Margaret Atwood: one year on Twitter...

Margaret Atwood joined Twitter one year ago and she shares her thoughts on the service over at the New York Review of Books blog.

'So what’s it all about, this Twitter? Is it signaling, like telegraphs? Is it Zen poetry? Is it jokes scribbled on the washroom wall? Is it John Hearts Mary carved on a tree? Let’s just say it’s communication, and communication is something human beings like to do.'

Listen out for...

...a brand new service coming soon! In the next few weeks you’ll be able to borrow audio books and ebooks by downloading them from our website - for free.

Audiobooks are perfect for your MP3 or CD player: enjoy them while you’re working, driving, relaxing or any time you need to ‘read’ hands-free.

We’ll also have eBooks, downloadable as a digital version of a print book that has been optimized for on-screen reading. eBooks are available in a variety of different formats.. more details in the next issue of Full Volume...

A timely reminder...

We’ve been sending email reminders when what you’ve borrowed is a day overdue for a while now. You asked us if we could send reminders before things were overdue. We couldn’t at the time, but we’re upgrading our computer system so we’ll be able to do this very soon.

If you want reminders the day before things are due back, make sure we have your email address! That way, when the new service starts, you can avoid spending your hardearned cash on fines.

Bring things back, or keep them longer by renewing online or on the phone (see back cover). To add or check your email address, talk to our staff or follow the Online Renewals link on our website. You’ll need your ticket number and your PIN (the first four digits of your date of birth) to log in. Click Your Personal Details and update your contact preferences.

The Ebook: Or how I stopped worrying and learned to love the pixel.

In a recent interview with Channel M, Neil MacInnes, Acting Head of Manchester Library & Information Service, revealed that you will soon be able to borrow ebooks for free from Manchester Libraries.

I don't have a specific date yet, but this exciting new service should start within the month and just in case you haven't quite got your head around the concept of ebooks and ereaders here's a helpful guest post from Manchester librarian, Stephen Witkowski on the subject. Take it away Stephen...


'I can be a bit of a Luddite when it comes to new technology. It took me years of holding out before I bought a mobile phone and even longer until I fathomed out how to use an mp3 player. I now love both and wouldn’t be without either.

However, I was always against using an electronic device to read material. Like most avid readers I love collecting books. There’s nothing nicer than stepping into a well-stocked bookshop (or even Waterstone’s) and having a good long browse. Modern book covers are so enticing that they practically beg to be bought and added to the ever growing ‘to be read’ tower by my bedside.

So there was no need for an ebook reader in my life. Early models were ungainly and slow to use. They also had a backlight which made lengthy reading uncomfortable, at least for me.

All this was true until I got my hands on a Sony Pocket Reader. This small lightweight device uses a newish technology called E ink which basically allows you to read a book in available light and dispense with a backlight altogether. As I had a bit of money in my turnups I plonked down my cash and bought the thing.

So, how does the e-reader work and is it easy to use?

You load ebooks on your reader by means of a small program that runs on your computer. It’s a matter of minutes to upload a small library of books onto your reader via the supplied USB lead (which is also used to charge the sealed in battery). The pocket edition holds around 150 books but this depends on the size of the files you are importing.

One loaded you can start reading a book which you select from the main menu screen. One of the advantages of the reader is that you can alter the size of the book’s font making it easier to read if you have problems with small print. You turn the page by means of a small wheel underneath the screen.

Personally I found the reader very easy to use. It’s lightweight to hold and, now that I’ve bought a cover for it, even looks a little like a book. Any worries I had about eye strain have vanished, as I’ve had reading stretches for more than an hour without any problems.

The main advantage about owning an ereader is portability. It’s no longer a strain to lug about ‘War & Peace’ or ‘Infinite Jest’ on the bus or train with me. The small font sizes of print volumes are obviated by the magnifying feature of the Reader and the device even remembers what page I was up to when I stop reading.

