Manchester Literature Festival 2026

The Manchester Literature Festival is back for its sixteenth edition, running from Friday 9 to Sunday 25 October across a variety of venues around the city. It's a two-week stretch of live storytelling, ideas and performance, with the programme bringing together novelists, bestselling authors, cultural commentators and poets. The festival is built around the idea of conversation, so you'll find writers and thinkers on stage in a welcoming setting rather than behind a podium, with plenty of room for the audience to get involved.

The line-up kicks off with Frank Cottrell-Boyce on Tuesday 13 October, followed by The Observer Book Club with Yann Martel on Wednesday 14 October. On Thursday 15 October, it's The Brown Sugar RAP Party, and Friday 16 October brings Carolyn Forché and Kwame Dawes. Saturday 17 October sees Hugh Bonneville reading Rory Sparkes and the Spy Who Loved Tea. Towards the end of the festival, Saturday 24 October is a double bill: Eliza Chan and Sunyi Dean present Hong Kong Ghost Stories, while Dave Haslam appears with John Simm, Stephen Morris and Afrodeutsche. The whole thing wraps up on Sunday 25 October with Jackie Kay.

Beyond the main festival, the organisation runs a year-round Creative Learning programme for new readers, writers and creative practitioners. The festival itself sits within Manchester's status as a UNESCO City of Literature, one of the UK's most multicultural cities and home to independent publishers, libraries and literary landmarks. The sessions run from Friday 9 to Sunday 25 October, with the main programme spread across multiple venues across the city.