Northwest Book Highlights – May 2016

This month we mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare's death, and the Northwest plays host to a whole load of festivals, including Manchester After Hours, LightNight and Writing on the Wall. 

Literary highlights of Manchester After Hours festival

To mark the 400th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare, and to celebrate his life and work, the beautiful surroundings of the John Rylands Library will be illuminated, with lights, sounds and movement, as evening falls on 12 May. Neon Sonnets will see musicians from the Royal Northern College of Music perform compositions inspired by the Bard's work, with one-hour performances starting on the hour at 6, 7 and 8pm (free).

The event is part of Manchester After Hours, which also welcomes live literature night Bad Language to the Manchester Jewish Museum for Voices of the City: a collection of short stories and poems inspired by rare archival footage of Manchester from the North West Film Archive. Expect to hear from writers including Rodge Glass and Marli Roode (9pm, doors 8.15pm, £5).

Also part of Manchester After Hours, the Portico Library hosts poet Andrew McMillan and choreographer Joshua Hubbard for Physical at the Portico, an imaginative mix of poetry and dance (performances at 6.15pm, 7.15pm and 8.15pm, free), and Manchester Left Writers bring live poetry and songs to Castlefield Gallery in their ongoing quest to find ‘free’ space in a constantly regenerating urban metropolis (7.30pm, free).

- Check out our guide to other Manchester After Hours highlights here.

Marlon James comes to HOME

Promising to be an unmissable occasion, Jamaican novelist Marlon James appears at HOME on 27 May (7pm, £8.50 full, £6.50 concessions). 

In an event promoted by Manchester Literature Festival, James will be reading and discussing his work, which includes his impressive third novel, A Brief History of Seven Killings, winner of the 2015 Man Booker Prize. Through a cacophony of multiple narrators, it gives a fictional account of the assassination of Bob Marley.

Reminiscent of Tarantino in its use of stylised violence, the novel captures the political, cultural and historical context of Jamaica in the 70s and 80s.

Writing on the Wall festival picks

Liverpool's eclectic Writing on the Wall festival (1-28 May) presents a series of literary events throughout the month. The theme of WoWFest 2016 is past, present and future explorations through various artistic mediums, including science fiction, comics and graphic novels.

On 6 May the Bluecoat and Comma Press celebrate and remember the life and work of author Dinesh Allirajah at the launch of his collected works, Scent, on his birthday (the Bluecoat, 7pm, free but booking required); and on 20 May comedian and writer Francesca Martinez will grapple with the question 'What the **** is normal?' at the Liverpool Philharmonic Music Room, discussing her new book and talking about her own story of personal fortitude (8pm, £12 full, £8 concessions). 

Elsewhere, the iconic dub poet and reggae artist Linton Kwesi Johnson returns for a hugely anticipated event on 7 May at the Black-E (8pm, £10 full, £8 concessions), this time appearing with Hollie McNish, the first poet to record at Abbey Road Studios and one already highly esteemed by fellow poets such as Kate Tempest and Benjamin Zephaniah.

- Read our recent interview with Hollie McNish about her new poetry collection, Nobody Told Me.

Finally, Irish writer Kevin Barry reads from his latest novel, Beatlebone, at the Casa on 13 May (8pm, £6 full, £4 concessions). The novel surreally combines fantasy and reality in imagining John Lennon’s magical mystery tour in 1978, and sees Lennon go to the west coast of Ireland to try to find the island he bought 11 years before for £1550.

Scottie Road Writers at Liverpool LightNight

Finally, on 13 May, Liverpool’s one-night arts and culture festival, LightNight, brings the Scottie Road Writers to Central Library (8pm, free). Pop along to enjoy tales about growing up in Liverpool and some experimental takes on the sci-fi and crime genres.