Get Involved

Manchester Literature Festival has a long tradition of partnering with publishers, venues, other festivals and cultural organisations on the development and delivery of our live event programmes, new commissions and creative learning projects. We believe partnership working benefits the audiences, artists and communities we serve, and we are open to conversations about potential collaboration.

Some of our many current and recent partners include Manchester Museum, Manchester Art Gallery, Manchester UNESCO City of Literature, National Trust, Canal and River Trust, Lancashire Wildlife Trust, the BBC, the University of Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University, Z-arts, Media Cubs, Reform Radio and Greater Manchester schools and libraries.

If you share our artistic vision of encouraging everyone to discover a love of literature in all its forms and have an idea for an event, commission, or education project that you believe would be mutually beneficial to MLF and the organisation you represent, please do get in touch. In the first instance please email office@manchesterliteraturefestival.co.uk and your message will be passed on to the most relevant member of the team.

Our team of Manchester Literature Festival volunteers plays an invaluable role in helping to create a welcoming and joyful experience for audiences and participants. With over 40+ events going on simultaneously across the city centre every October, volunteer support is crucial to ensuring the smooth running of Festival events, making sure that audiences and authors get the most out of the time they spend together.

MLF’s volunteers are public facing ambassadors for the organisation. Tasks include directing people to the event space, checking and selling tickets, answering basic questions about the event/venue, assisting latecomers, providing a roving mic during audience Q&As, and managing the book signing queues.

In addition to event support during the Festival, there is occasional administrative work in the Festival office; in particular the mailout of several thousand Festival brochures every August.

MLF volunteers usually get a lot out of helping with the Festival, including discovering new writers, getting to know other volunteers and gaining useful experience that could support a future career in publishing, the arts or event management.

Our registered volunteers are expected to attend a briefing meeting in early September and will then be invited to apply for event shifts.

We really value the work of our volunteers and offer free tickets to events where possible. To make sure everyone can volunteer their time at MLF we offer travel expenses to all volunteers to and from shifts.

Volunteering is open to anyone over the age of 18 who lives or studies in Greater Manchester. You don’t need any specific experience or skills, just an enthusiasm to get involved.

PLEASE NOTE: we have now filled all Volunteer positions for this year's Festival and applications are now closed. Please check back in July 2025 for Volunteer opportunities for next year's Festival.

We’re looking to make contact with Greater Manchester based community groups, book clubs and creative writing groups that enjoy attending cultural events or participating in creative workshops. We would love to hear about your group so we can share details of Manchester Literature Festival’s current programme of events and other opportunities with you, and also learn how we might adapt our offer to suit your group’s needs and interests.

If your group would like to connect with Manchester Literature Festival, please take 3 - 5 minutes to complete our Connecting with Groups Survey. All data will be stored safely and not shared with any third parties in accordance with our Privacy Policy. By completing the form you are also eligible to enter our free Prize Draw to win 6 tickets for your group to attend one of MLF’s Spring / Summer 2025 events.