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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251029T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251029T200000
DTSTAMP:20250922T085500Z
CREATED:20250902T164230Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250922T085500Z
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SUMMARY:Ghost Stories for Halloween: Haunted Places @ Raby Castle
DESCRIPTION:This spine-chilling Halloween event brings together ghost story expert Dr Emma Liggins with theatrical performer and writer Adam Z. Robinson. It promises spooky stories\, haunted histories and the terror of the unknown. \n\n\n\nThe evening begins with an illustrated talk on the development of the ghost story in the nineteenth century. The popularity of Gothic fiction made haunted places fashionable for both readers and tourists\, from labyrinthine castles and medieval churches to remote country houses. Discussing writers such as Ann Radcliffe\, Mary Elizabeth Braddon\, E. Nesbit and Margaret Oliphant\, Emma will consider the ways in which women’s ghost stories addressed concerns about property ownership\, past secrets\, gender inequalities and superstitious servants. She’ll also look at some of the myths and legends of Raby Castle\, from white ladies and lost children to Lady Vane’s tale of a housekeeper returning from the dead. \n\n\n\nThen\, join master of the macabre Adam Z. Robinson for a lamp-lit ghost story performance. In The Bonehouse\, historian Archie Witt takes a research trip to investigate the fabled roundhouse lock-up in the village of Abbot’s Knock\, a place marred by witch trials\, a wicked 17th-century magistrate and an ancient evil that may haunt the place still. A thrilling tale sure to chill the blood. \n\n\n\nDr Emma Liggins is a Reader in English Literature in the School of English at Manchester Metropolitan University\, UK\, and Co-Director of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies. She has published widely on the short story\, Victorian women’s writing and the supernatural. Publications include (with Andrew Maunder and Ruth Robbins)\, The British Short Story (Palgrave\, 2010)\, The Haunted House in Women’s Ghost Stories\, 1850-1945: Gender\, Space and Modernity (Palgrave\, 2020) and a chapter on ‘The Edwardian Supernatural’ in The Edinburgh Companion to Twentieth-Century Gothic (Edinburgh University Press\, 2022). She is currently working on a monograph on Victorian and Edwardian Death Spaces: Gender and Memorialisation for Manchester University Press.    e.liggins@mmu.ac.uk \n\n\n\nAdam Z. Robinson is a writer\, theatre-maker and prize-winning author of flash fiction. His theatre work includes: Upon the Stair (“Everyone needs to see this show” – ✭✭✭✭½ The Reviews Hub) and Smile Club (✭✭✭✭ The Guardian) co-written with Andrea Heaton. His plays The Book of Darkness & Light and Shivers toured nationally between 2016-2019. As well as his original plays\, Adam has adapted classic works for the stage: Haunted (two national tours\, 2023) and A Christmas Carol (national tours\, 2019-21; residency London\, 2022; residency Saint John\, Canada\, 2023) and Nightmares (national tour to 22 theatres\, 2024). His latest show\, Darkness & Light\, is touring autumn 2025. He is the host of The Ghost Story Book Club podcast. www.adamzrobinson.com \n\n\n\nBuy Tickets
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/ghost-stories-for-halloween-haunted-places-raby-castle/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251028T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251028T193000
DTSTAMP:20250922T085154Z
CREATED:20250902T163851Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250922T085154Z
UID:1304-1761674400-1761679800@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Leon Craig and Andrew Michael Hurley in conversation @ Blackwells\, Manchester
DESCRIPTION:We are thrilled to welcome Leon Craig and Andrew Michael Hurley to the shop to discuss their latest novels\, THE DECADENCE and SALTWASH. \n\n\n\nDoors: 6.30pm\, starts: 6.45pm \n\n\n\nTickets are £4. Admission is free when purchasing a copy of either book. \n\n\n\nAbout The Decadence: \n\n\n\nAt the height of lockdown\, a group of flailing twenty-something friends makes an illicit break for freedom. \n\n\n\nA grand country house stands empty. Once the home of Theo’s great uncle\, it seems like the perfect place to get high and hang out in the spring sunshine\, as they eschew adult responsibilities.Since meeting as teenagers\, rifts have grown amongst the group. Even as they are determined to enjoy themselves\, tensions cast shadows between them – politics\, sex and lies. The house\, too\, has its own dark history and exudes a palpable sense of menace.Where do the drugs end and the supernatural begin? Will anger and jealousy tear the friends apart\, or will it be more ominous forces? Their stay at Holt House will change them all… \n\n\n\n‘An exquisitely claustrophobic exploration of the places we do and don’t belong… This is a triumph of the queer gothic’ – Jane Flett\, author of Freakslaw \n\n\n\nAbout Saltwash: \n\n\n\nTom Shift and Oliver Keele are pen-pals. They were introduced through their respective cancer clinics. From reading Oliver’s letters\, Tom has deduced that Oliver is lonely and somewhat nomadic. He appears to live hand to mouth at a series of cheap B&Bs.When Oliver suggests they meet up\, Tom agrees. Neither of them have long left. And\, while Saltwash seems an unlikely kind of place for a holiday\, he goes with it. The Castle Hotel is one of the few places still open in an off-season seaside town that has definitely seen better days but it’s surprisingly busy. It becomes clear that the guests are all there for some kind of reunion\, and that they know Oliver.Little by little it becomes clear that all the guests have dark and troubled histories. They are drawn to the hotel not just for the company and nostalgia but for the opportunity to win the lottery. Which for them\, is the chance to have the memoires of their wrongs to be eradicated. Before they die\, they all want redemption. But if we can’t remember what we’ve done\, do we become someone else? And why does Oliver want Tom at Saltwash? \n\n\n\nAbout the authors: \n\n\n\nLeon Craig is a writer from North London. She studied English at UCL\, Medieval Literature at Oxford and Creative Writing at Birkbeck. Her writing has been published by the White Review\, the TLS\, Another Gaze and the London Magazine\, among others. She is the author of the short story collection Parallel Hells. \n\n\n\nAndrew Michael Hurley is based in Lancashire. His first novel\, The Loney\, won the Costa Best First Novel Award and the Book of the Year at the British Book Awards. Devil’s Day\, his second novel\, was picked as a Book of the Year in five newspapers\, and won the Encore Award. Starve Acre was made into a film starring Matt Smith and Morfydd Clark. \n\n\n\nIf you cannot make the event but would like a dedicated copy of the book\, please email events.manchester@blackwell.co.uk or call us on 0161 274 3331. \n\n\n\nOur event format is usually a 45 minute discussion between the author and interviewer\, followed by a chance for audience members to ask questions. There will be the opportunity to get your book signed/dedicated after the event. Events are a brilliant opportunity to discover new books\, meet authors and likeminded readers and learn something new. \n\n\n\nSupport your local bookshop and help us keep the Manchester literary scene vibrant and exciting. You can follow us on Eventbrite and social media (@BlackwellsMCR) to keep up to date on upcoming events. \n\n\n\nTags
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/leon-craig-and-andrew-michael-hurley-in-conversation-blackwells-manchester/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251022T173000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251022T190000
DTSTAMP:20250922T085927Z
CREATED:20250902T163520Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250922T085927Z
UID:1301-1761154200-1761159600@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Gothic Historical Fiction: Essie Fox and Kate Griffin in conversation @ Portico Library
DESCRIPTION:£3. Book here. \n\n\n\nJoin award-winning novelists Essie Fox and Kate Griffin to find out more about the process of writing historical fiction and how to create a Gothic atmosphere. They will be talking about their recent novels\, Essie Fox’s Dangerous (2024) and Kate Griffin’s Fyneshade (2023). Hosted by Sarah Dutson\, from the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies. https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/ \n\n\n\n Subsdised by the Manchester Centre for Gotic Studies. \n\n\n\nDANGEROUS (2024) BY ESSIE FOX \n\n\n\nLiving in exile in Venice\, the disgraced Lord Byron revels in the freedoms of the city. But when associated with the deaths of local women found with wounds to their throats\, and when a novel called The Vampyre is published in his name\, rumours begin to spread that he is the murderer. Haunted by whispering campaigns and the scandals of his past\, Byron is forced to play detective and solve the puzzle of the crimes. \n\n\n\nRich in gothic atmosphere and drawing on real events and characters from Byron’s life\, Dangerous is a riveting historical thriller ~ as decadent and seductive as the poet himself. \n\n\n\nEssie Fox was born and raised in Herefordshire. After studying English Literature at Sheffield University\, she moved to London and began a career in publishing – from there becoming self-employed in commercial art design. Always an avid reader\, she now writes historical novels. Her debut\, The Somnambulist\, was shortlisted for the National Book Awards\, and featured on Channel 4’s TV Book Club. The Last Days of Leda Grey\, set in the earliest years of the silent film industry\, was selected as The Times Historical Book of the Month. The Fascination\, a Sunday Times Top Ten Bestselling book\, features Victorian fairgrounds\, the glamour of the London theatres\, and an Oxford Street museum of morbid curiosities. And now\, Dangerous\, a Regency crime thriller\, relates adventures of Lord Byron during the time he spent in Venice and has again been selected as a Times Book of the Month. \n\n\n\nEssie has appeared at many literary events\, has lectured at the V&A\, and National Gallery in London. Recently she has become the host of a new podcast\, Talking The Gothic. \n\n\n\nFyneshade (2023) by Kate Griffin \n\n\n\nMany would find much to fear in Fyneshade’s dark corridors. But not I. For it has more to fear from me… \n\n\n\nOn the day of her beloved grandmother’s funeral Marta discovers that she is to become governess to the daughter of Sir William Pritchard.  \n\n\n\nSeparated from her lover and discarded by her family\, Marta has no choice but to journey to Pritchard’s ancient and crumbling house\, Fyneshade\, in the wilds of Derbyshire. \n\n\n\nAll is not well at Fyneshade. Marta’s pupil\, little Grace\, can be taught nothing and Marta takes no comfort from the silent servants who will not meet her eye. More intriguing is that Sir William is mysteriously absent\, and his son and heir Vaughan is forbidden to enter the house. \n\n\n\nMarta finds herself drawn to Vaughan despite warnings from the housekeeper that he is a danger to all around him. But Marta is no innocent to be preyed upon. Guided by the dark gift taught to her by her grandmother\, she has made her own plans. And it will take more than a family riven by murderous secrets to stop her… \n\n\n\nFyneshade\, Kate Griffin’s homage to a genre she playfully dubs ‘Governess Gothic\, was published by Viper and was a Sunday Times Historical Fiction Book of 2023. \n\n\n\nWith co-writer Marcia Hutchinson\, she wrote The Blackbirds of St Giles\, published by Simon and Schuster in January 2025. Taking a fresh look at the black community who were part of Georgian London’s most notorious slum – The St Giles Rookery – the novel was The Sunday Times historical fiction pick as February’s ‘book of the month’. \n\n\n\nKate was the winner of the 2012 Faber /Stylist Magazine competition to find a distinctive new voice and character in crime. The resulting gothic-influenced ‘Kitty Peck’ series navigates the back streets of Victorian Limehouse\, the aristocratic corridors of power and the transgressive world of music hall – all viewed through the eyes of a young whip-smart aerial artiste (Kitty Peck) and her ‘family’ of outsiders. The first in the series was shortlisted for a CWA Historical Dagger. \n\n\n\nKate has worked in journalism and communications. Until 2019 she was Head of Press for Britain’s oldest conservation charity SPAB (Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings). Her love of old buildings and the stories they tell continues to inspire her writing. She lives in a Victorian house in St Albans with her husband\, Stephen. \n\n\n\nNb. She’s very good on a quiz team. (She survived University Challenge\, The Professionals.)
