Performers Wanted for Live Poetry Special 2025

Want to perform your poetry on the radio?

The annual Hannah’s Bookshelf Live Poetry Special is back for another year!

On Saturday 8th November, Hannah’s Bookshelf on North Manchester FM will be broadcasting its annual Live Poetry Special (a little later in the year than usual, but better late than never!). And once again, I’d like to invite poets and spoken word performers to get involved and perform their work on the show.

I’ll be inviting poets into the North Manchester FM studio to perform their work live on the show from the studio in Harpurhey! Whether you’re a veteran performer or new to reading your work, I’d love to hear from you. Drop me a line via my website, or message me on Facebook or Instagram if you’d like to perform or would like more information about how to take part. Slots are limited, and will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Performance slots are 6 minutes long.

The Hannah’s Bookshelf Live Poetry Special will be going out on North Manchester FM on Saturday 8th November at 2-4pm. It will be broadcast on 106.6FM (in the North Manchester area) and online (for the rest of the world).

31 Days of Halloween: Day 1

It's the first day of Halloween month! Once again, we're celebrating for all of October. I'm not sure about everything the month will bring, but I imagine it will include pumpkins and horror films.

Walk and Talk in the Woods

And mushrooms, of course! Today started off with a Walk and Talk session for Friends of Bailey's Wood, and the number of mushrooms we spotted (including fairy rings) was incredible. We ended the session with a nice seasonal treat of apple pies and squash.

Fiendish Fancies

It's the season for Mr Kipling Halloween cakes! We had a Fiendish Fancy when I got in from the woods, and I imagine we'll have another one before the end of the month.

Mushrooms at Castlerea Care Home

I was volunteering at Castlerea Care Home this afternoon, and I couldn't help noticing a rather eye-catching display of mushrooms in the garden when I arrived.

The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue

I always like making sure I watch The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue at some point every October. Tonight, we went to see it at Cultplex (who also like to show it every October). It was a fun trip, because this was the first film at Cultplex after they've been closed for a big refurbishment, taking over the whole of the building and installing new seats and a new projector. It was really nice to be there for the reopening.

Halloween Stories Wanted for Hannah's Bookshelf on North Manchester FM

3 Minute Scares is back for its tenth terrifying year!

Can you tell a scary story in just 3 minutes? Want to have your work played on the radio? This month, I’m looking for spooky flash fiction from around the world for inclusion on Hannah’s Bookshelf, the weekly literature show on North Manchester FM.

On Saturday 25th October, I’ll be hosting the annual Hannah’s Bookshelf Halloween Special, and as part of my seasonal special, I’ll be playing a selection of my favourite 3 Minute Scares stories on the show (broadcast on FM and on digital). Want to be part of it? Submit a recording of your spooky story (maximum 3 minutes) by midnight on Monday 20th October.

The only rules are that stories must be your own original work, have some connection to the season, and be in English (the language of the broadcast). And please ease off the swears – stories have to be radio friendly! All you need is a microphone and a story – once you’re ready to submit your story, click on the ‘Start Recording’ button on my website to record your story and submit it. Remember to enter your name and email address when submitting your story.

If you aren’t able to submit via a recording and would like another method of taking part, please message via my website for more information.

Please share this call with anyone who you think might be interested – I’d like to cast the net as wide as possible. My favourite spooky stories will be broadcast on the Hannah’s Bookshelf Halloween Special at 2pm on Saturday 25th October, on digital radio and 106.6FM.

Autumn Equinox: Day 7

It's the final day of our Autumn Equinox celebrations! And it's the Autumn Equinox, so the first day of autumn! Rob was at work today, so I just had a few nice, lowkey things planned to celebrate the start of the new season.

Autumn Walk

Okay, maybe this wasn't the most dramatic nature walk ever, as I was only going to the supermarket. But I got to see plenty of little seasonal things along the way, not least the incredible amount of acorns on the oak trees.

Maple Hazel Hot Chocolate

Popped into Costa before tackling the supermarket. I don't normally like hot chocolate, but I felt obliged to have the most autumnal drink on the menu today.

Apple Crumble Cake

The rest of the day was mostly spent cooking and baking with things from our most recent Groobarbs veg box. First up was an apple crumble cake.

Banana Bread

I know I make banana bread all year round, but I'm calling this an autumnal recipe because I added blueberries to it!

Leek, Potato and Fennel Soup

I made a leek, potato and fennel soup today, which definitely tasted very seasonal. I served it with a bit of crumbled blue cheese (which you can't see in the picture) and some walnuts.


And so the wheel of the year turns... We'll be celebrating again at Halloween. And as we're doing 31 Days of Halloween again (starting on 1st October)... the wheel is turning pretty quickly this time.

Autumn Equinox: Day 6

The sixth day of our Autumn Equinox festivities... and time for a picnic!

Turton and Entwistle Reservoir

We went for a picnic today at Turton and Entwistle Reservoir today. It was so sunny!

Colourful Forest Tea

We took a moment to enjoy the season with Colourful Forest tea. I can't remember where I got the tea from, but it was nice to just pause, sip the tea, and let the season and the forest wash over us.

Autumn Equinox: Day 5

It's the fifth day of our Autumn Equinox festivities, and we had quite a lot planned for today. It's nice to be off work, so we can have a bit of seasonal fun today.

Autumn Equinox Walk in the Park

This morning, I led a seasonal walk for Friends of Crumpsall Park. To be honest, it just descended into a mushroom hunt, but there were some beautiful specimens to be found.

Hannah’s Bookshelf Autumn Equinox Special

Then this afternoon it was my annual Hannah's Bookshelf Autumn Equinox Special on North Manchester FM, where I played seasonal flash fiction from 15 writers, played some seasonal music, and ate some apple pies with the volunteers at the community centre where the radio station is based.

Autumn Equinox Dinner

We had our traditional Autumn Equinox dinner of vegetarian meatloaf and root vegetable & saffron rice tonight.

Autumn Equinox Gifts

And after dinner we exchanged our traditional gifts and cards. These whiskies will go into the tasting set that we'll enjoy in December.

Dark Night of the Scarecrow

We rounded off the evening with the traditional Autumn Equinox film... Dark Night of the Scarecrow.

Autumn Equinox: Day 4

It's the start of squash season! Hooray! We didn't have any time for festivities today (work), but we did have time for squash.

Spaghetti Squash

We got a spaghetti squash in this week's Groobox delivery, so we had it for tea, baked with cheese and truffle oil. 'Tis the season!