Conversation Club
Would you like to improve your English conversation skills? Join our friendly group to improve your English and meet new friends. Suitable for adults. Free – just drop in.
Central Library, 5 September & 19 September, 1 – 2.30. Check out librarylive.co.uk for more info.
SAVE THE DATE! Saturday Spectacular Lowry Takeover
Come and join The Lowry at Central Library and get involved in some fantastic fun for all the family. From arts and crafts, to interactive storytelling, to engaging workshops, there’s plenty to get involved in. Plus, join us for a special film screening of a family classic, the title of which will be revealed on the day! Free – just drop in.
Saturday 14 September, 12 – 4, Central Library Performance Space (Ground Floor).
Click here for more information.
Chorlton Book Festival
Chorlton Book Festival returns from 20 – 28 September with another pop-up celebration of the joy of reading and storytelling in their many forms! Check out the chorltonbookfestival.co.uk for the full programme.
Library of the Month – Beswick!
Beswick Library is our library of the month for September! Beswick Library bustles with activity, supporting residents with the new Eastlands parking permits and hosting diverse community programmes. Highlights include the Beswick Young Company, the Chatty Cafe, and a Dementia Cafe, along with “The Bread & Butter Thing” food club. The library also partnered with the National Grid to commemorate Manchester’s industrial heritage through a gasholder dismantling exhibition. Beswick Library continues to be a vital resource, enriching local life. There’s more to read about brilliant Beswick on the library blog.
Start Up Huddle Manchester
Let’s get together in Manchester to chat about all things start-ups and entrepreneurship at Start Up Huddle Manchester!
Thursday, 26 September 4.30 – 6, BIPC, Central Library. Register at Eventbrite.
Brian Groom ‘Made in Manchester’
A rich and vivid history of Britain’s second city through the people who made it. ‘What Manchester thinks today, England thinks tomorrow.’ An Evening with Brian Groom ‘Made in Manchester’
Chorlton Central Church. Saturday 21 September, 6:30. Get tickets here.
Networking Evening at Generator St Peter’s Square
Networking Evenings at the Generator are your opportunity to mingle with fellow entrepreneurs, freelancers, and creatives in a relaxed and welcoming environment. Join us for an exciting session of networking and fun activities designed to help you make new connections, explore new ideas and have a great time. Refreshments will be provided.
Generator, St. Peter’s Square, Thursday 19 September, 4 – 5:30. More information here.
David Gaffney and Sarah-Clare Conlon. ‘Just Add Water’
Tuesday 24 September. Poetry and prose about the sea, from lighthouses and oilrigs to shorebirds and whales. Join Sarah-Clare and David Gaffney for a literary celebration of all things aquatic.
Central Library, Tuesday 24 September, 6:30pm. Book now at Eventbrite.
Juliette Tomlinson ‘Longford’
It was the year of 1864, and the great city of Manchester was Cottonopolis. At the heart of its energies was John Rylands. This is the story of an empire built by a true Manchester man by the woman who loved him.
Juliette Tomlinson – Longford: A Manchester Love Story.
The Edge Theatre & Arts Centre Tickets, Friday 27 September, 2pm. Book now at Eventbrite.
Linda Brogan and authors ‘12 Words’
The personal stories of how three women born in Moss Side Manchester, embarked on an excavation of the famous Reno nightclub and changed their lives. Linda Brogan: Twelve words, three women and the Reno Club.
Chorlton Central Church, Friday 27 September, 6:30pm. Book here at Eventbrite.
Kantos Chamber Choir: Bronte
Join Kantos Chamber Choir as we examine the lives and passions of the mysterious Brontë sisters through the eyes of their friend and supporter, Elizabeth Gaskell.
Central Library, Saturday 21 September, 7 – 8:30. More information and book here.
Build a Business in GM Libraries
Manchester Central Library’s Business & IP Centre offers a “Build a Business” series with four courses designed to help start-ups and small businesses succeed:
Know Your Customers, Get Competitive – 12 September
Marketing – The Essentials – 18 September
Business Basics – Getting Started! – 25 September
Intellectual Property: Protect Your Assets – 1 October
All courses run from 9:30 -1 at Central Library. Find out more and book your place at buildabusinessgm.org
Z-arts Children’s Library – Free Sessions
Our regular free pre-school sessions in Z-arts Children’s Library are starting again from Tuesday 10 September. Come along for interactive stories, great sing-a-longs, and fun play! Z-arts, Hulme. Learn more here.
Shoe Baby at Z-arts!
Adapted from the book by Joyce Dunbar, join us in our theatre for a magical puppet show for ages 2 – 6. It’s a fantastical sing-a-long adventure with a baby who takes to the sea, the air, the zoo all in a shoe!
Z-arts, Hulme. Saturday 14 September, 11 – 2. Find out more here.
Manchester People’s Culture Award returns for 2024 – cast your vote now
The Manchester Culture Awards are back with nominations now open. The annual awards recognise the city’s cultural and creative highlights from the last 12 months. The awards were launched in 2018 by Manchester City Council to acknowledge Manchester’s rapidly growing reputation for culture and the arts, with the annual awards recognising the very best of culture, creativity, and the arts in the city – from the grassroots up. Find out more and how to cast your vote here.
Ebook of the Month – Bad Men by Julie Mae Cohen
Saffy has a secret. A secret that she is deeply ashamed of. It’s not the fact that she’s a serial killer in her free time. In fact, she’s quite proud of that. After all she’s only killing the bad men. She is making the world a better place. No, her secret is far worse than that. Saffy has a messy, inexplicable, uncontrollable crush. So while she’s busy plotting her next murder, she also has the much harder task of figuring out how to get a boyfriend. But if there’s one thing Saffy knows, it’s how to get her man. Log in to Borrowbox or get the app to and enjoy free ebooks.
Audiobook of the Month – Over Sharing by Jane Fallon
Read by Dolly Wells, Olivia Darnley, Dominic Thorburn. Iris’s life isn’t what she imagined—divorced, childless, and renting out a room—but she loves her job and has great friends. Meanwhile, Maddy Fulford, the influencer who ruined Iris’s marriage, preaches about happy families. Can Iris handle the possibility that Maddy’s perfect life is a lie? Log in to Borrowbox or download the app to enjoy free audiobooks.
Spotlight on Services
Whether you’re a life-long library member or newly signed up, make sure you’re using all the free library services available to you. Did you know there’s an…
Online catalogue and an app so you can search for and reserve or renew books from anywhere.
Our Online reference library gives you access to free language courses, digital newspapers and magazines, music streaming and business resources.
Free ebooks and audiobooks mean you can download the latest bestsellers to read or listen on any device, there are no overdue charges, they return themselves and they’re free to download.