Festival of Libraries has announced its dates for 2025, with the joyous celebration of libraries set to take place across Greater Manchester from Wednesday 4 June to Sunday 8 June. This year’s festival will take audiences to galaxies far away with Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock and unlock the transformative power of reading with Children’s Laureate Frank Cottrell-Boyce. They will be joined by a whole host of authors, poets, performers, artists and historians all sharing their love of libraries with audiences in a free events programme. And with The John Rylands Library celebrating its 125th birthday, Stockport set to open a brand new library and The Portico working to reunite its historic building under the dome, it’s never been a more exciting time for Greater Manchester libraries.

Returning for its fifth year, and winner of Best Event at the Manchester Culture Awards in 2024, Festival of Libraries is the biggest festival of its type in the country, bringing together all 133 of Greater Manchester’s libraries. Reminding us of how precious libraries are to communities, equality, discovery and culture, the festival is filled with author talks, exhibitions, performances, installations, workshops, Family Friendly activities and international collaborations. It is organised by Manchester UNESCO City of Literature and is made possible thanks to the support of Arts Council England.

The full events programme will be unveiled in early April, but there are already some incredible early reveals. Family Friendly Look for a Book will get the festival underway during the May half term holidays (Friday 23 May to Sunday 1 June) with stargazer extraordinaire Dame Maggie Aderin-Pocock. Maggie’s list of achievements is endless, including that she was the first Black woman to win a gold medal in the Physics News Award, has been a CBeebies presenter, and has been honoured with her own Barbie Doll in recognition of her work to promote science careers to girls. This is a game of finders keepers, with binoculars rather than telescopes needed for this challenge! Hidden in the libraries and the green spaces surrounding them will be 500 copies of Maggie’s book Am I Made of Stardust? awaiting discovery. As well as a copy of Maggie’s book to keep, there is also a chance for winners to meet her during the festival.

Also appearing at the festival will be multi award-winning author and screenwriter Frank Cottrell-Boyce, who will headline a series of Inspired by Libraries talks. Frank is a passionate advocate for the difference that reading can make to a child’s life and the vital role that libraries play in their communities. He is using his role as Children’s Laureate to raise awareness of the urgency of children having access to books and the value of reading. Frank will be joined by a number of well-known figures who will be in conversation at libraries across Greater Manchester sharing their stories and passions. Previous speakers have included Simon Armitage, Radzi Chinyanganya, Christopher Eccleston, Guy Garvey, Cheddar Gorgeous, Julie Hesmondhalgh, Stuart Maconie, Maxine Peake, Michael Rosen and Gary Younge.

Manchester is home to some of the finest historic libraries in the world, including Chetham’s Library, The Portico Library, Manchester Central Library and The John Rylands Library, which celebrates its 125th birthday this year. It will do so with the unveiling of a new Collections Gallery where 40 objects that echo the history and evolution of the library’s collections will be displayed, and a new Special Exhibitions Gallery, where The Secret Public: LGBTQ Pop 1955 – 1985 exhibition will be located. The new galleries will open at The John Rylands Library on Thursday 15 May and will be featured as part of the Festival of Libraries programme.

Reflecting the breadth of libraries in Greater Manchester, at the same time as one of its libraries reaches a grand old age, a bold new chapter is beginning in Stockport. Stockroom will open this spring – reimagining what a modern library can be. Designed with and for local people, but open to all, Stockroom will feature a children’s creative learning space, a café bar, archives, and an event space hosting a vibrant year-round programme. More than just a library, there’s room for everyone: to make noise, meet friends or find a bit of peace, play, take part, think and do new things. Details of how Stockroom will celebrate the Festival of Libraries will be revealed as part of its much-anticipated launch.

The full programme for the Festival of Libraries 2025 will be announced in early April. In 2024 the festival consisted of 115 events across 5 days and had 44,000 visitors.
Festival of Libraries’ partners include: Archives+, Central Library, Chetham’s Library, John Rylands Research Institute and Library, Manchester Poetry Library, NHS Libraries, The Portico Library, Working Class Movement Library, University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, Institute Cervantes Library, Levenshulme Old Library and Greater Manchester libraries (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan).
For further information visit: https://www.manchestercityofliterature.com/project/manchester-libraries-festival/