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/gothic-historical-fiction-essie-fox-and-kate-griffin-in-conversation-portico-library/
LOCATION:Portico Library\, M2 3HY
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251021T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251021T203000
DTSTAMP:20250924T125624Z
CREATED:20250924T125623Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250924T125624Z
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SUMMARY:Manchester Literature Festival\, Waterstones Deansgate. Susan Barker with Korean horror writer Bora Chung. 
DESCRIPTION:A chilling evening of ghost stories and haunted pasts with internationally acclaimed Korean author Bora Chung (Cursed Bunny) and British novelist Susan Barker (The Incarnations)\, as they discuss their gripping new novels\, The Midnight Timetable and Old Soul. Both tales explore the uncanny ways the past refuses to stay buried and the mysterious forces that connect us across time and continents. \n\n\n\nIn Bora Chung’s The Midnight Timetable (translated by Anton Hur)\, a novel told in ghost stories\, an unnamed narrator begins to uncover the secrets of a bizarre research centre\, guided by a night guard with stories to tell. In Susan Barker’s immersive Old Soul\, two strangers meet in Osaka airport and discover their friends died in identical\, gruesome ways\, on opposite sides of the world but both linked by a mysterious dark-haired woman who appears before each death. \n\n\n\nHosted by podcaster and critic Naomi Frisby. \n\n\n\nPresented in partnership with Waterstones Deansgate and supported by LTI Korea. \n\n\n\nWheelchair Users and those with other access needs requiring a free Essential Carer ticket should contact the Quaytickets Box Office on 0161 876 2015 to purchase tickets. \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\nBook tickets
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/manchester-literature-festival-waterstones-deansgate-susan-barker-with-korean-horror-writer-bora-chung/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251020T080000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251026T170000
DTSTAMP:20250929T141118Z
CREATED:20250919T104006Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250929T141118Z
UID:1341-1760947200-1761498000@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Reanimated! Reviving Cult Film’s Dead Objects\, 17th Cine-Excess conference\, University of Birmingham\, UK (25-26 October 2025)
DESCRIPTION:“It’s alive\,” manically proclaims the mad scientist in James Whale’s Frankenstein (1931)\, the source material which not only nuanced the Gothic but also gave birth to science fiction. And across the plentiful variations and imitations of this classic text and its themes\, of course\, body horror has given rise to affect our most primal fears and social conventions\, setting the scene for 2025’s iteration of the Cine-Excess International Film Festival and Conference. \n\n\n\nThe entire festival runs from 20th – 26th October online\, in cinemas\, and venues across Birmingham.This year\, we celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator (1985)\, a quintessential cult classic that blends dark comedy and body horror to push the very boundaries of generic acceptability. The film was created in tandem with producer Brian Yuzna\, and Re-Animator’s success would inspire later Stuart Gordon horror films such as From Beyond (1986)\, whilst paving the way for Yuzna’s own directorial career\, including Society (1989)\, Bride of Re-Animator (1990)\, and Return of the Living Dead III (1993). As part of this year’s festival\, we are delighted that Re-Animator’s legendary producer Brian Yuzna is scheduled to be joining in person to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work on the film\, whilst also receiving a posthumous award on behalf of the late Stuart Gordon.*The conference component Reanimated! Reviving Cult Film’s Dead Objects\, 17th Cine-Excess conference is held at University of Birmingham\, UK and runs 25-26 October 2025. Dr Xavier Aldana Reyes as our keynote speaker. Dr Aldana Reyes is a founding member of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies\, co-president of the International Gothic Association\, and the author of such monographs as Contemporary Body Horror (Cambridge University Press\, 2024)\, Gothic Cinema (Routledge\, 2020)\, and Body Gothic: Corporeal Transgression in Contemporary Literature and Horror Film (University of Wales Press\, 2014). \n\n\n\nFor more information and the Call for Papers see: https://www.cine-excess.co.uk/call-for-papers.html.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/reanimated-reviving-cult-films-dead-objects-17th-cine-excess-conference-university-of-birmingham-uk-25-26-october-2025/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20251016T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20251016T213000
DTSTAMP:20250902T163618Z
CREATED:20250902T161417Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250902T163618Z
UID:1288-1760641200-1760650200@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Gothic Angels of Death @ Highgate Cemetery
DESCRIPTION:GOTHIC ANGELS OF DEATHMourning\, Memory and the Feminine Gothic in the CemeteryWith Emma Liggins on Thursday the 16th October 2025 at 7 pm \n\n\n\nHow were women remembered in Victorian cemeteries? Were they always cast as ‘beloved wives’ or ‘devoted daughters’ beneath grand\, angel-topped headstones — or do we find more nuanced tributes etched in stone?This talk explores the language of epitaphs and the symbolism of angel monuments and grave design in Highgate Cemetery (London) and Southern Cemetery (Manchester). It considers how the commemoration of women both echoed and complicated the Victorian ‘celebration of death’.By comparing family headstones with memorial cards shared before and after funerals\, the talk uncovers how the image of the grieving woman — draped in sorrow over a tomb — became an enduring motif of 19th-century mourning culture.The session concludes with a discussion of Tracy Chevalier’s Falling Angels (2001)\, a neo-Edwardian cemetery novel set in Highgate from 1901 to 1910\, exploring how cremation is framed as a compelling choice for women within the Gothic imagination.Tickets £12.50 including a delightful gin cocktail and a 20% donation to Brompton Cemetery. Please click here to purchase. \n\n\n\nEmma LigginsEmma Liggins is a Reader in English Literature at Manchester Metropolitan University and Co-Director of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies. An expert on women’s writing\, ghost stories\, and Victorian mourning culture\, she has published extensively on the New Woman\, sensation fiction\, and Gothic literature\, including The Haunted House in Women’s Ghost Stories and 
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/gothic-angels-of-death/
LOCATION:The Chapel\, Highgate Cemetery
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250925T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250925T200000
DTSTAMP:20250909T092134Z
CREATED:20250226T143811Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250909T092134Z
UID:1011-1758823200-1758830400@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Writing the Gothic Short Story Course
DESCRIPTION:WRITING THE GOTHICThis writing course offers six two-hour workshops from March to September\, learning the craft of gothic fiction from author and Gothic PhD candidate Bronte Schiltz. \n\n\n\nParticipants on this course will create up to three short stories (up to 5k words) over the duration of this course. Your best story will be published in a Comma Press eBook to be sold online. \n\n\n\nOpen to all levels of experience. \n\n\n\nCOURSE OUTLINE \n\n\n\nAs well as learning the genre conventions and techniques of body horror\, writers will learn the basics of short storytelling that are applicable to all genres. In between sessions\, participants can work on their stories and workshop ideas with fellow participants via a private Slack channel. \n\n\n\nWeek by week\, we will cover the following areas: \n\n\n\nWhat is the Gothic? What is the short story? \n\n\n\nThis class will introduce the Gothic mode and the short story form\, exploring their history and effects and why and how they work together. \n\n\n\nCreating Gothic affect \n\n\n\nThis class will explore the four principal affects associated with the Gothic: the sublime\, the uncanny\, the weird and the eerie. \n\n\n\nEpical Gothic \n\n\n\nThis class will introduce the concept of epical stories and focus on developing narrative voice and character. \n\n\n\nLyrical Gothic \n\n\n\nThis class will introduce the concept of lyrical stories and focus on developing imagery. \n\n\n\nArtifice Gothic \n\n\n\nThis class will introduce the concept of artifice stories and focus on developing plot. \n\n\n\nFinal Workshop \n\n\n\nParticipants will have the opportunity to discuss their feedback and to work on their stories. Bronte will also invite volunteers to submit a section of their story for group discussion\, which she will moderate to ensure that discussion is kind and constructive. Participants will also have the opportunity to ask Bronte any questions they have about their stories or about the Gothic\, short fiction\, or writing more generally. \n\n\n\nVENUE \n\n\n\nSessions 1\, 3 and 6 will be held in-person at \n\n\n\nManchester Metropolitan University \n\n\n\nRoom 4.05\, Grosvenor East \n\n\n\nCavendish Street \n\n\n\nManchester \n\n\n\nM15 6BG \n\n\n\nSessions 2\, 4 & 5 will be held online via zoom. \n\n\n\nDATES AND TIMES \n\n\n\n6:00-8:00pm on Thursdays \n\n\n\nMarch 27th (Room 4.05\, Grosvenor East\, M15 6BG) \n\n\n\nApril 24th (online) \n\n\n\nMay 22nd (Room 4.05\, Grosvenor East\, M15 6BG) \n\n\n\nJune 19th (online) \n\n\n\nJuly 17th (online) \n\n\n\nSeptember 25th (Room 4.05\, Grosvenor East\, M15 6BG) \n\n\n\nPLEASE NOTE: Sessions 2\, 4 and 5 (Held April 24th\, June 19th and July 17th) will take place online. Please also note that there will be no session in August in order to give participants time to work on their submissions. \n\n\n\nTickets are £170 for the whole course. We do not offer partial tickets. \n\n\n\nA limited number of bursary tickets are available for £140 for underrepresented writers or those on a low income. To book without Eventbrite fees\, or to apply for a bursary discount\, email commapublishing@yahoo.com. \n\n\n\nPLEASE BE AWARE: If the minimum number of attendees is not reached by 2 weeks from the course start date\, Comma Press may cancel or postpone. At this point\, attendees will receive a full refund. \n\n\n\nComma Press is not-for-profit publisher and development agency specialising in short fiction from the UK and beyond. \n\n\n\nBrontë Schiltz is a journalist with The Big Issue and Big Issue North\, a freelance contributor to Horrified Magazine\, and a PhD candidate with the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University\, where she researches the Televisual Gothic (horror on and about TV). She is a writer of short stories\, flash fiction\, creative non-fiction\, poetry and theatre\, and her work has featured in publications including Lotus Eater Magazine\, Olney Magazine\, The First Line and Hungry Ghost Magazine. She has also appeared on podcasts including The Ghost Story Book Club\, Victorian Legacies\, BERGCAST and Chronicles of the Quarter Life.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/writing-the-gothic-short-story-course/
