul, Egypt and Beirut, this luminous and deeply moving story explores creativity and resistance in times of political upheaval and war.

Tickets and info:

Internationally-acclaimed novelist Elif Shafak returns to celebrate her extraordinary new novel, In One Brief Moment All Eternity. Spanning decades and continents, from revolutionary 19th-century France to Istanbul, Egypt and Beirut, this luminous and deeply moving story explores creativity and resi...