Manchester Literature Festival returns this October with 17 days of authors, poetry, podcasts and conversations spread across the city.
The 2026 festival runs from 9 to 25 October. University of Manchester partners Creative Manchester and the Centre for New Writing are supporting events featuring writers including Maggie O’Farrell, Patrick Radden Keefe, Yann Martel, Min Jin Lee and Elif Shafak.
Events will take place at venues including Manchester Museum, Central Library, the Royal Northern College of Music and the John Rylands Library. For a few weeks, some of the city’s best buildings effectively become very elaborate reading rooms with microphones.