The Greater Manchester Festival of Libraries is an annual celebration of libraries, literature, creativity and community engagement across the ten Greater Manchester boroughs. Led through partnerships between library services, cultural organisations, HEIs, artists and local communities, the Festival presents a wide-ranging programme of events, commissions and participatory activity that showcases libraries as vital civic and cultural spaces. The Festival seeks to increase participation in reading, writing and culture; strengthen local partnerships; support artists and creative practitioners; and connect communities through shared experiences. The Festival won Best Event at the Manchester Culture Awards 2024 and was voted the Second Most Inclusive Literature Festival in the UK in 2025. The full programme for the 2026 edition of the Festival can be found here.
As the Festival continues to grow in ambition, reach and profile,

Manchester City of Literature is seeking an external consultant to review the current model and provide strategic recommendations to inform the next phase of development.

The consultant will:
- Review the current Festival of Libraries model, including artistic programming, governance, partnerships and delivery structures;
Assess the strengths, challenges and opportunities for the Festival from 2028 onwards;
- Consider the Festival's role within the wider cultural, library and civic landscape across Greater Manchester;
- Identify opportunities to strengthen artistic ambition, audience engagement, partnership working and long-term sustainability.
- The consultancy should result in clear, practical and evidence-based recommendations for the future strategic direction of the Festival.

There is a fee of £6,500 (inc VAT) for this work between commissioning and final report. The hours can be set by the consultant, but there are expected milestones and elements within the timeline to be met. More information can be found in the application pack.