LOCATION:Grosvenor East\, Cavendish Street\, Manchester\, M15 6BG
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250819T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250819T213000
DTSTAMP:20250716T111214Z
CREATED:20250716T111213Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250716T111214Z
UID:1214-1755630000-1755639000@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Gothic Fiction & The Female Writer
DESCRIPTION:Join Manchester Gothic Centre’s Co-Director\, Emma Liggins\, in London or live streamed online on Tuesday August 19th as she gives a Seed Talk on the topic of Gothic Fiction and the Female Writer. \n\n\n\nWhat do Gothic novels and the supernatural have to do with feminism? A surprising amount. \n\n\n\nBack in the 18th century\, Gothic novels and ghost stories – many written by and for women – began to gain serious popularity. Behind the eerie castles and haunted houses\, many of these stories explored big questions about women’s roles in society: their work\, education\, independence\, and sexuality. \n\n\n\nThis talk looks at how women writers used horror and the supernatural to push back against the expectations of their time. By turning everyday anxieties into eerie\, unsettling fiction\, they revealed the darker sides of patriarchy and colonialism. From Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho to Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre\, and the ghost stories of Elizabeth Gaskell\, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and E. Nesbit\, women have long used Gothic fiction to explore what it really costs to be independent. And as the popularity of horror films and series like The Haunting of Hill House show\, the ghosts of lost female histories don’t stay buried for long. \n\n\n\nDoors open at 7:00pm\, talk starts at 7.30pm – come down early to grab a good seat! Or book a live stream ticket to enjoy from your sofa. \n\n\n\nDr Emma Liggins is a Reader in English Literature in the Department of English at Manchester Metropolitan University and Co-Director of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies. She has published widely on the short story\, Victorian women’s writing and the supernatural. Publications include (with Andrew Maunder and Ruth Robbins)\, The British Short Story (Palgrave\, 2010)\, The Haunted House in Women’s Ghost Stories\, 1850-1945: Gender\, Space and Modernity (Palgrave\, 2020) and a chapter on ‘The Edwardian Supernatural’ in The Edinburgh Companion to Twentieth-Century Gothic (Edinburgh University Press\, 2022). She is currently researching memorial cards\, cemetery headstones and dark tourism for a new book on Victorian and Edwardian Death Spaces: Gender and Memorialisation for Manchester University Press.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/gothic-fiction-the-female-writer/
LOCATION:Arches London Bridge\, 8 Bermondsey Street\, London\, SE1 2ER\, United Kingdom
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250723T183000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250723T200000
DTSTAMP:20250616T113352Z
CREATED:20250616T113351Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250616T113352Z
UID:1194-1753295400-1753300800@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:MODERATION: Elaine Castillo in conversation with Susan Barker
DESCRIPTION:Susan Barker\, author of Old Soul\, and member of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies will be in conversation Elaine Castillo and discussing her novel\, MODERATION. \n\n\n\nBlackwell’s Bookshop\, Manchester \n\n\n\nDoors: 6.30pm\, starts: 6.45pm \n\n\n\nTickets are £4. Admission is free when purchasing a copy the book. \n\n\n\nAbout the author: \n\n\n\nElaine Castillo\, named one of “30 of the Planet’s Most Exciting Young People” by the Financial Times\, was born and raised in the Bay Area. Her debut novel\, America Is Not the Heart\, was a finalist for numerous prizes including the Elle Big Book Award\, the Center for Fiction Prize\, and the Aspen Words Literary Prize and was named a best book of 2018 by NPR\, Real Simple\, Lit Hub\, The Boston Globe\, San Francisco Chronicle\, The New York Post\, Kirkus Reviews\, and the New York Public Library. \n\n\n\nAbout Susan:  \n\n\n\nSusan Barker is the author of four books. Her third novel\,The Incarnations\, was a New York Times Editors’ Choice and Notable Book\, a Kirkus Reviews’ Top Ten Book of the Year and shortlisted for the Kirkus Prize for Fiction. An excerpt from her fourth novel\,Old Soul\,won a Northern Writers’ Award for Fiction in 2020. Susan currently lives in Manchester\, where she is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. \n\n\n\nAbout the book: \n\n\n\nGirlie\, a thirty-something Filipinx-American\, works a day job at a social-media moderation centre\, flagging and removing the very worst that makes it on to the internet. She’s good at it\, too – dispassionate\, unflinching\, maybe because she learned by necessity to cauterise all her emotions when she was still a kid – so it’s no surprise to anyone when the social-media company for which she works offers her a big pay rise and an office to start moderating its new venture: virtual-reality theme parks\, stunning simulations of civilizations long-since dead.Despite the isolation that virtual reality requires from colleagues\, friends\, and family\, the unbelievable perks of her new job mean she can solve a lot of her family’s problems with money and mobility. She doesn’t have to think about the childhood home they lost back in the Bay Area\, or history at all—she can just pay any debts that come due. But when she meets William Cheung\, Playground’s wry\, reticent co-founder (now Chief Product Officer) and slowly unearths some of his secrets\, and finds herself somehow falling in love\, she’ll learn that history might be impossible to moderate and the future utterly impossible to control. \n\n\n\n“Castillo is a literary firecracker… Reading her is like pressing your finger on a bruise just to feel the thrill. If you liked Gabrielle Zevin’s Tomorrow\, and Tomorrow\, and Tomorrow\, and/or The Circle by Dave Eggers\, you’ll like this.” – Pandora Sykes
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/moderation-elaine-castillo-in-conversation-with-susan-barker/
LOCATION:Blackwell’s Bookshop\, 146 Oxford Road\, Manchester\, M13 9GP\, United Kingdom
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250709T173000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250709T184500
DTSTAMP:20250430T071038Z
CREATED:20250430T071037Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250430T071038Z
UID:1086-1752082200-1752086700@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Contemporary Gothic Reading Group 4: Heather Parry\, Carrion Crow
DESCRIPTION:Join members of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies for the final discussion of our Spring/Summer Contemporary Reading Groups for 2025. This is the last of a series of 4 reading groups (this year there are two in person and two online). These free sessions\, which we run in the summer months\, give us a chance to explore the prominent role of the Gothic in modern and contemporary culture. Come along for a relaxed conversation among enthusiasts and avid readers. \n\n\n\nThis reading group takes place online on Teams. The Teams link will be emailed to you two days before the reading group\, and on the morning of the event. \n\n\n\nFORMATThe session will be led by one of our postgraduate Gothic researchers Quen Took and Becky Alaise. There is no need to prepare questions or reviews. Please just turn up on the day ready to chat about the book. \n\n\n\nAUDIENCEThis reading group is free and open to everyone\, but please note that regular attendees tend to be postgraduate researchers and members of staff. For this reason\, the group might not suit total beginners. \n\n\n\nFor more information on the Contemporary Gothic Reading Group and other events organised by the Gothic Centre\, please visit our website: https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/ \n\n\n\nor join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1589997731237020 \n\n\n\nAbout Carrion Crow \n\n\n\nA powerful and spine-tingling gothic tale exploring mother-daughter relationships\, sexuality\, and class.There are some facts about the world that only your mother can teach you.Marguerite had been confined for the sake of her wellbeing.That’s what her mother had said.Marguerite Périgord is locked in the attic of her family home\, a towering Chelsea house overlooking the stinking Thames. For company she has a sewing machine\,Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Managementand a carrion crow who has come to nest in the rafters. Restless\, she spends her waning energies on the fascinations of her own body\, memorising Mrs Beeton’s advice and longing for her life outside.Cécile Périgord has confined her daughter Marguerite for her own good. Cécile is concerned that Marguerite’s engagement to a much older\, near-penniless solicitor\, will drag the family name – her husband’s name\, that is – into disrepute. And for Cécile\, who has worked hard at her own betterment\, this simply won’t do.Cécile’s life has taught her that no matter how high a woman climbs she can just as readily fall.Of course\, both have their secrets\, intentions and histories to hide. As Marguerite’s patience turns into rage\, the boundaries of her mind and body start to fray.And neither woman can recognise what the other is becoming.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/contemporary-gothic-reading-group-4-heather-parry-carrion-crow/
