Newsroom University of Manchester

University partners with Manchester Literature Festival to launch 2024 events

Wed, 14 Aug 2024 15:46:23 +0100

An exciting programme of literature events returns this October, hosted by .

Celebrating a series of collaborations with ��Vlog�ٷ�’s Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester research platform, the 2024 events programme will be held between 4 and 20 October.

The 2024 events begin on campus at the University’s Martin Harris Centre for Music and Drama as we welcome former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas who launches her fascinating book Another England: How to Reclaim Our National Story.

As Higher Education Partner, ��Vlog�ٷ� works closely with the festival team to co-host a variety of events that showcase and highlight the impact of literature across the city. Other partnership events showcase new publications by celebrated authors – including:

Former Scottish Makar and firm festival favourite,  performs poems from her new collection May Day and celebrates A Life in Poetry and Protest at a special event hosted by actor Julie Hesmondhalgh (Saturday 5 October, 7pm, Martin Harris Centre for Music & Drama)

Throughout her four decades as a foreign correspondent, has always carried a book of poetry with her as ‘a vaccination against despair’. She will share some of her favourite poems and reflect on her career as a war reporter (Sunday 6 October, 4.30pm, Central Library)

(The Damned United) explores the grief, the heartbreak and the resurrection of a club (Manchester United), a city and a country in his compelling new book Munichs (Sunday 6 October, 7pm, HOME)

, one of the world’s most prolific designers, talks about his mission to end soulless, boring buildings and put human emotion back at the heart of building design (Tuesday 8 October, 7pm, Contact)

Bestselling cook and Guardian food columnist  shares her passion for East and South Asian cuisine and reveals the dishes she creates when she wants to cook for herself, family and friends in her delicious new book Dinner (Wednesday 9 October, 7.30pm, Martin Harris Centre for Music & Drama)

Legendary music producer (White Bicycle) invites audiences to open their ‘minds and ears to a wider, richer musical world’ via his engrossing new book And the Roots of Rhythm Remain: A Journey through Global Music (Monday 14 October, 7pm, Central Library)

Scottish author  (Mayflies) joins us to discuss his epic, new state-of-the-nation novel Caledonian Road with host Dave Haslam (Wednesday 16 October, 7pm, Central Library)

Bestselling novelist  (Babel) visits Manchester to discuss her number one global sensation Yellowface, a provocative satire set in the cut-throat world of publishing seen through the eyes of failed writer June. She also discusses navigating genres, creating characters and her literary influences (Thursday 17 October, 7.30pm, RNCM)

Post-Festival, Pulitzer Prize winner (The Overstory) makes a rare visit to the UK in support of his compelling new novel. Longlisted for the 2024 Booker Prize, Playground interweaves themes of science, technology, nature, the environment and our shared humanity beautifully (Friday 8 November, 7pm, Central Library)

Our annual Rylands Poetry Reading takes place on Thursday 10 October, 7pm and welcomes poet, playwright and educator, . One of the most acclaimed and widely read poets of recent decades, Gillian will also run a Poetry Masterclass, sharing insights into the craft of poetry, and how to bend language into original and musical verse.

Cathy Bolton and Sarah-Jane Roberts, Co-Directors of Manchester Literature Festival said: “Over the last 200 years, ��Vlog�ٷ� has shown itself to be one of the most innovative and groundbreaking universities in the UK and we are delighted to have the Centre for New Writing and Creative Manchester as our Higher Education Partner once again. New perspectives and reimagining are at the heart of this year’s Manchester Literature Festival. Caroline Lucas asks us to reimagine a greener, more inclusive England. George Monbiot encourages us to reimagine the end of neoliberalism. Thomas Heatherwick invites us to reimagine our cities without soulless, boring buildings. David Peace reimagines the grief, heartbreak and resurrection of Manchester United after the 1958 Munich air disaster. We also welcome a multitude of brilliant novelists, poets and artists to the city, and invite you to join us to revisit familiar narratives from a place of freshness, curiosity and hope.”

Find out more about Manchester Literature Festival and view the full programme by visiting .

Oscars history for late Manchester Professor Martin Amis

Tue, 12 Mar 2024 16:58:52 +0000

The Zone of Interest, based on the novel penned by late University of Manchester creative writing Professor Martin Amis, made Oscars history as the first British film to land ‘Best International Film’.

Filmed in the German language, the movie is a UK/Poland co-production directed by Jonathan Glazer which deals with the day-to-day life of Nazi Commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig as they go about building their dream home next to Auschwitz. The film also picked up the award for ‘Best Sound’, upsetting favourites ‘Oppenheimer’ to the title.