Battery life is excellent. My Reader usually lasts two weeks on one charge. The only downside being that when the battery eventually runs flat the Reader will have to be sent off to Sony to have a relacement fitted.

There are disadvantages though. E ink only produces greyscale print which means that illustrated material doesn’t look brilliant. There will be a while to go before non-fiction heavily illustrated technical material will look good in this format. It also takes a while to get used to the way the screen goes black momentarily when you turn the page. It can also be annoying to find that the book you want to buy isn’t (a) available at all or (b) only downloadable in another proprietary format. Hopefully this situation will change soon.

Having an ebook Reader has changed the type of material I read. There are many places on the internet to download free, legal ebooks. These are mostly out of copyright classic novels. It’s great to be able to download a book by Dickens, Chesterton or Eliot and know that if you don’t get on with then it hasn’t cost you any money to find this out. (Libraries are another handy way of trying before you buy!)

Since buying my Reader I find that I’m reading a lot more than I used to and trying new authors and genres of fiction. I’m currently in love with American pulp hardboiled crime fiction of the 1940’s and ‘50s. It’s very difficult to resist a book called ‘Blonde Bait’ (“She had to buy protection-and her payment was her body”)!

In a forthcoming article I’ll talk about the best places on the web to download free fiction and how you can use your Reader for more than just books.'

Central Library closure update

All departments in Central Library close on Thursday 1 April, except the ground floor General Readers’ Library. This library carries a range of popular fiction and nonfiction for both adults and children, audiobooks, DVDs and a wide range of music. There are also newspapers, magazines and a photocopier and fax service. You will be able to return books and other items borrowed from any part of the library here.

Computers continue to be available in every library in the city and our website carries a large number of reference titles, available free to members from any computer with Internet access, including those in the libraries.

You’ll find over 200 years of news and current affairs, encyclopedias, dictionaries, business advice and practical help. Practice the driving theory test or prepare for the Citizenship test. These services are unaffected by the closure. We are very sorry for the inconvenience, but when Central Library re-opens in 2013 alongside a brand new state-of-the-art flagship lending library in the neighbouring Town Hall Extension, we believe it will be worth the wait.
You can find more information and frequently asked questions on our website.

In the meantime, we look forward to welcoming you to our new temporary City Library in Elliot House. Our new temporary City Library will have a modern, stylish interior with books, DVDs, papers and magazines in comfortable reading areas. There will be computers, reference materials, business information, services for visually impaired people and a reduced Henry Watson Music Library and Chinese collection. There will also be areas for children, teenagers and the latest self-issue and return technology, meaning that no-one has to queue.

The Local Studies Service will be there too, with an extensive collection of books and non-original (microfilm and computer) local and family history sources. Original (paper-based) archive sources will be moved to join collections at Greater Manchester County Record Office where they will be accessible by appointment from July.

We will continue to host visits by writers and poets, in different partner venues around the city starting with the Mexican Poet's Tour at Chetham's School & Library on Tuesday 20 April at 6.30pm.

City Library, Elliot House, 151 Deansgate
(at the corner with Lloyd Street and Jackson’s Row)
Opening Monday 28 June.

Free lecture: Till the Struggle is O'er: The Poetry of Chartism

In memory of the Library's founders Edmund and Ruth Frow the Inaugural Frow Memorial Lecture will take place on Saturday 1 May at 2pm: Till the Struggle is O'er: The Poetry of Chartism by Dr Mike Sanders, with Chartist poems read by Maxine Peake and a selection of Chartist songs sung by Corista. Thanks to the University of Salford the lecture will take place at the Conference Room, Old Fire Station, Crescent, Salford, a couple of hundred yards from the Library.

Between 1837 and 1852, the leading Chartist newspaper The Northern Star published over 1,000 poems by more than 350 poets, most of whom were ordinary working class people. The sheer volume of verse produced by individual Chartists demonstrates the importance of poetry to the movement.. Published in newspapers, recited at meetings and even sung in prison, poetry was everywhere in the Chartist movement. Our speaker will talk about the importance of Chartist poetry as an outlet for working class creativity, and as a vital part of Chartism's struggle for fundamental democratic rights.