LOCATION:Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/avif:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/04/https___cdn.evbuc_.com_images_1016305173_897211129163_1_original.avif
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250626T173000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250626T184500
DTSTAMP:20250430T065844Z
CREATED:20250430T065843Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250430T065844Z
UID:1073-1750959000-1750963500@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Contemporary Gothic Reading Group 3: Hell Followed with Us
DESCRIPTION:Join members of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies for the third of our Spring/Summer Contemporary Gothic Reading Groups for 2025. This in-person reading group takes place during our Gothic Crossroads conference at Manchester Metropolitan University. These free sessions\, which we run in the summer months\, give us a chance to explore the prominent role of the Gothic in modern and contemporary culture. Come along for a relaxed conversation among enthusiasts and avid readers. \n\n\n\nManchester Poetry Library\, located on the ground floor of the Grosvenor East building on Manchester Metropolitan University All Saints campus\, is the North West’s first public poetry library. The library will be open for browsing from 17.15 onwards. To find out more about the library and its mission\, click here. \n\n\n\nFORMATThe session will be led by one of our postgraduate Gothic researchers Quen Took and Becky Alaise. There is no need to prepare questions or reviews. Please just turn up on the day ready to chat about the book. \n\n\n\nAUDIENCEThis reading group is free and open to everyone\, but please note that regular attendees tend to be postgraduate researchers and members of staff. For this reason\, the group might not suit total beginners. \n\n\n\nFor more information on the Contemporary Gothic Reading Group and other events organised by the Gothic Centre\, please visit our website: https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/ \n\n\n\nor join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1589997731237020 \n\n\n\nAbout Hell Followed with Us: \n\n\n\nAn instant New York Times bestseller\, this furious\, queer debut novel about embracing the monster within and unleashing its power against your oppressors is perfect for fans of Cemetery Boys. \n\n\n\nPrepare to die. His kingdom is near. \n\n\n\nSixteen-year-old trans boy Benji is on the run from the cult that raised him―the fundamentalist sect that unleashed Armageddon and decimated the world’s population. Desperately\, he searches for a place where the cult can’t get their hands on him\, or more importantly\, on the bioweapon they infected him with. \n\n\n\nBut when cornered by monsters born from the destruction\, Benji is rescued by a group of teens from the local Acheson LGBTQ+ Center\, affectionately known as the ALC. The ALC’s leader\, Nick\, is gorgeous\, autistic\, and a deadly shot\, and he knows Benji’s darkest secret: the cult’s bioweapon is mutating him into a monster deadly enough to wipe humanity from the earth once and for all. \n\n\n\nStill\, Nick offers Benji shelter among his ragtag group of queer teens\, as long as Benji can control the monster and use its power to defend the ALC. Eager to belong\, Benji accepts Nick’s terms…until he discovers the ALC’s mysterious leader has a hidden agenda\, and more than a few secrets of his own.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/contemporary-gothic-reading-group-3-hell-followed-with-us/
LOCATION:Manchester Poetry Library\, M15 6BG
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/avif:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/04/https___cdn.evbuc_.com_images_1016310503_897211129163_1_original.avif
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250624T170000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250624T190000
DTSTAMP:20250617T130334Z
CREATED:20250617T130333Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250617T130334Z
UID:1199-1750784400-1750791600@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Coded Black Launch Celebration
DESCRIPTION:Join British Academy Global Professor and friend of the Gothic Centre\, Maisha Wester to celebrate the launch of Coded Black\, the social Justice game for the PC.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/coded-black-launch-celebration/
LOCATION:The National Videogame Museum\, Castle House\, Angel Street\, Sheffield\, S3 8LN
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/06/Launch-poster-2.2.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250604T150000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250604T163000
DTSTAMP:20250430T070622Z
CREATED:20250401T133103Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250430T070622Z
UID:1060-1749049200-1749054600@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Contemporary Gothic Reading Group 2\, Special Edition: Susan Barker Reading Old Soul
DESCRIPTION:As part of Manchester City of Literature’s Festival of Libraries 2025\, Manchester Metropolitan University presents a special edition of its Contemporary Gothic Reading Group. \n\n\n\nThis event will take place at Manchester’s finest neo-Gothic library\, The John Rylands. In this appropriately eerie setting\, Susan Barker will be reading from her recently published novel\, Old Soul\, followed by a Q&A and group discussion. \n\n\n\nIt is free and open to everyone\, but registration is required. \n\n\n\nAbout Old Soul: \n\n\n\nWhen two grieving strangers meet by chance in Osaka airport they uncover a disturbing connection. Jake’s best friend and Mariko’s twin brother each died\, 6\,000 miles apart\, in brutal and unfathomable circumstances. \n\n\n\nEach encountered a mesmerising\, dark-haired woman in the days before their deaths. A woman who came looking for Mariko – and then disappeared. \n\n\n\nJake\, who has carried his loss and guilt for a decade\, finds himself compelled to follow the trail set by Mariko’s revelations. It’s a trail that weaves across continents and centuries\, leading back to the many who have died – in strange and terrifying and eerily similar ways – and those they left behind: bewildered\, disbelieved\, yet resolutely sure of what they saw. \n\n\n\nAnd\, at the centre of it all\, there is the same beguiling woman. Her name may have changed\, but her purpose has never wavered\, and as Jake races to discover who\, or what she is\, she has already made her next choice. \n\n\n\nAbout the author: \n\n\n\nSUSAN BARKER is the author of four books. Her third novel\, The Incarnations\, was a New York Times Editors’ Choice and Notable Book\, a Kirkus Reviews’ Top Ten Book of the Year and shortlisted for the Kirkus Prize for Fiction. An excerpt from her fourth novel\, Old Soul\, won a Northern Writers’ Award for Fiction in 2020. Susan currently lives in Manchester\, where she is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. \n\n\n\n“This is the kind of story you tell around a campfire as the lights of civilization begin flicker out around you; a global\, intelligent\, and ambitious archetypal nightmare” – KRISTEN ROUPENIAN\, author of Cat Person \n\n\n\n“Susan Barker’s Old Soul beguiles\, terrifies\, and utterly seduces you as swiftly and slyly as the mysterious woman at its center. It’s at once a thriller\, a postmodern mystery\, and an existential horror tale\, but perhaps most deeply it speaks to our current moment: the drift and terrors of loneliness\, the risks of intimacy and a piercing nostalgia that never lets us go” – MEGAN ABBOTT\, author of El Dorado Drive \n\n\n\nThis event will be hosted by the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies\, https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/ [manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk] \n\n\n\nThe Contemporary Gothic reading group runs every year between May and July and usually offers a combination of in-person and online events\, including author talks. \n\n\n\nFor more information\, please visit our Gothic Centre website or find us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1589997731237020/ [facebook.com]
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/contemporary-gothic-reading-group-special-edition-susan-barker-reading-old-soul/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/avif:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/04/https___cdn.evbuc_.com_images_983821783_255340100008_1_original.avif
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250521T173000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250521T184500
DTSTAMP:20250430T070522Z
CREATED:20250430T070520Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250430T070522Z
UID:1079-1747848600-1747853100@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Contemporary Gothic Reading Group 1: T. Kingfisher\, The Hollow Places
DESCRIPTION:Join members of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies for the first of our Spring/Summer Contemporary Reading Groups for 2025. This is the first of a series of 4 reading groups (this year there are two in person and two online). These free sessions\, which we run in the summer months\, give us a chance to explore the prominent role of the Gothic in modern and contemporary culture. Come along for a relaxed conversation among enthusiasts and avid readers. \n\n\n\nThis reading group takes place online on Teams. The Teams link will be emailed to you two days before the reading group\, and on the morning of the event. \n\n\n\nFORMATThe session will be led by one of our postgraduate Gothic researchers Quen Took and Becky Alaise. There is no need to prepare questions or reviews. Please just turn up on the day ready to chat about the book. \n\n\n\nAUDIENCEThis reading group is free and open to everyone\, but please note that regular attendees tend to be postgraduate researchers and members of staff. For this reason\, the group might not suit total beginners. \n\n\n\nFor more information on the Contemporary Gothic Reading Group and other events organised by the Gothic Centre\, please visit our website: https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/ \n\n\n\nor join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1589997731237020 \n\n\n\nIf you’d like to join us for our next in-person Reading Group on 4 June\, which includes a special Q and A with local author Susan Barker\, it is being held at John Rylands Library on Deansgate during the Festival of Libraries. To register\, click here. \n\n\n\nAbout The Hollow Places \n\n\n\nAward-winning author Ursula Vernon\, writing as T. Kingfisher\, presents a terrifying tale of hidden worlds and monstrous creations \n\n\n\nRecently divorced and staring down the barrel of moving back in with her parents\, Carrot really needs a break. And a place to live. So when her Uncle Earl\, owner of the eclectic Wonder Museum\, asks her to stay with him in exchange for cataloguing the exhibits\, of course she says yes. \n\n\n\nThe Wonder Museum is packed with taxidermy\, shrunken heads\, and an assortment of Mystery Junk. For Carrot\, it’s not creepy at all: she grew up with it. What is creepy is the hole that’s been knocked in one of the museum walls\, and the corridor behind it. There’s just no space for a corridor in the museum s thin walls or the concrete bunker at the end of it\, or the strange islands beyond the bunker s doors\, or the whispering\, unseen things lurking in the willow trees. \n\n\n\nCarrot has stumbled into a strange and horrifying world\, and They are watching her. Strewn among the islands are the remains of Their meals and Their experiments. And even if she manages to make it back home again\, she can’t stop calling Them after her. \n\n\n\nThis text has echoes of Algernon Blackwood’s classic tale of supernatural horror\, ‘The Willows’ (1907) – you may wish to give this a read for comparison\, if you’ve not come across it before. Available for free online here.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/contemporary-gothic-reading-group-1-t-kingfisher-the-hollow-places/