Amis joined the Centre for New Writing in 2007 to take up his first teaching post at ��Vlog�ٷ�.

Famous for a series of novels including his London Trilogy, Martin was highlighted by The Times as one of the 50 greatest British novelists of the late 20th Century. He stepped aside from his teaching post in 2011. Martin passed away from cancer in May 2023 aged 73.

�Ѳ��پ��’s The Zone of Interest was published in 2014 and was �Ѳ��پ��’s fourteenth novel to be published. The Oscar-winning film of the same name is a loose adaptation of the novel.

Manchester poet wins prestigious TS Eliot Prize

Tue, 16 Jan 2024 15:50:53 +0000

��Vlog�ٷ�'s has been named the winner of the UK’s most prestigious poetry award, the TS Eliot Prize.

Jason's collection Self-Portrait As Othello explores Black masculinity and immigrant identity. The Jamaican poet, who is a Senior Lecturer in Critical Theory & Creative Writing at the University's Centre for New Writing, was announced as this year’s winner during last night's ceremony at the Wallace Collection in London.

“Self-Portrait As Othello is a book with large ambitions that are met with great imaginative capacity, freshness and technical flair,” said the judging panel, made up of the poets Paul Muldoon, Sasha Dugdale and Denise Saul.

The award follows on from Jason winning the Forward Prize for Best Collection last October, and the book has also since been shortlisted for the Writers’ Prize.

The TS Eliot Prize shortlist also featured Centre for New Writing graduate Joe Carrick-Varty, who was recognised for his debut collection, More Sky.

Jason’s collection is published by Manchester-based Carcanet Press, a publisher with a long association with the University, through the John Rylands Research Institute Library, and is run by and , who also teach at the Centre for New Writing.

His first collection, Thinking With Trees, was . His non-fiction book, Scanning the Bush, will be published later this year.

Lemn Sissay to judge poetry competition celebrating ‘science around us’

Tue, 21 Mar 2023 10:00:00 +0000

Budding writers have been challenged to craft a Twitter micropoem on the theme of the ‘science around us’ by , which has launched its annual Micropoetry Competition to mark World Poetry Day.

BAFTA-nominated poet and writer Lemn Sissay - an honorary chair of creative writing at ��Vlog�ٷ� - will be one of three judges considering entries. They will need to combine a vast and thought-provoking topic with a strict 280-character Twitter limit.

One of three research platforms from ��Vlog�ٷ�, Creative Manchester has run the Micropoetry Competition in in partnership with the University’s for the last 10 years.

The competition is open to everyone, and entrants can submit their micropoem via Twitter using the hashtag #micropoem23. People can also submit their poem by email with the same 280-character limit, including the hashtag.

The competition will close on Wednesday 21 June. Lemn and fellow judges John McAuliffe, Professor of Poetry at ��Vlog�ٷ� and Director of Creative Manchester, and Manchester-based poet and critic Maryam Hessavi, will then deliberate over the submissions.

The writer of the judges’ favourite poem will win a prize of £500, while two runners-up will receive £250 each. There will also be an under-18 first prize of a £25 book token.

“The variety and quality of poems entered into the competition each year always impress us – the limited space of a tweet seems like a challenge that brings out people’s inventiveness,” said John.

For further details on the competition, visit .

Guilt by Association, A Black History Month Event

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 14:25:19 +0100

In a recent in Manchester, prosecutors were able to build a group case against several black teenagers and have them convicted after they used social media messages between the teenagers that referenced violence in drill rap lyrics. The prosecutors claimed the teenagers were affiliated to a ‘gang.’

This case crystallises certain broader trends in group prosecutions, with a recent report from the Centre for Crime and Justice Studies on joint enterprise laws in England and Wales (‘’, 2022) finding that young men of colour continue to be disproportionately swept into large group convictions.

Professor of Public History, David Olusoga OBE, will chair a panel discussion with expert speakers, including , Chancellor Nazir Afzal (��Vlog�ٷ�), founder of Kids of Colour, , and Jan Cunliffe, Director of . They will reflect on the effects of conspiracy and joint enterprise laws in racializing and criminalizing particular communities and cultures, and on how these laws increasingly raise questions about fairness and justice as they relate to the prosecution of young Black and Asian men.

Everyone is welcome to attend the event, either in person, or via live-stream. If you’re interested in attending this topical discussion, please register via .

