Join us at Manchester Metropolitan University in person or online for a very special evening to celebrate the 2023 Manchester Poetry and Fiction Prizes – and 15 years of the Manchester Writing Competition!

Established by Carol Ann Duffy in 2008, the Competition celebrates Manchester as an international city of writers, finding diverse new voices and creating opportunities for writer development. It has given away more than £220,000 to writers and will be awarding two £10,000 prizes on the night this year: the Manchester Poetry Prize for best portfolio of poems and the Manchester Fiction Prize for best short story.

The gala will open with a drinks reception before short readings from each of the poetry and fiction finalists, and will close with comments from the judges and presentation of the £10,000 golden envelopes to our winners. This year’s Competition has been judged by Malika Booker, Momtaza Mehri, Clare Shaw, Lara Williams, Laura Barnett and Oliver Harris. The gala will be hosted by James Draper and Matthew Frost.

Be there to celebrate some of the UK’s biggest literary prizes for unpublished work and discover some fantastic new writing.

• Date and time: Friday 8th December 2023, 6pm (reception), 6.30pm (event)

• In person: Manchester Metropolitan Grosvenor East Building, All Saints Park (Grosvenor Square), Oxford Road, M15 6BG

• Online: Microsoft Teams (sign-up to receive link)

• Tickets: All are welcome and entry is free but advance booking is essential. Please reserve your places via Eventbrite to guarantee admission.