See Myself in Books Festival
Every child deserves to see themselves in the stories they read. This is the driver behind Read Manchester’s See Myself in Books campaign, which aims to introduce children to a…
Category Literature and reading
Heartstone Story Circles and See Myself in Books
Every child deserves to see themselves in the stories they read. This is the foundation of Read Manchester’s See Myself in Books campaign which aims to introduce children to a range of diverse…
Manchester Central Library Story Times
Get your little ones involved with The National Year of Reading by coming along to one of our free story times. Manchester Central Library offers a welcoming space for families…
See Myself in Books festival is back!
The See Myself in Books Festival returns to Manchester from 9 to 20 March, featuring 13 diverse authors and illustrators. Designed to promote inclusivity in children's literature, the festival allows children to engage with relatable characters and cultural stories, enhancing their reading experience. A special event will be hosted on 12 March.
Libraries Update – February 2026
Bridge of Sunflowers: Ukrainian Art – Central Library Manchester Central Library has been delighted to host Bridge of Sunflowers, an exhibition composed of artwork by young Ukrainian artists from the…
Festive Book Gifting 2025 with Read Manchester
Read Manchester’s Festive Book Gifting project this year was a huge success, with a total of 12,956 Books gifted across 140 different settings! We worked with a wide variety of different organisations, including: Food Banks…
Manchester Libraries: Inspiring young people with reading for pleasure events.
We had a brilliant start to the 2025/26 school year for Manchester High Schools with our author, reading for pleasure and creative writing offer. We started off in September with…
Summer Reading Challenge 2025: Celebrating Our Winners!
Summer Reading Challenge: Celebrating Our Winners!
Look back at the Year 6 to Year 7 Transition Read 2025 – Quiet Storm.
For the 2nd year the Year 6 to Year 7 Transition Read was Quiet Storm by local, award-winning author, Kimberly Whittam Home | Kimberly Whittam Author . The book was originally…
Celebrating Non-Fiction November 2025
To celebrate Non-Fiction November, Read Manchester has spent the past month working with publishers and authors to promote non-fiction and gift fantastic fact books to pupils of Manchester schools. We’ve had…
Non-Fiction November with Read Manchester
When we think of reading for pleasure, we often first think of novels – but fiction is only part of the story. National Non-Fiction November is an annual celebration of…
Take 10 to Read 2025
This October Read Manchester ran our annual Take 10 to Read campaign, promoting the importance of reading for mental health and wellbeing. Just 10 minutes of reading can be a…
What is Take 10 to Read?
Reading is a great way to relax, boost your mood and escape the pressures of daily life. That’s why we’re encouraging everyone to take 10 minutes to read on Friday 10…
Summer Reading Challenge Roadshows in Manchester Parks
To celebrate this year’s outdoor themed Summer Reading Challenge, Story Garden, Read Manchester and Manchester libraries visited parks around the city with a ‘Summer Reading Challenge Roadshow’! Read Manchester/Libraries staff, supported…
Watch Shane Hegarty, author of this year’s Early Years Transition Read introduce The One and Only You
We are delighted that The One and Only You by Shane Hegarty and illustrated by Ben Mantle is our Transition Read title for children starting Reception classes this September. The…
Baby Week 2025- Launch at Central Library
On Monday 16 June, hundreds of buggies, prams and babes in arms flowed across St Peter’s Square between Manchester Art Gallery and Manchester Central Library as Manchester Baby Week 2025…
Childminders gifted new book collections for children in their care
Read Manchester has been working on a project to gift Manchester childminders collections of brand new, high quality books for them to use with the children in their daily care.…
Summer Reading Challenge: Story Garden Roadshow with Read Manchester
The theme of this year’s Summer Reading Challenge is Story Garden, exploring the link between reading and stories and nature and the great outdoors. To celebrate, the Read Manchester team…
Love Stories etc Festival returns to Central Library.
The #LoveStoriesetc Festival returns on 25 and 26 July to Manchester Central Library!! A magical weekend with over 35 authors, workshops and lots more! Love Stories Etc… launched in 2024 with a…
Empathy Festival 2025
This month Manchester Libraries spread the message about the power of “jumping into someone else’s story” by taking part in Empathy Lab’s 10 day nationwide Empathy Day Festival. 1056 children…