LOCATION:Online
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/avif:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/04/https___cdn.evbuc_.com_images_1016314883_897211129163_1_original.avif
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250516T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250516T200000
DTSTAMP:20250311T145054Z
CREATED:20250311T145053Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250311T145054Z
UID:1024-1747418400-1747425600@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Ann Radcliffe and Women's Gothic Writing
DESCRIPTION:Free public lecture on seminal 1790s Gothic writer\, Ann Radcliffe\, by Dr. Deborah Russell (university of York). \n\n\n\nAnn Radcliffe (1764-1823) was “the great enchantress” of her generation\, in the words of Thomas de Quincey. She changed the face of fiction in the Romantic period and shaped the development of Gothic romance. The extraordinary impact of her work also helped to cement an association between this genre and women writers and readers. But\, of course\, Radcliffe was far from the only woman writing Gothic fiction in the formative early days of the genre. This lecture will explore Radcliffe’s career in the context of the other women who inspired her\, imitated her\, and contested her vision of the Gothic. \n\n\n\nGenerously funded by the AHRC as part of the ongoing Ann Radcliffe\, Then and Now project based at the University of Sheffield. Followed by a drinks reception. \n\n\n\nDr Deborah Russell is a Senior Lecturer in Eighteenth-Century Literature at the University of York. Deborah’s research interests focus on Gothic fiction\, with a particular emphasis on women’s writing and discourses of national identity. She also works on Romantic-era theatre\, thinking about silence on stage\, spectacle\, and the politics of adaptation.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/ann-radcliffe-and-womens-gothic-writing/
LOCATION:Mappin Hall\, Sir Frederick Mappin Building\, Sheffield\, S1 3JD\, United Kingdom
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/avif:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/03/https___cdn.evbuc_.com_images_967910593_2315497762643_1_original.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250516T093000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250516T163000
DTSTAMP:20250430T072034Z
CREATED:20250318T153549Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250430T072034Z
UID:1046-1747387800-1747413000@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:The Lithic Gathering: a symposium exploring shifting temporalities and mythologies of ritual stone structures within art and visual culture.
DESCRIPTION:This one-day symposium organised by The Scholars of the Stones at MMU gathers Arts and Humanities academics and/or artists working in relation to Neolithic or other ancient stone structures\, focusing on the themes of materiality\, mythology\, affect and temporality. \n\n\n\nRitual/sacred stone structures\, such as henges\, dolmens and cairns of the Neolithic and Mesolithic era have been (re)visited\, (re)used and (re)invoked by societies over the centuries in relation to spiritual\, cultural and functional needs and desires. In the 20thcentury\, within a British context\, Stonehenge featured prominently in visual and popular countercultures\, whilst in the 21st century\, stone-specific or folklore zines and wanderlust communities have emerged in relation to these stone sites. \n\n\n\nProgramme \n\n\n\nPresentations will explore the ways in which these structures – and/or the materiality of the stone/the lithic itself – merges\, redefines or shifts historical and mythological narratives in relation to their manifestations within global visual cultures and artistic practices. \n\n\n\n@scholarsofthestones \n\n\n\nKeynotes: \n\n\n\nProfessor Tim Edensor – Landscape and place\, local shifting meanings and ludic practices\, and the ethic of care for monoliths \n\n\n\nDr Charlotte Coull – Living tradition or dead civilisation? Indian megaliths on British time \n\n\n\nCurrently confirmed panel session speakers include: \n\n\n\nDr Jennie Bailey – The Stones of Rochdale: Three Creative Pieces Inspired by Place \n\n\n\nAnna Gidman and Ralph Parker – Hengeing a house- housing a henge: Revisiting the henge as a design tool and method for living \n\n\n\nDavid Berwick – O Maen \n\n\n\nDr Ian Grosz – This is Our Place: Narrative and Interpretation at the Callanish Standing Stones. \n\n\n\nCristina Moraru – Touching Time: The Aesthetic and Affective Presence of Sacred Stones in Contemporary Photography \n\n\n\nMartha Lineham – Haptic and Tender Practices of Ancient Rural and Contemporary Urban Stone Circles \n\n\n\nPaul Vivian – Acoustics and non-human agency in Neolithic and Bronze Age rituals at Stone Circle sites \n\n\n\nLiúsaidh Ashley Watt – Stones in Focus \n\n\n\nThe presentations vary from short films\, artist show and tells and traditional papers. Final programme released nearer to event. There will be time chaired for questions at the end of each panel session.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/the-lithic-gathering-shifting-temporalities-and-mythologies-of-ritualstone-structures/
LOCATION:SODA (School of Digital Arts)\, 14 Higher Chatham Street\, Manchester\, M15 6ED\, United Kingdom
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/03/image.png
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250402T140000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250402T170000
DTSTAMP:20250319T090419Z
CREATED:20250319T090418Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250319T090419Z
UID:1048-1743602400-1743613200@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:North West Long 19C seminar
DESCRIPTION:\, Wednesday 2 April\, 12-5 pm \n\n\n\nOur friends The North West Long Nineteenth Century Network are a group of Man Met scholars and postgraduates that share interests and collaborate with Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies on aspects and topics of Victorian Gothic. \n\n\n\nJoin them for the next North West Long Nineteenth Century research seminar on the topic of ‘Transnational Popular Print in the Long Nineteenth Century’ that includes contributions on the Gothic in the nineteenth century.  \n\n\n\nDate and Venue: GM G.09A on Wed 2nd April\, 12-5pm. \n\n\n\nProgramme \n\n\n\nInternational Scholar Talk \n\n\n\nWe’re really delighted to have Dr Jeroen Salman from the University of Utrecht join us for the afternoon. \n\n\n\nManchester Scholar Papers \n\n\n\nDr Jodie Matthews (MMU): Title: “Follow the Plants: Rhizomatic Reading Across Borders”   \n\n\n\nClara Dawson (Manchester): Title: “’Avian Poetics: Human-Bird Relations in the Nineteenth Century.”  \n\n\n\nSonja Lawrenson (LJMU and MMU): Title: “The Punch Almanack in its Transnational Contexts” \n\n\n\n‘PhD in Progress Panel’ \n\n\n\nRebecca Alaise (MMU): Title: “Sparring for Sonic Supremacy: Gothicising the Battle Between German and Italian Classical Music in Literature of the Fin de Siècle.”  \n\n\n\nSarah Dutson (MMU): Title: “Transnational Spiritualism in the Neo-Victorian Gothic Context.”  \n\n\n\nHaseeb Khan (MMU): Title: “Seeking a Long History of British Muslim Identity in Liverpool and Manchester.”  \n\n\n\nGareth Rees (MMU): Title: “Why Resurrect David Lloyd George?” \n\n\n\nFor further info and to register please click here. Any questions\, please email Sonja Lawrenson on s.lawrenson@mmu.ac.uk.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/north-west-long-19c-seminar/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/avif:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/03/https___cdn.evbuc_.com_images_977544293_106745579885_1_original.avif
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250227T180000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250227T180000
DTSTAMP:20250128T114019Z
CREATED:20250128T113507Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250128T114019Z
UID:973-1740679200-1740679200@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Ghosts: In History & Performance 
