Top 3: Free picks for Manchester Literature Festival

The Manchester Literature Festival arrives this month with a packed programme of talks, readings and other events for the literature lover in your life. From new authors, to talks with heavyweights like Margaret Atwood and Zadie Smith, there’s something for book fiends of all walks. We’ve delved deep into the festival to bring you the very best free events, giving you the full flavour of the fest without breaking the bank.

Manchester Cathedral Poetry Prize
Faith has always gone hand-in-hand with poetry, from the ornate language of the King James Bible, to the quiet classicism of T.S. Eliot, right through to the modern day. The annual Manchester Cathedral Poetry Prize comes to town as part of the festival, celebrating the best in international religious poetry. As well as readings from the entrants, and from competition judge/former winner Jo Bell, there’s also going to be a specially-commissioned talk from poet Michael Symmons Roberts on the relationship between the spiritual and the poetic. It’s bound to be a fascinating event looking at the nature of faith itself, and not just of interest to the faithful themselves.
Tue 11 Oct, Manchester Cathedral, Victoria Street, Manchester M3 1SX. 7pm, www.manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk

The Whole Kahani at The Whitworth
The Hindi word ‘kahani’ translates to ‘story’ in English, and this event celebrates the stories of Britain’s South Asian writers, featuring the work of authors from all over the sub-continent, as well as British writers of Asian origin. Following the publication of new anthology Love Across a Broken Map, its contributors will be coming to The Whitworth for live readings and a discussion of the volume. There’s several speakers on the day, including Radhika Kapur, Iman Qureshi and Raincheck Renewed author Kavita A Jindal.
Sun 16 Oct, Whitworth Art Gallery, Oxford Road, Manchester, M15 6ER. 12pm, www.manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk

Deborah Levy at Manchester Art Gallery
The Fashion & Freedom exhibition, looking at trends in women’s fashion since the end of WW1 has been running at Manchester Art Gallery since May – we’ve even covered it in a preview here. Author, poet and playwright Deborah Levy was commissioned by the festival to provide a literary response to the exhibition and its themes. Here she’ll be discussing her thoughts on the exhibition, along with her own work including latest novel Hot Milk, which has been shortlisted for the 2016 Booker prize.
Fri 21 Oct, Manchester Art Gallery, Mosley Street, Manchester, M2 3JL. 1pm, www.manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk

Fri 7 Oct – Sun 23 Oct, Manchester Literature Festival, Booking Line: 0843 208 0500, www.manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk