Manchester City of Literature Festival Of Libraries

“Look for a Book” treasure hunt to take place in all ten Greater Manchester boroughs.

Manchester UNESCO City of Literature’s Festival of Libraries, the county-wide celebration of Greater Manchester’s 133 libraries, will return, after a successful debut last year, with a full live programme of events running from Wednesday 15th to Sunday 19th June, 2022.

The Festival, which is supported by Arts Council England, will once again feature a varied and vibrant programme that highlights the library network’s full offer, with events taking in wellbeing, culture and creativity, digital and information, and reading.

Manchester changed the game in 2021 by investing in libraries as an essential service, and the, now annual, Festival of Libraries aims to build upon this commitment with a yearly celebration showcasing digital art commissions, artist residencies, dance, performance, panel talks and walking tours.

In 2022, mass participation events will be a huge part of the Festival; the ‘Look for a Book’ treasure hunt adventure competition will see young people searching for books in every borough of Greater Manchester to win the book and a chance to meet the author, in addition, the ‘Shoebox Libraries’ project will encourage anyone, anywhere to create their own dream library out of materials they can find at home.

The Festival of Libraries programme will take place in internationally renowned institutions from Manchester’s rich tapestry of heritage libraries, including Central Library, with its impressive status as the busiest public library in the country, in addition to Chetham’s, The Portico, and John Ryland’s. Also featured will be Greater Manchester’s equally important and vital local libraries that deliver much needed support and services to their communities.

Library partners include: Archives+, Central Library, Chetham’s Library, John Rylands Library, Manchester Poetry Library, NHS Libraries, The Portico, Working Class Movement Library, the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, Institute Cervantes Library and Greater Manchester libraries (Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan).

Manchester City of Literature is also seeking interest from local businesses to support the Festival of Libraries 2022. There are a range of packages available to help the festival further reach schools and communities, head to the website for more information.

For further news and announcements keep an eye on the Manchester City of Literature website and social media channels.