DESCRIPTION:Ever wondered why Gothic fiction and nineteenth-century ghost stories were often set in old-fashioned country houses? This special event combines a short talk on Gothic architecture by researcher Dr Emma Liggins with a spine-chilling ghost story performance by award-winner writer and theatre maker Adam Z Robinson. \n\n\n\nEmma’s talk\, ‘Gothic architecture and the development of the ghost story’\, asks why tales of haunting dwelt on the ancestral home with its many rooms and corridors from the 1790s to the late nineteenth century. Why was the haunted country house\, castle or abbey so popular with readers? Why were servants key characters? How did this link to travel and tourism? This talk begins with Ann Radcliffe’s popular Gothic novel The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) and considers its influence on Victorian ghost stories such as Mary Braddon’s ‘The Shadow in the Corner’\, Elizabeth Gaskell’s ‘The Old Nurse’s Story’ and Henry James’ ‘The Turn of the Screw’.  \n\n\n\nAdam Z. Robinson will perform adaptations of Algernon Blackwood’s ‘The Kit Bag’ (1908) and Bram Stoker’s ‘The Judge’s House’ (1891) from his stage show Nightmares. \n\n\n\nDr Emma Liggins is Reader in English Literature in the Department of English at Manchester Metropolitan University and Co-Director of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies. She is the author of The Haunted House in Women’s Ghost Stories\, 1850-1945: Gender\, Space and Modernity (2020).https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/ \n\n\n\nAdam Z. Robinson has just finished touring his show Nightmares which includes the performance of 3 classic Victorian and Edwardian ghost stories: Algernon Blackwood’s ‘The Kit Bag’ (1908)\, E. Nesbit’s ‘John Charrington’s Wedding’ (1891) and Bram Stoker’s ‘The Judge’s House’ (1891). https://adamzrobinson.com/ \n\n\n\nTickets are £25 per person. Please note that limited tickets are available. Refreshments will be available on the night.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/ghosts-in-history-performance/
LOCATION:The Old Dining Room\, Thirsk Hall\, Kirkgate\, Thirsk\, North Yorkshire\, YO7 1PL\, United Kingdom
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/01/Adam-Z.-Robinson.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250219T183000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250219T200000
DTSTAMP:20250128T113804Z
CREATED:20241216T145228Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250128T113804Z
UID:953-1739989800-1739995200@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:VICTORIAN PSYCHO - Virginia Feito in conversation with Xavier Aldana Reyes
DESCRIPTION:Blackwell’s Bookshop\, Manchester\, welcomes Virginia Feito to the shop to discussion her gruesomely brilliant new novel VICTORIAN PSYCHO\, which probes the psyche of a bloodthirsty governess in Victorian England. Virginia will be in conversation with Xavier Aldana Reyes\, a founder of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies. \n\n\n\nDoors: 6.30pm\, starts: 6.45pm \n\n\n\nTickets are £4. Admission is free when purchasing a copy the book. \n\n\n\nWinifred Notty arrives at Ensor House prepared to play the perfect Victorian governess. She’ll dutifully tutor her charges\, Drusilla and Andrew\, tell them bedtime stories\, and only joke about eating children. But the longer Winifred spends within the estate’s dreary confines and the more she learns of the perversions and pathetic preoccupations of the Pounds family\, the more trouble she has sticking to her plan. \n\n\n\nWhether creeping across the moonlit lawns in her undergarments or gently tormenting the house staff\, Winifred struggles at every turn to stifle the horrid compulsions of her past until her chillingly dark imagination breaches the feeble boundary of reality on Christmas morning. Wielding her signature sardonic wit and a penchant for the gorgeously macabre\, Virginia Feito returns with a vengeance in Victorian Psycho. \n\n\n\nAbout the author: \n\n\n\nRaised in Madrid and Paris\, Virginia Feito studied English and Drama at Queen Mary University of London. Her first novel\, Mrs. March\, was published in 2021. She writes for Vanity Fair Spain. \n\n\n\nTickets are £4.00. Admission is free when purchasing a copy of the book. If you cannot make the event but would like a dedicated copy of the book\, please email events.manchester@blackwell.co.uk or call us on 0161 274 3331. \n\n\n\nOur event format is usually a 45 minute discussion between the author and interviewer\, followed by a chance for audience members to ask questions. There will be the opportunity to get your book signed/dedicated after the event. Events are a brilliant opportunity to discover new books\, meet authors and likeminded readers and learn something new. \n\n\n\nSupport your local bookshop and help us keep the Manchester literary scene vibrant and exciting. You can follow us on Eventbrite and social media (@BlackwellsMCR) to keep up to date on upcoming events.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/953/
LOCATION:146 Oxford Road Manchester M13 9GP\, 146 Oxford Road\, Manchester\, M13 9GP\, United Kingdom
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2024/12/https___cdn.evbuc_.com_images_915545813_196354069015_1_original.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250213T183000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250213T200000
DTSTAMP:20241210T114233Z
CREATED:20241210T113803Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241210T114233Z
UID:917-1739471400-1739476800@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:OLD SOUL - Susan Barker in conversation with Zoe Li
DESCRIPTION:We are delighted to celebrate the publication of OLD SOUL by Susan Barker in partnership with Centre for Gothic Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University. Susan will be in conversation with Zoe Li\, founder of online bookshop Juniper by the Sea. \n\n\n\nDoors: 6.30pm\, starts: 6.45pm \n\n\n\nTickets are £4.00. Admission is free when purchasing a copy of the book\, which is available at a special launch event price of £14.99 on the evening or as part of the advance ticket. \n\n\n\nAbout the book: \n\n\n\nWhen two grieving strangers meet by chance in Osaka airport they uncover a disturbing connection. Jake’s best friend and Mariko’s twin brother each died\, 6\,000 miles apart\, in brutal and unfathomable circumstances. \n\n\n\nEach encountered a mesmerising\, dark-haired woman in the days before their deaths. A woman who came looking for Mariko – and then disappeared. \n\n\n\nJake\, who has carried his loss and guilt for a decade\, finds himself compelled to follow the trail set by Mariko’s revelations. It’s a trail that weaves across continents and centuries\, leading back to the many who have died – in strange and terrifying and eerily similar ways – and those they left behind: bewildered\, disbelieved\, yet resolutely sure of what they saw. \n\n\n\nAnd\, at the centre of it all\, there is the same beguiling woman. Her name may have changed\, but her purpose has never wavered\, and as Jake races to discover who\, or what she is\, she has already made her next choice. \n\n\n\nBut will knowing her secret be enough to stop her? \n\n\n\n“This the kind of story you tell around a campfire as the lights of civilization begin flicker out around you; a global\, intelligent\, and ambitious archetypal nightmare” – KRISTEN ROUPENIAN\, author of Cat Person \n\n\n\n“Susan Barker’sOld Soul beguiles\, terrifies\, and utterly seduces you as swiftly and slyly as the mysterious woman at its center. It’s at once a thriller\, a postmodern mystery\, and an existential horror tale\, but perhaps most deeply it speaks to our current moment: the drift and terrors of loneliness\, the risks of intimacy and a piercing nostalgia that never lets us go” – MEGAN ABBOTT\, author of El Dorado Drive \n\n\n\nAbout the author: \n\n\n\nSUSAN BARKER is the author of four books. Her third novel\,The Incarnations\, was a New York Times Editors’ Choice and Notable Book\, a Kirkus Reviews’ Top Ten Book of the Year and shortlisted for the Kirkus Prize for Fiction. An excerpt from her fourth novel\,Old Soul\,won a Northern Writers’ Award for Fiction in 2020. Susan currently lives in Manchester\, where she is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University. \n\n\n\nAbout the host: \n\n\n\nZOE LI is the founder of Juniper by the Sea\, an online bookshop and cultural platform dedicated to writers of East and South East Asian heritage\, particularly those in the diaspora. Zoe is based in Manchester and the bookshop can be found here: www.juniperbythesea.com \n\n\n\nCentre for Gothic Studies: \n\n\n\nThe event is in partnership with the Centre for Gothic Studies at MMU\, which works nationally and internationally to represent and promote the broad field of Gothic and horror studies\, from literature\, creative writing\, culture and heritage\, cinema and drama to television\, art\, architecture\, games and media.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/old-soul-susan-barker-in-conversation-with-zoe-li/
LOCATION:146 Oxford Road Manchester M13 9GP\, 146 Oxford Road\, Manchester\, Lancashire\, M13 9GP\, United Kingdom
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2024/12/https___cdn.evbuc_.com_images_911425613_196354069015_1_original.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20250212T170000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20250212T183000
DTSTAMP:20250110T094158Z
CREATED:20250110T094051Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250110T094158Z
UID:966-1739379600-1739385000@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Book Launch: Contemporary Body Horror by Xavier Aldana Reyes
DESCRIPTION:Join the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies for this book launch to celebrate the exciting recent publication of Contemporary Body Horror (Cambridge Elements\, 2024) by our Centre member\, Dr Xavier Aldana Reyes. The book addresses biopolitics\, infection\, embodied identities and metamorphosis and the consequences of the biotechnological revolution on the human\, focussing specifically on 21st-century body horror on screen. \n\n\n\nThe event will begin with refreshments from 17.00 in the Geoffrey Manton atrium (outside Lecture Theatre 5 on the ground floor). There will be the opportunity to buy discounted copies of the book at a publisher’s stall. At 17.30 there will be a Q and A with the author\, hosted by Brontë Schiltz\, from the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies\, followed by questions from the audience. \n\n\n\nThis is a free hybrid event\, with the option to join us on campus in central Manchester or online via Teams. If joining online\, the link will be emailed to you two days in advance of the event and on the morning of the event as a reminder. Please book at least 24 hours in advance in order to register for the online link and join us from 17.20 onwards on Teams. \n\n\n\nContemporary Body Horror https://www.cambridge.org/core/elements/abs/contemporary-body-horror/10961433A22AB27B686E06079F5EAECF \n\n\n\n‘Body horror’\, a horror subgenre concerned with transformation\, loss of control and the human body’s susceptibility to disease\, infection and external harm\, has moved into the mainstream to become one of the greatest repositories of biopolitical discourse. Put simply\, body horror acts out the power flows of modern life\, visualising often imperceptible or ignored processes of marginalisation and behavioural policing\, and revealing how interrelations between different social spheres (medical\, legal\, political\, educational) produce embodied identity. This book offers the first sustained study of the types of body horror that have been popular in the twenty-first century and centres on the representational and ideological work they carry out. It proposes that\, thanks to the progressive vision of feminist\, queer and anti-racist practitioners\, this important subgenre has expanded its ethical horizons and even found a sense of celebratory liberation in fantastic metamorphoses redolent of contemporary activist movements. \n\n\n\nXavier Aldana Reyes is Reader in English Literature and Film at Manchester Metropolitan University\, UK. His publications include the books Contemporary Body Horror (Cambridge University Press\, 2024)\, Gothic Cinema (Routledge\, 2020)\, Horror: A Literary History (British Library Publishing\, 2016)\, Horror Film and Affect (Routledge\, 2016) and Body Gothic (UWP\, 2014). Xavier is co-president of the International Gothic Association and chief editor of the Horror Studies academic book series.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/book-launch-contemporary-body-horror-by-xavier-aldana-reyes/
