Manchester joins global network of Cities of Literature
Manchester has been successful in its bid to join UNESCO’s worldwide Creative Cities network as a City of Literature.
Manchester, which built the UK’s first public lending library and gave the world the work of great writers including Elizabeth Gaskell and Anthony Burgess, will join cities including Baghdad, Dublin, Barcelona, Prague, Melbourne, and Reykjavik in the network.
UNESCO Cities of Literature work together to develop new local, national and international literary links, encouraging collaboration locally and across the world.
Manchester’s successful bid was coordinated by a consortium involving Manchester City Council, the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and the Manchester Literature Festival, plus representatives of the city’s writers, publishers and literary organisations. The bid was endorsed by the Royal Society of Literature and the English Association.
A programme of cultural events and community writing projects will be developed to celebrate Manchester’s City of Literature status. Following extensive research and consultation, the bid’s steering committee has drawn up plans for a programme that includes a libraries festival, the launch of a new writers’ hub and initiatives to support new writing.
Prof John McAuliffe, of the centre for new writing at The University of Manchester, said: “This is a cause for great celebration, which will help us to strengthen our university’s many partnerships with the city and its communities. Our staff and student writers know that Manchester is a City of Literature, a place whose graduates include Anthony Burgess and the war poet Alun Lewis, Jeanette Winterson, Booker winner Barry Unsworth and bestseller Sophie Hannah; we all benefit from the presence in the city of great publishers like Carcanet and Comma and from what this announcement recognises – the enormous array of literary events, festivals and opportunities for engagement with new writing and new audiences which Manchester offers.”
Cathy Bolton, co-director of the Manchester Literature Festival, said: “We are delighted to be one of the key partners in Manchester’s successful bid to become a UNESCO City of Literature. Boasting a rich and radical literary heritage, a vibrant and diverse live literature scene, two world class writing schools, and a proactive library service, Manchester is already a thriving hub of literary endeavour.
“We look forward to harnessing our collective energies in the development of some ambitious new projects, collaborating with international partners and engaging more people from across Manchester in transformative reading and writing activities.”
