Performers Wanted for Live Poetry Special 2022

Want to perform your poetry on the radio?

The annual Hannah's Bookshelf Live Poetry Special is back! (With a couple of little changes...)

On Saturday 26th March, Hannah’s Bookshelf on North Manchester FM will be broadcasting its annual Live Poetry Special. And once again, I’d like to invite poets and spoken word performers to get involved and perform their work on the show.

For the first time in nearly three years, I'll be inviting poets into the North Manchester FM studio to perform their work live on the show! However, I have to admit I've enjoyed being able to feature work from poets from further afield on the last two poetry specials, so I'll also be offering a limited number of slots for poets outside Manchester to pre-record their performance for inclusion in the broadcast.

Whether you’re a veteran performer or new to reading your work, I’d love to hear from you. Drop me a line via the Contact page, tweet me or message me on Facebook 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. Please let me know if you want a live or pre-recorded slot when you contact me.

The Hannah’s Bookshelf Live Poetry Special will be going out on North Manchester FM on Saturday 26th March at 2-4pm. It will be broadcast on 106.6FM (in the North Manchester area) and online (for the rest of the world). Performance slots are 6 minutes long.

3 Minute Santas is back for its fifth fabulous year!

Can you tell a festive story in just 3 minutes? Want to have your work played on the radio? Time to submit your festive flash fiction to be played on Hannah's Bookshelf this December! This Christmas, Hannah Kate is once again looking for festive (not necessarily Christmas) flash fiction from around the world for inclusion on Hannah’s Bookshelf, the weekly literature show on North Manchester FM.

On Saturday 18th December, Hannah will be playing a selection of her favourite 3 Minute Santas on the show (broadcast on FM and on digital). Want to be part of it? Submit a recording via Hannah's website of your holiday-themed story (maximum 3 minutes) by midnight on Monday 6th December.

All genres welcome – be they cosy, romantic, scary or sad. But ease off the swears – stories have to be radio friendly! All you need is a microphone and a story – the details of how to submit are on the website.

3 Minute Santas will be broadcast on Hannah's Bookshelf at 2pm on Saturday 18th December, on digital radio and 106.6FM.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 30

The big weekend is here! And today was a busy day, involving several costume changes and a little bit of performance (and some pumpkin pie!).

Litter-Pick in the Woods

In honour of the spooky season, the monthly Friends of Bailey's Wood litter-pick was a fancy dress this month. I went as an angel, for reasons that might become clear shortly!

Hannah's Bookshelf Halloween Special

The Hannah's Bookshelf Halloween Special was on North Manchester FM. I presented the shortlisted stories for this year's 3 Minute Scares competition and, as is customary, I presented the show in fancy dress (the other half of my two-part costume for the day).

Dinner with my Mother-in-Law

Rob and I were at his mum's tonight for a Halloween dinner tonight. We took the opportunity to show off our Cluedo costumes in person, and also to partake of her very special pumpkin pie. My costume was not the most comfortable, so I did change into a slightly less coherent outfit later in the evening (complete with Halloween headband, Billy the Puppet earrings, and an appropriately spooky dress).

Today's Story

Today's story - the final story (as my book of '31 Horror Stories' turned out to only have 30 in it) - was 'Corabella' by David Fletcher. A creepy-kids story with a great final line. A good way to conclude my Halloween story-a-day.

Today's Tea

Today's tea (the penultimate tea!) was Bram Stoker from The Literary Tea Company, a fruit infusion with morello cherries. It's blood-red, of course, and it tastes delightfully and dramatically of sour cherries.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 29

My Halloween month is about to go up a gear as we approach the big day. I've got a few things planned for this weekend, but Friday was a pretty busy day as well.

Dracula Film Afternoon plus The Raven

Today was the annual Halloween Afternoon at Castlerea House (the care home where I volunteer on Friday afternoons). I kicked things off with the now-traditional dramatic reading of The Raven, complete with audience participation. And then the big event was the film. This year, the residents voted for their favourite Dracula and Bela Lugosi won! I think there might have been something wrong with my popcorn though.

Fancy Dress Cluedo

Every Friday, me, Rob and my mother-in-law play Cluedo together online. In honour of the spooky season, we played this week's game in fancy dress. We each picked our favourite character and dressed up as them for the night. I think we did pretty well too - my mother-in-law knitted a 7' scarf especially for tonight, and I learnt how to tie a cravat! Rob's mask was truly unsettling, though and I don't know if he should wear it again.

Ten Tales

The second series of Ten Tales, my series of seasonal (and local) ghost stories continued tonight on North Manchester FM. The second tale in this series is called 'Nocturne', and it's set in Crumpsall.