LOCATION:Geoffrey Manton Lecture Theatre 5 ground floor\, Oxford Road\, Manchester\, M15 6LL\, United Kingdom
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2025/01/https___cdn.evbuc_.com_images_930935393_897211129163_1_original.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20241212T173000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20241212T190000
DTSTAMP:20241111T112547Z
CREATED:20241107T165757Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241111T112547Z
UID:855-1734024600-1734030000@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Portico Gothic Reading Group: Lancashire Folk
DESCRIPTION:Join us for an evening of Gothic Reading with a Lancashire lens. \n\n\n\nCo-hosted by Natalie Zacek\, Senior Lecturer on American Studies\, School of Arts\, Languages and Cultures\, University of Manchester and Dale Townsend\, Professor of Gothic Literature at the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies\, in conversation with Creative Producer\, Dr Debbie Challis. \n\n\n\nFollowing on from the recent “Weird as Folk” exhibition and our successful first session of the Gothic Reading Group earlier this year\, in this participatory session we will be reading and discussing “Lancashire Gothic.” Come along to talk about pre-circulated accounts\, factual and fictional\, of the creatures that lurk in the North of England! \n\n\n\nAll texts provided beforehand for a small contribution at registration.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/portico-gothic-reading-group-lancashire-folk/
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20241204T170000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20241204T200000
DTSTAMP:20241202T100210Z
CREATED:20241107T162205Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241202T100210Z
UID:846-1733331600-1733342400@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Creative Excellence: 'Starve Acre' Film Screening and Author Q&A
DESCRIPTION:In partnership with The Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies and showcasing the Creative Excellence of the Manchester Metropolitan University English Department\, the Festival of Research invites you to join us for a Q&A and chat with award-winning author Andrew Michael Hurley\, followed by a screening of his novel Starve Acre (2019)\, now a major film. \n\n\n\nAndrew Michael Hurley is a novelist and short-story writer of disturbing Folk horror set in and around Lancashire and Yorkshire. His first book\, The Loney\, won the 2015 Costa First Novel Award and the 2016 British Book Industry awards for Debut Novel and Book of the Year. His second book\, Devil’s Day\, was published in 2017 and went on to jointly win the 2018 Royal Society of Literature Encore Award for best second novel. \n\n\n\nThis event showcases the 2023 feature film adapted from Andrew’s novel Starve Acre\, and directed by Daniel Kokotaljo (Apostasy\, Myra) and starring Matt Smith (House of the Dragon\, Last Night in Soho\, Doctor Who) and Morfydd Clarke (Game of Thrones\, Lord of the Rings). \n\n\n\nAndrew’s latest novel\, Barrowbeck\, is released in October 2024. \n\n\n\nJoin Andrew and Dr Eleanor Beal (Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies) for an afternoon of rural isolation\, turmoil and unearthed horror! \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPraise for Andrew Michael Hurley and StarveAcre: \n\n\n\n*** Hurley’s feel for landscape as a defining characteristic of horror must count as a large part of what made his 2014 debut The Loney so successful. If anything\, Starve Acre demonstrates an evolution and concentration of his ability to summon a world divided and defined by the uncanny. *** (The Guardian) \n\n\n\n*** A physiological fantasia … vividly alive *** (The Sunday Times) \n\n\n\n*** Hurley has a fine talent for evoking the menace of his northern landscapes; places where weather\, rock and trees embody an active hostility to human endeavour and comfort. *** (The Guardian) \n\n\n\n*** Andrew Michael Hurley is writing the very best folk horror fiction out there. In that\, he has no rival. *** (Revenant Journal) \n\n\n\n*** this slow-burning chiller\, unnervingly scored by Matthew Herbert\, exhumes something primeval and toxic *** (BFI) \n\n\n\nAudience: Staff and doctoral students and the public. Please note\, Starve Acre has been certified as a 15 as it contains strong horror. Running time 96 minutes.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/creative-excellence-starve-acre-film-screening-and-author-qa/
LOCATION:SODA (School of Digital Arts)\, 14 Higher Chatham Street\, Manchester\, M15 6ED\, United Kingdom
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2024/11/https___cdn.evbuc_.com_images_879779193_106349426085_1_original-1.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20241122T100000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20241122T150000
DTSTAMP:20241104T160633Z
CREATED:20241104T160444Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20241104T160633Z
UID:677-1732269600-1732287600@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Writing the Gothic with Bronte Schiltz
DESCRIPTION:Comma Press Writers’ days are perfect opportunities for writers of all experience levels to experiment with new forms and meet new people! \n\n\n\nJoin us at Manchester Metropolitain University\, in association with the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies\, for a gothic workshop (10am-12.00pm) led by author Bronte Schiltz\, followed by a panel discussion\, readings and a Q&A (13.00-15.00pm) where Bronte will be joined by fellow gothic authors Leonie Rowland and Alan Smith. \n\n\n\nThis is the perfect chance to ask questions about writing or getting published. There will also be time for any book signings! \n\n\n\nTickets are free of charge but please register in the Eventbrite so we know who’s coming! https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/writing-the-gothic-with-bronte-schiltz-tickets-1072923425849 \n\n\n\nFor queries or more info\, please email george.forster@commapress.co.uk
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/writing-the-gothic-with-bronte-schiltz/
LOCATION:Geoffrey Manton Building – Room 223 (workshop)/ Lecture Theatre 4 (panel discussion)\, Rosamond St West\, Manchester\, M15 6EB\, United Kingdom
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2024/09/https___cdn.evbuc_.com_images_842343069_292878373332_1_original.jpeg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20241120T170000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20241120T190000
DTSTAMP:20240925T160408Z
CREATED:20240925T160408Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240925T160408Z
UID:453-1732122000-1732129200@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Post-Twilight Austen-Vampire Mashups - research paper by Eric Parisot
DESCRIPTION:We’re delighted to welcome visiting international scholar Assistant Professor Eric Parisot (University of Adelaide\, Australia) to the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies this November. He will be working with our Gothic postgraduates and offering a series of workshops. \n\n\n\nJoin us for this hybrid event drawing on work for Eric’s recently published book Jane Austen and Vampires: Love\, Sex and Immortality in the New Millenium (Palgrave\, 2024). The paper will be followed by a Q and A. Refreshments will be available outside Lecture Theatre 5 before the event. \n\n\n\nFor those signing up for joining online\, the Teams link will be emailed to you two days before the event and on the morning of the event as a reminder. \n\n\n\nAusten Bites Back: Contesting Vampiric Feminism in post-Twilight Austen-Vampire Mashups \n\n\n\nIn this millennium\, two of the most popular literary cults have converged: those of Jane Austen and the vampire. Spurred by the runaway commercial success of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series (2005-08)\, fans have turned the worlds of Austen’s novels into a fantasy space for vampire romance—especially Pride and Prejudice. Some have fully embraced the erotic impulses of a vampiric Mr. Darcy. Others have sought to complicate this post-Twilight romantic fantasy. Amy Elizabeth Davis’ Darcy Bites: Pride and Prejudice with Fangs (2015) might even be said to write back to Meyer’s Twilight—itself inspired by Austen’s famous romance—to redress its potentially regressive and individualist feminism as an erroneous interpretation of Austen’s values. This paper will examine Davis’ Darcy Bites from this perspective\, and especially the relationships of the novel’s women with vampirism. It questions vampirism as a form of female empowerment\, and instead presents it as an obstacle to Austen’s feminist and romantic ideals. In doing so\, Davis’ mashup might be said to self-reflexively renounce the very Austen-vampire trend of which it is part. \n\n\n\nEric Parisot is an Associate Professor in English at Flinders University (Adelaide\, Australia). His primary interests lie in British eighteenth-century literature and culture\, especially related to death and suicide\, the Gothic and the history of emotions. He is the author of Graveyard Poetry (Ashgate\, 2013) and Jane Austen and Vampires (Palgrave\, 2024)\, and co-editor of Graveyard Gothic (Manchester University Press\, 2024). He is also the convenor of Flinders’ Horror and Gothic Group (HaGG).
