Manchester Literature Festival has some really great events this year, and I’m gutted that I’ve been too busy to get to any of them yet. The city has an incredibly rich history of writing and literature, including A Clockwork Orange writer Anthony Burgess, Elizabeth Gaskell, Janette Winterson and one of my favourites, Withington-based writer Melvin Burgess.

We’re smack-bang right in the middle of this year’s event, which runs from Thursday, October 15 to Sunday, October 25. The MLF team have done good this year, with an impressive line-up of celebrated authors and writers including Martin Amis, Simon Armitage, Kate Atkinson, Joan Bakewell, Eoin Colfer, Marilyn Hacker, Val McDermid, Jimmy McGovern and Fay Weldon.

Some of the high-profile events are sold out, but there’s still something to see or listen to every day until the end of the lit-fest.

Manchester Blog Awards is also part of the festivities – of which Manchester Is Ace is a nominee – and will take place at Band On The Wall on Wednesday, October 21. Tickets are only £4 and it’s sure to be a good knees up.

Manchester Is Ace’s top picks for this week are:

Nick Laird and MJ Hyland, Oct 22, 6pm
Set at the Martin Harris Centre, this is a great opportunity to hear two new literary talents. MJ Hyland’s third novel, This Is How, is one of the Guardian’s Treats of 2009, while Nick Laird’s second novel, Glover’s Mistake, is set in the London art world.

Six by Six Book Launch, Oct 23, 5.30pm
The Six by Six project brought together six short stories from graduates from MMU Cheshire’s Creative Writing programme to be illustrated by the finest designers from Stockport College Illustration graduates. A great partnership idea which has resulted in a stylish anthology.

Michelle Magorian, Oct 25, 5.30pm
The writer of Goodnight Mister Tom and Just Henry, brings her new World War Two fiction to life in the imposing setting of the Imperial War Museum North.

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