Dr Mike Sanders is Senior Lecturer in Victorian Literature at the University of Manchester, and the author of The Poetry of Chartism: Politics, Aesthetics, History (Cambridge University Press, 2009).

The event is free; everyone is welcome; light refreshments will be available after the lecture.

Knives Forks and Spoons Press

The excellent Knives Forks & Spoons Press now has it's own designated website here
You can now buy books by poets such as Neil Campbell, Gareth Durasow, Alec Newman, Scott Thurston, Stephen Emmerson and Steph Pike from one convenient place. There are also reviews and useful advice on submitting your own work for publication. So take a look, one of the best just got better!

The Poetry Translation Centre presents the Mexican Poets’ Tour

Central Library may be closing for renovation, but it doesn’t mean we’ll stop hosting visits and readings by the very best writers and poets. We’ll just host them elsewhere for the time being. This is the very first in our new series. Thanks to Chethams Library, just one of our new partner venues.

2010 is the bicentennial of Mexico’s independence movement and the 100th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution. To mark the occasion, our Mexican Poets’ Tour introduces leading poets from Mexico to new audiences: lively and entertaining readings reveal the dynamic nature of the poets’ culture and their rich literary tradition in which poetry plays such a prominent role. The poets will read in Spanish and Zapotec alongside their poet-translators.

Coral Bracho writes in Spanish, her translators are Katherine Pierpoint and Tom Boll. David Huerta writes in Spanish; his translator is Jamie McKendrick. Victor Teran writes in Zapotec and his translator is David Shook. For information, contact Libby Tempest - 0161 234 1981 or email l.tempest@manchester.gov.uk

Chetham’s School and Library
Long Millgate Manchester M3 1NX (next door to Victoria Station)

Tuesday 20 April, 6.30pm

Poetica @ Manchester Central Library

The creative writing and poetry group will be paying its own very personal tribute to Central Library, which means so much to so many different people. Also an opportunity for us to hear work in progress from this talented group.

Central Library, Committee Room, 24 March, 6pm

Book apps overtake games

Publishers have hailed as “very exciting” the news that book apps have overtaken games apps for the first time, according to research by mobile phone ad company Mobclix.

More than 27,000 books are now available as apps, with 25,4000 games apps published this year, followed by entertainment, education and travel. Over the past month, book apps have outnumbered games almost two to one, the Guardian reports. Read more at the Bookseller.

Remembering Lynette Roberts - this Thursday @ Manchester Central Library

Lynette Roberts: a celebration, takes at 6pm this Thursday at Central Library. At this tribute event, the poet’s daughter Angharad Rhys will discuss Roberts’s life and work with Patrick McGuinness, the editor of her poems and prose, recently rediscovered following the publication of two landmark volumes by Carcanet.

Lynette Roberts published two collections of poems in her lifetime, both with Faber & Faber. T.S. Eliot was her publisher and her advocate, and Dylan Thomas was best man at her wedding. Roberts helped Robert Graves with his work on The White Goddess. She was a friend of Wyndham Lewis (who painted her), Edith Sitwell (to whom she dedicated her extraordinary long poem Gods with Stainless Ears) and Alun Lewis (for whom she wrote 'Poem from Llanybri'), and published in a variety of magazines in Britain and America.

You can read more about Lynette Roberts at the following links:

• Lynette Roberts at Carcanet Press (includes text of various reviews of the Collected Poems)
• 'Lynette Roberts - our greatest female war poet ?', BBC Radio 4 - Woman's Hour, 30 March 2006 (Audio archive. Accessed : 22.03.08)
• Patrick McGuinness, 'Rediscovering a Modernist Classic: Lynette Roberts (1909-1995)', Transcript: European internet review of books and writing, no.22
• Alan Tucker, Review essay of Collected poems (Carcanet, 2005) in FlashPoint, Spring 2006, Web Issue 8
• John Wilkinson, 'The Brain's Tent: Lynette Robert's Collected Poems', (Boston Review, Sept/Oct 2006)

Lynette Roberts: a celebration, will take place at 6pm on Thursday 18th March in the Committee Room, Second Floor, Manchester Central Library, St Peter’s Square, Manchester M2 5PD. This is a free event; all are welcome. For more information please contact Libby Tempest on 0161 234 1981 or l.tempest@manchester.gov.uk.

