The Manchester Literature Festival returns in October for its fifth year. Check out the events listed in the new brochure here. To get a feel of the festival you can also check out previous years brochures below it.
Last year’s festival was a real treat, with a celebration of Penguin’s 75th anniversary with Editorial Director Tony Lacey in attendance, novelist Martin Amis dropping into town, to chat with screenwriter Andrew Davies, a book launch of work based on the recordings of eves-droppers, a talk by a Spanish comic book artist, trips through the world of Anthony Burgess, short anthology launches, a comedy poetry slam… Well. Check last October in this blog for a list of what I attended. Not one event missed the mark.
I’m looking through this year’s brochure. I’d like to do the Anthony Burgess tour, but I’m not so much a wannabe droog that I’d pay £15 to attend. I’ll make an appearance at the Manchester Blog Awards again. Some of the people shortlisted at this event will undoubtedly be listed in my “Powerful Manchester Writers” field on the right, so I’ll definitely show some support to other bloggers I know- and those I don’t yet. And, of course, I've thrown a bid in for this blog. Why not.
Other than that, the events aren’t really my kind of thing this year. The festival organisers are talented people and the events last year were entertaining and managed with skill, so I’m sure this year will be great for those who recognise the names of guests.
I have, however, offered to volunteer at the festival. The volunteers meeting at Deansgate Library was a chance to put our details forward for positions of Event Organiser and Event Blogger. MLF organiser Jon advised us, however, that any event we really want to attend, we should go as a punter / blogger as opposed to an organiser. As organisers, we’ll be heavily involved in the orchestration of the event- setting up the rooms, finding guests and escorting them to and from venues, ordering taxis, carting books around. With these responsibilities, Jon mentioned, we might not get to see the actual event take place.
So I’d be happy to chip in for a couple of events. Network a little. But I won’t be spending quite as much time- or money- at the festival as I did last time. If you're reading this blog, though, there's a good chance the events could be right up your street. So by all means have a rummage and see what's going on. You might even see me there.
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