Manchester City of Literature has just appointed six new board members, bringing the total number to ten, all of whom will help promote the city’s diverse cultural offering on a global stage. The newly designated charity exists to champion the stories and voices of Manchester as part of the permanent UNESCO designation given to the city in 2017.

The Board now includes a wealth of experience from writers, poets, academics, musicians, linguists, publishers, producers and councillors all with a huge passion for literature. This continues to be a crucial and exciting time for the organisation immediately following the launch of a new website, an updated look for the charity and the announcement of the executive team in 2020.

Manchester City of Literature is thrilled to welcome to its Board: Karline Smith, writer and author of Moss Side Massive; Hafsah Aneela Bashir, poet, playwright and founder of the Poetry Health Service; Jo Yee Cheung, Director of Olympias Music Foundation; Katie Popperwell, journalist and creative producer; Mike Murphy, bringing experience from publishing and broadcast; and Chandan Shergill, Young Audiences Content Fund Coordinator at the British Film Institute.

They join the existing board consisting of novelist and co-founder of Manchester Muslim Writers, Zahid Hussain; Pro-Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Arts at Manchester Metropolitan University Sharon Handley, Cllr. Emma Taylor at Manchester City Council; and Head of the School of Arts, Culture and Languages at the University of Manchester Professor Alessandro Schesiero.

Zahid Hussain, Chair of Manchester City of Literature, said: “From the onset, our hope was to draw talented trustees from Manchester’s amazingly diverse communities. I am therefore thrilled we were able to dive deeper than we could have imagined. Our new trustees bring a treasure trove of knowledge, experience and skills and I’m excited by the prospect of what we will achieve working together.”

The Trustees vision is to make Manchester ‘an innovative, distinctive, equitable, globally connected city of reading and writing, where diverse voices are celebrated, creative talent and industries are nurtured and where literary activity changes lives’ and we’re excited for the next chapter.