This event has been organised by the Creative Manchester, presented in partnership with the Global Inequalities research beacon at ��Vlog�ٷ�.

Black History Month Lecture with Professor David Olusoga OBE

Thu, 22 Sep 2022 14:18:52 +0100

David Olusoga is Professor of Public History at ��Vlog�ٷ�, specialising in the British Empire and how different communities experience its lasting effects in modern society. Awarded an OBE in 2019 for his services to history and community integration, David has presented several historical television programmes on the BBC. These programmes include Civilisations, Black and British, Our NHS: A Hidden History, A House Through Time and the BAFTA award-winning Britain’s Forgotten Slave Owners.

On 10 October, David will host a lecture exploring what it means to be Black and British and the role of Black History today. With his recent book, , being published for children to better understand the relationship between Britain and Empire, this event would be particularly insightful for those in school years 7-11 and anyone older.

If you would like to attend this FREE event, please register via .

The event is hybrid, and will be live-streamed and recorded.

Creative Manchester appoints new research leads

Thu, 08 Sep 2022 13:40:16 +0100

Since becoming a research platform at ��Vlog�ٷ�, Creative Manchester has witnessed immense growth, nurturing exciting research and delivering outstanding workshops and events. The platform’s research is centred on three key themes: Creative Industries and Innovation; Creative and Civic Futures; and Creativity, Health and Wellbeing.

The newly appointed Creative Manchester Research Leads will support and grow strong multidisciplinary communities around each key theme, and provide strategic direction to each area.

The research leads will work closely with Creative Manchester Director, Professor John McAuliffe, who said of their appointment, “I am delighted to welcome Claudia, Stephen, and Jenna to the Creative Manchester team. They bring with them a huge amount of knowledge and expertise, and I am looking forward to working closely with each of them across the three Creative Manchester research themes.”

The new research leads took up their appointment on 1 September 2022, each of whom will be leading their respective research theme:

Dr Claudia E Henninger – Creative Industries and Innovation
Dr Stephen Hicks – Creativity, Health and Wellbeing
Dr Jenna C Ashton – Creative and Civic Futures

is a Reader Lecturer in Fashion Marketing Management, holding interest in sustainability and the circular economy within a fashion context. She has been published in internationally leading journals, such as the and the , and has disseminated her work at various leading conferences. Claudia is also an Executive Member of the and the Chair of the .

is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work in the School of Health Sciences, . He is also a member of the and, until recently, was the Senior Postgraduate Tutor for the . He is currently the Manchester lead on the (NIHR) and School for Social Care funded project, , which is working with eight co-researchers to examine social care workers’ assessments of the welfare needs of older LGBTQ+ people. Stephen has also carried out research into community belonging and questions of place with colleagues from Sociology, Anthropology, and Architecture, and has written extensively on LGBTQ+ parenting.

is an artist and Lecturer in Heritage Studies in the . Jenna's research contributes to evolving creative and community methods within heritage and cultural studies for addressing social and ecological (in)justice. Her work is often site-specific, highlighting experiences and knowledge(s) of place, and she has over 15 years’ experience in community collaboration and co-production. Jenna also holds advisory and trustee roles in the UK and internationally, and is currently leading the project, ‘’ (AHRC UK Climate Resilience Programme (2020-2022)), is a Co-Investigator on ‘’ (NERC Future of UK Treescapes programme (2021-2024)), and is part of The University of Manchester’s Cottonopolis Collective (AHRC-NERC Hidden Histories of Environmental Science funded project, Cottonopolis).

Upon Reflection: Creative and Cultural Collaborations Workshop

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 12:09:03 +0100

Professor of Poetry and Creative Manchester Director, , opened the workshop by providing a brief overview of Creative Manchester and the , followed by Research Associate Dr Alicia J Rouverol presenting on the project to date, along with a proposed framework for creative and cultural collaborations.

Taking place throughout 2021, and working in partnership with Creative Manchester, , and , the project interviewed Creative and Cultural Industry professionals and academics in Higher Education Institutions who were engaged in partnerships. These interviews helped locate ‘best practice’, allowing the Deep Dive research team to develop a framework (or toolkit) with key distinct phases to help facilitate stronger, more viable partnerships between academics and industry professionals.

Attendees were then divided into breakout rooms and asked to consider their experiences when working in partnerships and collaborations and to put forward their thoughts on frameworks. The provocations provided to each breakout room were:

How best can you sustain an effective partnership?
Given your experience, in your own context, what are the challenges in developing, implementing and evaluating a framework?