Reading for Reading's Sake @ Islington Mill

This Easter Islington Mill will be rejoicing in words as it hosts, Reading for Reading's Sake, a 4 day event aimed at exploring reading as a practice. Unlike a regular reading group, ‘Reading for readings sake’ aims to unfold the activity of reading, the situations in which we read, reading as a shared event, a private passion, concentration, interpretation, sound and voice, the symbolic and emotional value of the act.

The project was initiated last year by Maurice Carlin, Megan Wakefield and Helen Kaplinsky, motivated by a shared fascination with reading as an activity. The first event took place at Bristol’s Spike Island during January 2010 and you can read more at the RfRS blog.

For the next installment of the project at Islington Mill, those taking part will be invited to spend their days reading, where, when, how and whatever they like. Approaches to reading employed previously by readers at the Bristol event will be described at the opening on Thur Apr 8th. To offer some direction to visitors that are unfamiliar with the area, we will ask residents of the cities of Salford and Manchester for suggestions of favourite or out of the ordinary reading locations.

Evenings will be spent at Islington Mill, where food will be served and the days-worth of reading and reading-related experience shared in small groups over dinner, while dinner-time lectors read aloud to the assembled company. Selected gigs and performances will be taking place in Islington Mill’s clubspace on a number of the later evenings.

Sat 10th will feature a day packed with workshops, events and performances in the gallery space and throughout Islington Mill. Full details of these to follow soon.

NB. There is a limited number of places for the daytime and early evening events. Please get in touch if you’d like to take part and we’ll reserve you a place.
Email: deaddigital(at)islingtonmill.com

Islington Mill, James St, Salford, M3 5HW

Event dates: Thur Apr. 8th – Sun Apr. 11th 2010

Opening event: Thur Apr 8th – 6 - 9pm

Independent Foriegn Fiction Prize Longlist announced

Titles from Maia, Comma Press, Bitter Lemon and Atlantic have been nominated alongside Harvill Secker and Chatto, among others, for the 15-strong longlist for the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize, worth £10,000.

The prize celebrates "an exceptional work of fiction by a living author which has been translated into English", published in the UK in the last year. A shortlist of six books will be announced on 15th April and the overall winner on 13th May 2010 at the Royal Institute of British Architects. The £10,000 prize is shared between the author and translator.

The longlist in full:

The Coronation by Boris Akunin, translated by Andrew Bromfield from the Russian (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)

To the Music by Ketil Bjornstad, translated by Deborah Dawkin and Erik Skuvvegik from the Norwegian (Maia)

The Madmen of Freedom Square by Hassan Blasim, translated by Jonathan Wright from the Arabic (Comma Press)

Brodeck’s Report by Philippe Claudel, translated by John Cullen from the French (MacLehose Press)

The Blind Side of the Heart by Julia Franck translated by Anthea Bell from the German (Harvill Secker)

Fists by Pietro Grossi, translated by Howard Curtis from the Italian (Pushkin)

Yalo by Elias Khoury, translated by Humphrey Davies from the Arabic (MacLehose Press

The Kindly Ones by Jonathan Littell, translated by Charlotte Mandell from the French (Chatto & Windus)

Broken Glass by Alain Manbanckou, translated by Halan Stevenson from the French (Serpent’s Tail)

Your Face Tomorrow by Javier Marias, translated by Margaret Jull Costa from the Spanish (Chatto & Windus)

Thursday Night Widows by Claudia Pineiro, translated by Miranda France from the Spanish (Bitter Lemon)

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa, translated by Stephen Snyder from the Japanese (Harvill Secker)

Chowringhee by Sankar, translated by Arunava Sinha from the Bengali (Atlantic Books)

The Dark Side of Love by Rafik Schami, translated by Anthea Bell from the German (Arabia)

Sunset Oasis by Bahaa Taher, translated by Humphrey Davies from the Arabic (Sceptre)

More prize news at the Independent .

