In the centenary year of the Bauhaus school of art and design, you’re likely to hear about Walter Gropius, Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee, and not so much about the women photographers, designers and weavers. Digging through the audio-visual archives, and profiling some of the most exciting artists of the 1920s avantgarde, novelist Naomi Wood […]
What might Palestine look like in 2048, a century after the Nakba when 700,000 Palestinian Arabs were forced to flee their homes? In the anthology Palestine +100, ten contemporary Palestinian writers respond to this question through speculative fiction, considering the repercussions of war, economic blockades, humanitarian crises and political isolation. Two of the writers, Selma […]
Manchester Literature Festival: Chen Qiufan & Xia Jia
Finnish-Kosovan author Pajtim Statovci discusses his critically acclaimed novels My Cat Yugoslavia and Crossing, challenging our preconceptions about gender, sexuality and migration. Crossing chronicles the desperate journey of two young men fleeing Albania – from the bazaars of Albania to the drag bars of New York, traversing borders and identities in search of refuge. A […]
We’re sorry that this event with Patricia Smith and Keisha Thompson has been cancelled. All tickets will be refunded. Anyone who has purchased a ticket will be contacted by Quaytickets as soon as possible. Join us for an extraordinary evening of poetry. Visionary American poet Patricia Smith is the author of eight books of poetry. […]
In their superb debut novels, Oyinkan Braithwaite and Candice Carty-Williams fight patriarchy with dark humour – and occasionally a knife. In My Sister, the Serial Killer, Oyinkan asks if blood is thicker than water as Korede helps her sister clean up after she murders yet another boyfriend in ‘self-defence’. Meanwhile, in the smart and darkly […]
From Boudicca’s revolt against Roman occupation in AD60 to the protests following the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017, Resist is a series of commissions reimagining key moments of British protest and resistance through those involved rather than those who hold power. Contributors Steve Chambers (GLADIO: We can Neither Confirm nor Deny), Irfan Master (Out of […]
When the protests around Donald Trump’s presidency began, one of the recurring signs read ‘1984 isn’t a guidebook’. In the 80 years since its publication, George Orwell’s dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four has influenced and pervaded our culture. In his brilliant new book, The Ministry of Truth, British journalist Dorian Lynskey examines the impact of Orwell’s […]
Women’s bodies are the subject of continued discussion, speculation and law-making, but in personal and courageous essay collections, Irish writers Emilie Pine and Sinéad Gleeson set out to reclaim their own bodies and experiences. In Notes to Self, Emilie considers the heartbreak of fertility treatment and predatory older men, while in Constellations, Sinéad explores the […]
Lies can travel far and change lives. In her exquisitely observed novel Liar, Israeli novelist and scriptwriter Ayelet Gundar-Goshen considers the morality of lying. Socially awkward, unhappy teenage girl Nofar goes from invisible to in-demand when she lies about being sexually attacked. For reasons of their own, two witnesses stay silent and the web of […]