When everyone reconvened, there were clear themes in each breakout room’s responses concerning best practice in partnerships. Some of these included: finding common interests with partners; communication, both formal and informal, including regular check-ins with colleagues and acknowledging differences with collaborators; and supporting early-mid career workers in their development.

Attendees were also able to hear from other project partners, including:

– Cardiff Business School
Rachel Kenyon – Business Engagement Manager, Business Engagement and Knowledge Exchange, ��Vlog�ٷ�
–

, Co-Founder and Director of the National Centre for Academic and Cultural Exchange (), concluded the workshop with an oversight of the NCACE’s key areas of work and its crucial findings, such as the value that collaborative activities bring to the arts and cultural sector.

If you would like to catch-up on the workshop and hear about the exciting research and thoughts of speakers and attendees, you can watch it on the .

Creative Manchester at the Bluedot Festival 2022

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 12:03:31 +0100

Curated for Creative Manchester by Senior Research Fellow Ellah Wakatama OBE, the conversations focused on new publications in many genres, touching on poetry, science fiction, fantasy, nature writing, and memoir. With a variety of poets and storytellers, these conversations also acted as a celebration of diversity, inclusivity, and the power of literature, with speakers reflecting on their experiences, their work, and their visions for the future.

The conversations included:

Love and Being – Niki Igbaroola, Jared McGinnis, and Kasim Ali
Our Future Selves – Geoff Ryman, Temi Oh, and Nikhil Singh
Writing Nature, ft. The Nan Shepherd Prize – with Marchelle Farrell and Nina Mingya Powles
Poetry: Remixes and Reimagination
Crime and Punishment – Nadine Matheson, Kia Abdullah, and Parker Bilal

Thank you to all those who joined us for these wonderful conversations. Beyond our Creative Manchester line-up, the Bluedot Festival was yet again a wonderful and perfect blend of science, music and culture after its two-year hiatus. From ��ö��

and the Halle symphony orchestra head-lining Sunday to Tim Peake speaking about his Top Gun inspiration, it was a .

If you’re looking forward to next year as much as Creative Manchester, tickets are already available for the .

Thank you, Lemn

Thu, 28 Jul 2022 11:54:31 +0100

After 7 years, Lemn Sissay has come to the end of his tenure as Chancellor of ��Vlog�ٷ�. We are delighted to announce that Lemn will continue as Creative Manchester ambassador and has also been appointed as Honorary Professor of Creative Writing.

Lemn’s contributions in his time with the University have been remarkable, whether that be his work with local communities or his active role in literature across the North West. This included his commitment to widening access and removing barriers to those commonly under-represented, such as through his introduction of the .

We, at Creative Manchester, are particularly grateful to Lemn, who supported the platform from its inception as an ambassador and has collaborated with us on several research projects and events. In particular, for the past six years, he has served as Lead Judge on our , including for this year’s theme of Climate Change.

We look forward to exciting future collaborations with Lemn during the forthcoming year.

Lemn Sissay is pictured above with John McAuliffe, Creative Manchester Director and Professor of Poetry.

Academics LEAP into HEA fellowships for teaching excellence

Fri, 22 Mar 2019 10:25:01 +0000

Four academics from the University of Manchester’s Faculty of Humanities have been recognised at the latest outing of the Leadership in Education Awards Programme (LEAP) Recognition Panel for their HEA fellowship awards.

The meeting, which took place on 24 January 2019, awarded Advance HE Fellowships to colleagues across the University to mark its commitment to enhancing the student experience and delivering exceptional teaching and learning.

In the School of Law, Isil Aral was awarded a Fellowship, while Sarah Devaney and Catherine Stanton were each awarded Senior Fellowships, and Deborah Madden of the School of Arts, Languages and Cultures was awarded a Fellowship.

The LEAP is accredited by AdvanceHE to award Associate, Fellowship, Senior and Principal HEA Fellowships and is open to all staff who influence teaching and learning at an institutional, national and international level.

Since the programme was launched in 2016, colleagues across the University have been evidencing their teaching and learning excellence to line them up for formal national teaching awards.

“LEAP is a fantastic way for colleagues to reflect on the teaching and the support they provide for students and gain a nationally-recognised award,” said Prof Judy Williams, University Academic Lead for LEAP. “It has also enabled people to share best practice and make connections across the University.”

The LEAP programme runs twice per year and will be accepting applicants from a LEAP Information Session on 2 October 2019. To find out more, or to book a place on the session, please visit .