Amazon launches author pages

Amazon.co.uk has launched hundreds of dedicated author pages, including a full bibliography, recommended titles and videos. The pages went live this week and include the likes of Hilary Mantel, Stephenie Meyer, and Dan Brown.

Amy Worth, head of book buying at Amazon.co.uk, said: "It's like having a bookshelf of the author's titles on the website. It launched on Amazon.com a few months ago and proved a popular feature." Amazon is currently working to upload pages for every author.

Barnes & Noble Prepares Ereader For iPad

Barnes & Noble said on Thursday it has developed a version of its eReader app just for the iPad.
Unlike the split approach to the regular iPhone feature, which breaks up the reader and storefront, the iPad version should provide both the store and the reader in the same software.
The new feature will also allow Nook users to migrate all their downloads to Apple's tablet. There's more over at the ibtimes.

Stop-press! Behind the Scenes Tour of Central Library

Have you ever wanted to know more about Manchester Central Library? Why not book yourself on to one of our 'behind the scenes' tours?

Tours are free and take about an hour, but space is limited so you will need to book. Please contact Libby Tempest to book on l.tempest@manchester.gov.uk or telephone Libby on 0161 234 1981

Tour dates:

Wed 17th March - 10.30am
Thur 18th March - 2pm
Sat 20th March - 11am
Tues 23rd March - 4.30pm
Wed 24th March - 6pm
Thur 25th March - 2.30pm
Thur 25th March - 6pm
Sat 27th March - 2pm
Mon 29th March - 10.30am
Tues 30th March - 5.30pm

Knives, Forks and Spoons Press Launch

There's a launch for a number of new poetry pamphlets from Knives, Forks and Spoons Press, tomorrow night at The Crescent, Salford. (Tuesday 16 March 7pm) You can hear recent work from Neil Campbell, Alex Davies, Dermot Glennon, John G. Hall, and Steven Waling. Here's a link to the poster if you'd like to help promote the event.

Want to appear at the Edinburgh Fringe?

This is fantastic opportunity and worth repeating - it originally appeared on the Write Out Loud website.

If you would you like to take your poetry group to the Edinburgh Fringe, with no venue hire costs, and you want to be in the fringe brochure, get in touch by 19th March, with Richard Tyrone Jones. Slots are available at:

12.30-13.30, from 8th-28th August (inclusive for the whole run)at the Banqueting Hall, The Banshee Labyrinth.

'Half-run' slots from 18th-28th Aug, at 1450-1550 or 1710-1810 in the Banqueting Hall (50 capacity), 21.45 to 22.45 in the Cinema (40 capacity), or 23.00 to 24.00 in the cinema.

If you are interested send Richard a proposal for your show, CV and samples of your work and he'll get back to you with the Terms & Conditions. His email is richardtyronejones@gmail.com or you can leave a message for him on the Write Out Loud website.

Women To Watch In The Arts List Revealed

An inaugural list of 50 women to watch in the arts has been chosen by a panel including the BBC's Jenni Murray and playwright and actor Kwame Kwei-Armah. The list includes directors, producers and curators who make a contribution to cultural life across the UK. There's more information at the BBC.

Remembering Lynette Roberts - please note this is an evening event & starts at 6pm

Poet Lynette Roberts (1909-1995) published two collections: Poems and Gods with Stainless Ears. She married the writer Keidrych Rhys, and knew prominent writers and artists of her day. T.S. Eliot was her publisher and advocate and Dylan Thomas was best man at her wedding. Today's event, marking International Women's Week, features poet and translator Patrick McGuinness, who edited her Collected Poems, as well as Diaries, Letters and Recollections, a collection of her prose. He will interview Lynette's Roberts' daughter, Angharad Rhys, and feature readings from her works.