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/post-twilight-austen-vampire-mashups-research-paper-by-eric-parisot/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2024/09/https___cdn.evbuc_.com_images_856895119_897211129163_1_original.jpeg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20241120T150000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20241120T163000
DTSTAMP:20240925T160243Z
CREATED:20240925T160242Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240925T160243Z
UID:450-1732114800-1732120200@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:The History of Emotions and Researching Gothic Literature
DESCRIPTION:We are delighted to welcome visiting international scholar Eric Parisot to Manchester Metropolitan University this week to work with our staff and students. This event is only open to students at Manchester Metropolitan University and is on campus. It is hosted by the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies in association with PAHC. \n\n\n\nPlease come to the Grosvenor East building\, GE.3.09 on the third floor. \n\n\n\nEric will discuss his work on the history of emotions and its potential applications to researching Gothic literature. He will talk particularly about his own research on eighteenth-century death and suicide and the ways in which drawing on the history of emotions has helped to shape his research practice. \n\n\n\nThis workshop will be of general interest to any students working in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. There will be opportunity for students to share details of their own research projects and the methodologies they have used for researching the Gothic and/or the history of emotions. \n\n\n\nEric Parisot is an Associate Professor in English at Flinders University (Adelaide\, Australia). His primary interests lie in British eighteenth-century literature and culture\, especially related to death and suicide\, the Gothic and the history of emotions. He is the author of Graveyard Poetry (Ashgate\, 2013) and Jane Austen and Vampires (Palgrave\, 2024)\, and co-editor of Graveyard Gothic (Manchester University Press\, 2024). He is also the convenor of Flinders’ Horror and Gothic Group (HaGG).
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/the-history-of-emotions-and-researching-gothic-literature/
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2024/09/https___cdn.evbuc_.com_images_856920169_897211129163_1_original.jpeg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20241028T140000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20241028T160000
DTSTAMP:20240925T160121Z
CREATED:20240925T160120Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240925T160121Z
UID:448-1730124000-1730131200@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Object handling workshop
DESCRIPTION:Special Collections Museum\, MMU\, object handling workshop\, Nicholas Crowe\, Culturally Sensitive Collections Lead (Wellcome Collection\, London)\, 2-4 pm – RISE link to be available shortly\, 10 student places)
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/object-handling-workshop/
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20241027T133000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20241027T143000
DTSTAMP:20240925T155846Z
CREATED:20240925T155845Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240925T155846Z
UID:445-1730035800-1730039400@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Why Can’t We See the Shrunken Head?
DESCRIPTION:Many people in the local area have fond memories of viewing Tsantsa (the shrunken head) as a child. In fact\, the question we get asked most is ‘where is it and why is it not on display?’ \n\n\n\nIn this talk\, we invite you to share your memories of our shrunken head\, before we explore the reasons it isn’t on display. You’ll learn the history of our particular item from our Collections Curator Gina\, and hear from expert Nicholas Crowe\, as they outline the history of tsantsa\, how they were produced and current thinking around displaying these items.  \n\n\n\nNicholas Crowe is the Culturally Sensitive Collections Lead at Wellcome Collection\, London. He is responsible for assisting in the development of policy frameworks for restitution and repatriation\, including human remains. Acting as a source of expertise in relation to the management of culturally sensitive collections\, Nicholas’ role contributes to improving Wellcome’s ability to develop\, manage\, describe\, and interpret collections with complex and multi-layered contexts and histories. Prior to this role\, Nicholas was Assistant Curator at the Pitt Rivers Museum\, University of Oxford.  \n\n\n\nNote – The shrunken head will not be in display as part of this talk. 
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/why-cant-we-see-the-shrunken-head/
LOCATION:Whitaker Museum and Art Gallery\, Haslingden Rd\, Rawtenstall\, Rossendale\, BB4 6RE
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/476/2024/09/gallery-and-stairs.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20241024T190000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20241024T190000
DTSTAMP:20240925T155548Z
CREATED:20240925T155438Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240925T155548Z
UID:439-1729796400-1729796400@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:In Conversation With Andrew Michael Hurley
DESCRIPTION:Join us for the launch of Andrew Michael Hurley’s latest spine-chilling novel\, Barrowbeck\, a sublimely dark slice of folk horror centering on the titular village of Barrowbeck on the Yorkshire-Lancashire border\, whose inhabitants are plagued by an unforgiving presence from the past at its eeriest. Andrew Michael Hurley will be joined by local author and lecturer\, Jenn Ashworth. \n\n\n\nDoors will open from 18:30 and some refreshments will be provided. Please be aware that this event will take place on the 1st floor where there is no lift access.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/in-conversation-with-andrew-michael-hurley/
LOCATION:Waterstones\, 3-5 Fishergate\, Preston\, PR1 3NN
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=UTC:20241019T103000
DTEND;TZID=UTC:20241019T143000
DTSTAMP:20240925T154610Z
CREATED:20240925T154218Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20240925T154610Z
UID:425-1729333800-1729348200@manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk
SUMMARY:Writing the Gothic with Bronte Shiltz
DESCRIPTION:A free writers event hosted by Comma Press. Explore gothic literature with author Bronte Shiltz\, with readings\, workshops and a Q&A session. \n\n\n\nComma Press Writers’ days are perfect for beginner writers to experiment with new forms and meet new people! \n\n\n\nJoin us in Manchester this October for a gothic workshop\, led by author Bronte Shiltz\, followed by a panel discussion where Bronte will be joined by fellow writers Leonie Rowland and a second TBC. \n\n\n\nThis is the perfect chance to ask questions about writing or getting published. There will also be time for any book signings! \n\n\n\nTickets are free of charge but please RSVP so we know who’s coming! \n\n\n\nDate and location TBC. Will take place the weekend of October 19/20th in central Manchester. Email george.forster@commapress.co.uk for more info. \n\n\n\nOrder (approximate) \n\n\n\n10.45-12.15 pm workshop – led by Bronte Schiltz12.15 pm -12.45 pm – Break for Lunch12.45 – 2pm – Readings\, Panel & Q&A \n\n\n\nAbout the authors: \n\n\n\nBrontë Schiltz is a journalist with The Big Issue and Big Issue North\, a freelance contributor to Horrified Magazine\, and a PhD candidate with the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies at Manchester Metropolitan University\, where she researches the Televisual Gothic (horror on and about TV). She is a writer of short stories\, flash fiction\, creative non-fiction\, poetry and theatre\, and her work has featured in publications including Lotus Eater Magazine\, Olney Magazine\, The First Line and Hungry Ghost Magazine. She has also appeared on podcasts including The Ghost Story Book Club\, Victorian Legacies\, BERGCAST and Chronicles of the Quarter Life. \n\n\n\nLeonie Rowland is a therapeutic writing practitioner and meditation teacher with an unexpected background in Gothic literature. She is the author of In Bed with Melon Bread (2021) and This Time of Life is Meant for Savages (2023). Leonie was a postgraduate with the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies at MMU and\, several lifetimes ago\, the Co-Director of Grimmfest and the Editor-in-Chief of The Hungry Ghost Project. She is currently friends with most of her ghosts. \n\n\n\nAbout Comma Press: \n\n\n\nFounded by Ra Page and Sarah Eyre\, and formally incorporated in 2007\, Comma’s initial purpose was to redress the dearth of short story publishing opportunities in the UK\, bringing award-winning writers like David Constantine\, Sara Maitland and Adam Marek to new audiences. Our popular\, long-running ‘Reading the City‘ series has proven that people’s engagement with place can override other barriers to reading fiction in translation\, and has now visited over 20 cities worldwide. Our interdisciplinary commissions celebrate the short story’s ability to take deep dives into cutting-edge research\, and our ‘Futures Past‘ series has delivered ground-breaking anthologies of science fiction from Palestine\, Iraq\, Kurdistan and elsewhere. \n\n\n\nComma has an international reputation for excellent and ground-breaking commissioning. Our titles and authors have won multiple awards ranging from the World Fantasy Award (Robert Shearman’s Tiny Deaths\, 2008) and the Shirley Jackson Award (The New Uncanny\, 2008) to the BBC National Short Story Award (David Constantine\, 2010the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award (David Constantine’s Tea at the Midland\, 2013)\, the Caine Prize (Bushra Al-Fadil\, 2017)\, and the Independent Foreign Fiction Prize (Hassan Blasim’s The Iraqi Christ 2014) – the first time it had been won by a short story collection or a book translated from the Arabic. Our podcast was shortlisted for the 2019 FutureBook Award\, Podcast of the Year\, and\, as a publisher\, we won the 2020 Small Press of the Year (Northern Region) at The Bookseller’s British Book Awards. In 2017 we also won the inaugural Northern Soul Northern Publisher of the Year Award. Comma has published two subsequent Nobel Prize winners; it has sold rights to its titles into over 30 languages\, sold 7 titles to Audible\, seen over 60 stories broadcast on BBC Radio 4 and had two stories adapted for the big screen: POSSUM (dir. Matthew Holness) and 45 YEARS (dir. Andrew Haigh)\, the latter receiving an Oscar nomination for Charlotte Rampling\, winning 2 Silver Bears at Berlinale and being voted The Guardian‘s No. 1 best film of 2015.
URL:https://manchestergothic.mmu.ac.uk/event/writing-the-gothic-with-bronte-shiltz/
LOCATION:Hope Mill Theatre\, 113 Pollard Street\, Manchester\, M4 7JA
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