Three more acclaimed writers join this year’s Manchester Literature Festival

Manchester Literature Festival has revealed three new additions to this year’s lineup, welcoming Percival Everett, David Nicholls and Olivia Laing.

Everett joins for a special in-conversation event at Manchester Central Library on Wed 10 Apr. Everett’s forthcoming novel James is a retelling of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn in which the enslaved Jim is allowed to tell his story for the first time.

Percival is the acclaimed author of over thirty books, including The Trees which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse Prize.

On Mon 22 Apr, also at Central Library, David Nicholls takes part in another in-conversation evening, in which he’ll discuss his witty new novel You Are Here, a story of two lonely people. 38-year-old Marnie and 42-year-old Michael have been battered by break-ups and the loss of the futures they’d hoped for are brought together by a mutual friend.

David is the best-selling author of five previous novels including Starter for Ten, which has recently been turned into a musical, and One Day, which has been adapted into a new Netflix series. His screenplay of Edward St Aubyn’s Patrick Melrose novels won a BAFTA for Best Writer and was nominated for an Emmy.

Olivia Laing’s The Garden Against Time comes to Central Library on Fri 10 May. A compelling new work of non-fiction The Garden Against Time, brings to life Laing’s slice of paradise: the restoration of a garden designed by Mark Rumary of Notcutts

Alongside her own endeavours, Olivia explores the idea of paradise and gardens, real and imagined, through the work of John Milton, John Clare, W.G. Sebald, Derek Jarman, William Morris and many others.

The festival has also joined forces with Z-arts to create the 100 Story Hotel, an interactive world of play and storytelling created by author Rob Biddulph and Discover Story Centre. On World Book Day (Wed 6 Mar), Rob will lead two workshops which are free for Greater Manchester schools. Rob’s latest book, Charlie McGrew, also happens to be the official £1 book for World Book Day.

You can find more information about this year’s Manchester Literature Festival here.