Please not this event is a evening event and starts at 6pm.

Thursday 18 March, 6pm
Central Library, 2nd Floor, Committee Room

Small Press Catalogue

Harry Godwin, of The Arthur Shilling Press, has recently set up a blog called The Small Press Catalogue which with he hopes to document all the latest releases from the small poetry presses of Britain. Take a look and if you know of presses that are missing then let Harry know.

Writers @ Central Library: Remembering Lynette Roberts

Poet Lynette Roberts (1909-1995) published two collections: Poems and Gods with Stainless Ears. She married the writer Keidrych Rhys, and knew prominent writers and artists of her day. T.S. Eliot was her publisher and advocate and Dylan Thomas was best man at her wedding. Today's event, marking International Women's Week, features poet and translator Patrick McGuinness, who edited her Collected Poems, as well as Diaries, Letters and Recollections, a collection of her prose. He will interview Lynette's Roberts' daughter, Angharad Rhys, and feature readings from her works.

Thursday 18 March, 6pm
Central Library, 2nd Floor, Committee Room

Central Library: A Celebration

On Friday 19 March writers, poets, and musicians come together in the Great Hall to say goodbye (for now!) to Central Library.

Comma Press and Carcanet Publishing are our partners and will be helping us to put together a great programme for the evening - your host will be Mike Garry and already confirmed to appear are the award-winning poet Sean O'Brien (who used a haunting picture taken in stack for the cover of his recent book) plus the wonderful novelists Jane Rogers & Nicholas Royle - and providing music, the amazing Delibabies (you can listen to them on MySpace). More names will be added to the line-up - check our website or Facebook page for updates.

We would love you to come along & enjoy the event and we also need people to get involved and to contribute memories, stories and photographs of Central Library. If you have any stories about Central Library you'd like to share you can email them to Dave in Archives.

During March you can also come and photograph Central Library, then send your snaps to centrallibraryphotos@manchester.gov.uk. If you are a member of Flickr you can submit your photos online to the Get Wisdom gallery. We've got 41 pictures submitted so far...have a look!

Photos and personal stories will feature in the Get Wisdom exhibition which runs throughout March on the first floor of Central Library along with an online version.

Refreshments served, everyone welcome! If you’d like to read yourself, drop Libby Tempest a line.

Central Library, Great Hall
Friday 19 March, from 6.30 FREE

An Audience with Qaisra Shahraz @ Crumpsall Library

Qaisra is the author of two novels: The Holy Woman and Typhoon. Her award-winning drama serial Dil Hee To Hai was broadcast on Pakistani television.

Thursday 18 March, 10am-12noon
Crumpsall Library
Contact the library to book your place on 0161 277 3777.

Poetry in your lunch hour @ Central Library: Michael O'Neill & Liz Almond

Two poets from Arc Press. Michael O'Neill is a Professor of English at Durham University. His first collection was The Stripped Bed (1990). Throughout Wheel, his second collection, the poetry turns on an axis of opposites: self and others, here and there, childhood and middle-age. Rituals of travel are at the heart of Liz Almond's work: a computer offering access to a satellite view of continents, or a pencil hovering like a bee at the start of a poem. Her first collection was The Shut Drawer (2002) and her second is Yelp.


Friday 12 March, 1-2pm
Central Library, 2nd Floor, Committee Room

WANTED: Content Coordinator for Open Wide Magazine

Open Wide magazine are on the look out for a Content Coordinator. Here is the advert in full which was posted on their Facebook page.

What’s a ‘Content Coordinator’? We’re not sure. We just made it up.

We’re looking for an experienced person with exceptional knowledge of PDF formatting to work (virtually) alongside the Managing Editors and Editors to put the content of the magazine together and prepare it for publication (online at present, print one day).

