The Manchester City of Literature's Festival of Libraries returns this month with an exciting Inspired By Libraries programme featuring spectacular house music DJ, broadcaster and author DJ Paulette, iconic drag queen, singer and actor Divina de Campo, and beloved mathematics teacher, broadcaster and writer Bobby Seagull. Through their National Lottery Project Grant programme, Arts Council England has awarded £89,980 to support Festival of Libraries in highlighting the library network's full offer.
A County-Wide Celebration
Festival of Libraries, the county-wide celebration of Greater Manchester's 133 libraries, taking place from June 10-14, will highlight the rich variety of resources that libraries have to offer and the inspirational power of reading through their Inspired By Libraries events. The Inspired By Libraries programme will also be coming directly to schools with comic artist, illustrator and author Mollie Ray speaking at the Inspired By Libraries in Schools event.
Teacher, broadcaster and writer Bobby Seagull MBE will be joined by children's book author Ashley Thorpe to discuss how pursuing his love of maths has opened the door to a multitude of remarkable life experiences. The inspiring conversation will trace the role books and libraries have played in Bobby's upbringing, as he stayed with maths, pursued his passion of becoming a teacher, and ultimately became a quiz show household name, journalist and author.
Celebrity Ambassadors
DJ Paulette, Bobby Seagull, and Divina de Campo will speak on how they benefited from libraries. In 2025, Bobby received an MBE in recognition for his services to public libraries, including serving as Library Champion for CILIP, and has appeared on University Challenge, Richard Osman's House of Games and Pointless Celebrities. Bobby Seagull will be speaking at Altrincham Library on Saturday, June 13 from 2.30pm-3.30pm.
British drag queen and singer Divina de Campo will be sitting down with Manchester City of Literature's Jo Flynn to discuss her life journey from studying at Manchester Metropolitan University, to being crowned runner-up on the first series of RuPaul's Drag Race, to delivering critically acclaimed performances in musicals such as Chicago, Hedwig and the Angry Inch and The SpongeBob Musical. Known for her high soprano and four-octave range, Divina has made waves with a UK Top 40 single as part of the girl group The Frock Destroyers. Divina will be discussing her influences and celebrating the influence of the joyful, safe spaces that are books and libraries. Divina de Campo will be speaking at Oldham Library and Lifelong Learning Centre on Friday, June 12, from 5-6pm.
Award-winning icon DJ Paulette will be speaking to musician and media personality John Robb about the profound influence that libraries have had on her journey to becoming the highly regarded DJ, broadcaster and author that she is today. DJ Paulette has won the DJ Mag Top 100 Lifetime Achievement Award and been voted DJ of the Year (Nordoff and Robbins) at the Northern Music Awards 2024, and has played disco, house and techno to huge crowds over a 30-year career. Paulette was born and raised in Manchester and will chat to John Robb on the campus of Manchester Metropolitan University, where she earned her English degree. DJ Paulette will be speaking at Manchester Poetry Library on Thursday, June 11 from 6-7:30pm.
Inspired By Libraries in Schools
Inspired By Libraries will be coming to schools across Greater Manchester with comic artist, illustrator and author Mollie Ray. Ray will be speaking to young people from Christ Church Primary, drawing with them while sharing how comics and literature have inspired her life and career. Mollie Ray's debut graphic novel Giant was published by Faber and Faber in 2024, and they have also published multiple short from comics, including work for Scottish Book Trust and the BBC. Ray was winner of the Break Out Talent category at the Broken Frontier Awards 2026, and has been appointed the first Young Comics Laureate for 2025/26 by Comics Youth and The Lakes International Comic Arts Festival. Mollie Ray will be speaking at Christ Church Primary in Oldham on June 10.
Unlimited Artist in Residence
Festival of Libraries' Unlimited Artist in Residence is Sophie Woolley, a multi-disciplinary writer, performer and comedian. Sophie will be bringing her multifaceted expertise to Festival of Libraries with an interactive work in progress performance of her solo comedy show ROBOVAC, which explores a new angle to the themes explored in her latest solo show, Augmented, an autobiographical play about becoming a deaf cyborg, based on her lived experience. Sophie featured as Lady Stowell in the latest season of Bridgerton, has written episodes for Eastenders and Casualty, and is known for creating, performing and touring her own original comedy plays. Sophie Woolley will be performing at John Rylands Library on June 11, from 2-3.30pm. The event will include BSL interpretation by Katrina McEachran for both the performance and Q&A components; details on the venue's accessibility can be found at the John Rylands Library website.
Arts Council England Support
Jen Cleary, Director North West, Arts Council England said: "It's great to see Festival of Libraries back with another bumper edition of activities across 133 libraries in Greater Manchester. Libraries are essential to communities - championing stories, ideas and offering access and information for everybody - and we are so pleased to be able to once again support this year's festival through our National Lottery Project Grants programme. I'm looking forward to experiencing some of the exciting events on offer." With all Manchester residents living within 1.5 miles of a library and 689,059 attendees taking part in events across the Greater Manchester libraries in 2024-25, the festival seeks to shine a spotlight on these incredible offerings and more. In 2025, 82 per cent of attendees felt that Festival of Libraries showed their library has more to offer than previously thought.
Festival Programme and Impact
The Festival of Libraries 2026 programme is filled with family-friendly events, interactive workshops, and inspiring performances and exhibitions in libraries across all 10 boroughs of Greater Manchester. The festival allows citizens to celebrate the important community and cultural roles of libraries across the county, and encourages children, young people, migrant communities and vulnerable groups to use the diverse library service offer creatively. The Festival of Libraries 2026 trailer can be viewed on the Manchester City of Literature YouTube channel.
Almost all of the events at Festival of Libraries are free to attend, or operate a 'Pay What You Can' ticket policy. Festival of Libraries won Best Event at the Manchester Culture Awards 2024 and was named the second Most Inclusive Literature Festival by Inclusive Books For Children in 2025. For more information, visit the full programme listed on the Manchester City of Literature website or your local library.
