A two-week festival running from 9 to 20 March is bringing local and bestselling children’s authors to Manchester, aiming to inspire a love of reading through representation.
Manchester’s See Myself in Books Festival is introducing diverse stories to children across the city, with authors visiting schools, libraries and cultural venues as part of a citywide celebration of reading for pleasure.
Delivered by Read Manchester, a partnership between Manchester City Council and the National Literacy Trust, the festival supports the National Year of Reading 2026 and introduces children to books that reflect the cultures, identities and experiences of their Manchester communities.
The latest National Literacy Trust research shows that reading for enjoyment among children and young people is at a record low, with fewer than 1 in 3 (31.8%) 8 to 18-year-olds in the North West saying they enjoy reading.
This means that tens of thousands of children could be missing out on the many benefits that reading brings – including boosting confidence and wellbeing and wider learning.
The charity’s research also suggests that access to diverse books could help to provide a boost to reading enjoyment, with almost 1 in 3 (31.5%) children and young people saying that having books that represent them would make them want to read more, but over half of children (53.1%) say they find it difficult to find books with characters or people like them.
Manchester’s schools reflect a rich mix of cultures and identities, with around 60% of primary pupils coming from ethnically diverse backgrounds, far higher than the national average. This makes representation in children’s books especially important.
Driven by this, the See Myself in Books Festival introduces children across Manchester to a wide range of authors and books with characters they can truly relate to.
The festival runs for two weeks from 9 –20 March, with 13 local, best-selling and popular authors visiting schools and libraries across Manchester.
Curated See Myself in Books collections, promoting ethnic diversity and neurodiversity, have also been distributed to more than 50 primary schools, and families can borrow featured titles free of charge from their local library.
“Encouraging our children and young people to read is really important to us in Manchester and we’re determined to do everything we can to support them in both reading for pleasure and reaping the wider benefits regular reading can bring.
“With all the research showing that children are more likely to pick up a book and read if they recognise people like them in it, we’re going all out to make sure children have access to books in which they can see themselves and their lives reflected – to help get them in the reading habit, and to make sure they feel included and empowered by the books they read.”
Councillor Julie Reid, Executive Member for Early Years, Children and Young People, Manchester City Council
One of the highlights of the festival so far has been a flagship schools’ event at Stoller Hall, where 350 pupils from nine local primary schools heard from three inspiring children’s authors.
Through live readings and a draw-along, the children explored the authors’ books and learned how the characters were influenced by their cultures and upbringings. Each child also received a brand-new book to continue their reading journey at home.
The impressive author line-up at the event featured:
Nadia Shireen (National Year of Reading ambassador, UKLA Book Award winner and author of the Grimwood series)·
Ashley Thorpe (Manchester-based author of Spirit Warriors, which draws heavily from Yoruba mythology and Caribbean folklore)
Humza Arshad (popular YouTuber and co-author of the Little Badman series).
After taking part in the event one 8-year-old said:
“I really relate to Humza’s story because my dad is Pakistani too.”, whilst his 7-year-old classmate added: “I think it’s important because it helps you feel like you fit in more with the people around you, even if they’re different from you.”
Ashley Thorpe, Manchester-based author of Spirit Warriors, said:
“If children don’t see themselves at the centre of a story, as heroes and main characters, then they grow up believing their stories aren’t worthy, or that people like them can’t be heroes too. But equally important is that children of any majority — whether that be ethnic, able-bodied, heterosexual, neurotypical — see a reflection of wider society and develop an understanding of, and respect for, everyone they share this earth with.”
The festival continues across the city until 20 March, with further events in schools and Manchester libraries.
See Myself in Books also supports the National Year of Reading, a Department for Education initiative in collaboration with the National Literacy Trust to address the steep decline in reading enjoyment in the UK.
Jill Connolly, Senior Project Manager at the National Literacy Trust said:
“After the success of last year’s launch, we’re incredibly proud for the See Myself in Books Festival return with another line-up of inspirational authors. When children see their identities, cultures and experiences reflected in books, reading becomes more personally meaningful and more joyful.
“In the National Year of Reading, we will be inspiring hundreds of children across Manchester to Go All In on reading by opening up a world of stories that reflect their passions, that they can relate to, and that they can access in many different ways.”