This is on a voluntary long-term basis. Open Wide publishes simply for the love of getting people’s work seen and read. You will need to be able to commit to a few solid hours on several days in the run up to publication. We must stress that your dedication is vital to the smooth running of the magazine. Please register your interest, experience and who you are and why you’d like to help us to: connect@openwidemagazine.co.uk

To connect & keep up to date you can find openwide on Facebook. You can also subscribe to the mailing list by sending an email to: connect (at) openwidemagazine.co.uk with 'subscribe' in the title box.

Writers @ Central Library: 800 Years of Women's Letters

Olga Kenyon celebrates the paperback publication of her informative and entertaining book on the history of women's letter-writing. Letters reveal women's lives through the centuries and provide an invaluable historical resource.

Though readers will have heard of many of these correspondents--from Heloise (to Abelard, naturally) to Restoration playwright-spy Aphra Behn to Madame de Sévigné--most of us would be hard put to volunteer any solid information. Kenyon organizes these letters by theme, including friendship, childhood and education, war work, and political skills, and the juxtapositions are enlightening. "Housekeeping and Daily Life" features the Russian poet Marina Tsvetaeva, who writes of being forced to leave her two-year-old tied to a chair while she searches Moscow for provisions; Queen Elizabeth I, who bemoans the bad shape Buckingham Palace is in; and Hannah Cullwick, a servant who anatomizes England's sharp class divisions, circa 1864. Cullwick writes of toiling in the kitchen while the upper classes lord it upstairs: "But it's always so with ladies and servants and of course there is a difference cause their bringing up is so different--servants may feel it sharply and do sometimes i believe, but it's best not to be delicate, nor mind what work we do so as it's honest."

Wednesday 10 March, 6-8pm
Central Library, 2nd Floor, Committee Room

Fran Sandham @ the Forum Library

Fran Sandham talks about taking on the challenge of a lifetime: walking across Africa, completely alone, no backup, no film crew, no fuss, no safety nets. His story is told in his new book, Traversa: a solo walk across Africa.

Saturday 6 March, 2-4pm
Forum Library Wythenshaw
Advanced booking essential - please call 0161 227 3770.

New Zine Library at the Islington Mill Art Reference Library

Coming soon to the new Islington Mill Art Reference Library: Salford Zine Library. They need your contributions to produce an ongoing archive of self-published work. Inclusion is not limited in any way and your involvement is easy. You send in a zine and a self addressed envelope and the Islington Mill folks will send you a hand printed poster and add your work to the library. E-mail salfordzinelibrary[at]gmail.com for more information.

Based at Islington Mill in Salford the Art Reference Library is free and available for anyone to use. Just send an e-mail and go and have a look...library[at]islingtonmill[dot]com. Visit the website for more information http://www.islingtonmill.com/d.php?r=islingtonmillreferencelibrary.

Islington Mill is a former cotton spinning mill in Salford, very close to Manchester’s city centre. Unlike much of Manchester's industrial heritage which has been converted into loft apartments, Islington Mill is now home to over 50 artists studios, two art galleries a recording studio and club space. It’s one of the few creative spaces in Salford, and has evolved over ten years to become the cultural haven that it is now.

This Wednesday - Poetry @ Central Library: Dora Malech & Eric Ormsby

Dora is a young American poet, who has won various fellowships and awards. Her poems have appeared in publications including The New Yorker and Poetry London. Shore Ordered Ocean is her second collection. Time's Covenant: Selected Poems brings together five of Eric Ormsby's collections, plus a selection of unpublished work. He is one of the most important poets writing in Canada today.

Wednesday 3 March, 6-8pm
Central Library, 2nd Floor, Reception Room FREE

Tips for writing fiction

Kottke.org reports that The Guardian have asked writers to share their tips for writing fiction. The responses appear in two parts. Here's Philip Pullman's response in full:
"My main rule is to say no to things like this, which tempt me away from my proper work."