Today's Story

Today's story was 'Not After Midnight' by Daphne du Maurier. By far the longest story in the collection, this one builds up slowly with plenty of intrigue and suggestion. Oh, and a slightly obnoxious narrator.

Today's Tea

Today's tea was We Are the Weirdos, Mister from Tenacious Tea, rooibos with orange, ginger and star anise.

31 Days of Halloween: Day 22

Quite a busy day of Halloween things today, so this post is going to be a bit longer than the last couple!

Halloween Gin

I met up with a friend this evening for a couple of Halloween-appropriate gins from Wicked Wolf. Nice gin, nice company and a nice view!

Film Night

Next up, me Rob met up with a friend (virtually) for an online film night. We watched Bingo Hell (Gigi Saul Guerrero), which I really enjoyed even if the others didn't.

Cocktails

I'm cheating a bit with counting this one, as I get a Muddlebox cocktail subscription box every month, but I'm still going to count it! This month's cocktail was Sex in the Jungle, and between the colour and the Halloween straws, I've decided this fits the season.

The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue

And then it was a late night film for me and Rob... The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue (aka Let Sleeping Corpses Lie). Come for the zombies, stay for the incredible opening montage of 70s Manchester!

Ten Tales

The second series of Ten Tales, my series of seasonal (and local) ghost stories started tonight on North Manchester FM. The first tale in this series is called 'Redeem Thy Misspent Time', and it's set in Blackley.

Today's Story

Today's story was 'Back from the Grave' by Robert Silverberg. This one actually references one of the earlier stories in the book (Poe's 'Premature Burial') but gives an even more unsettling take on the idea.

Today's Tea

Today it was time for the poshest tea on my Halloween list... Toffee Apple Tea from Fortnum & Mason. Exciting!

Ten Tales returns to North Manchester FM!

I am delighted to announce that Ten Tales: Ghost Stories for North Manchester is returning to North Manchester FM for a second series this winter. Every Friday at 10pm, I'll be sharing a brand new and original piece of fiction, written by yours truly exclusively for North Manchester FM.

The nights are drawing in, and there's a bit of a chill in the air (or at least, you can imagine there is). It's the perfect time of year for old-school ghost stories on the wireless. Ten Tales belongs to the classic tradition of spooky seasonal stories... but with a uniquely North Manchester flavour. From Crosslee to Crumpsall, Hollinwood to Harpurhey, these stories draw on settings and history from around the local area, but with my own off-beat take on them. And they're (almost) all cosy tales for those darker nights.

Essentially... imagine if M.R. James had visited Dam Head estate instead of the British Library...

Ten Tales: Ghost Stories for North Manchester returns on Friday 22nd October at 10pm. The first story is entitled Redeem Thy Misspent Time. It's set in Blackley Village, where the church bells have started ringing again...

Episode List

Redeem Thy Misspent Time (Fri 22nd Oct)
Nocturne (Fri 29th Oct)
The Third Uncle George (Fri 5th Nov)
The Ice Palace (Fri 12th Nov)
Bradshaw's Vinegar (Fri 19th Nov)
Wireless (Fri 26th Nov)
Peril in Darkingford (Fri 3rd Dec)
Cream Crackers (Fri 10th Dec)
Nut-Nan in the Hazel (Fri 17th Dec)
One Hundred and Thirty Aged Men Sat Down to an Excellent Dinner (Fri 24th Dec)

You can listen to Ten Tales: Ghost Stories for North Manchester every Friday at 10pm on 106.6FM (if you're in the North Manchester area) or online (if you're further afield). Episodes will also be available on the station's 'Listen Again' service for a limited time after broadcast.

Draw the curtains, make some cocoa, try to ignore that rapping, tapping at your chamber door, and tune in the wireless for a brand new story every Friday night... only on North Manchester FM 106.6.

3 Minute Scares is back for its sixth sinister year!

North Manchester FM's Halloween creative writing competition is open for submissions for 2021.

North Manchester FM's Hannah Kate wants your scary stories for Halloween! She’s asking people throughout Greater Manchester to submit their 3-minute stories for her annual creative writing competition. Writers keen to be crowned Greater Manchester’s Spookiest Wordsmith can submit a recording of their mini-tale via Hannah’s website, with the best entries being broadcast on the Halloween edition of Hannah’s Bookshelf on Saturday 30th October.

We’re delighted to announce that this year’s 3 Minute Scares competition will be judged by horror legend Ramsey Campbell, with the writer of the best entry receiving a prize from Breakout Manchester, the live escape room game. Entries need to be 3 minutes long, meaning a word count of around 350-400 words. The judges will be looking for style and originality, as well as how scary the story is. The deadline for entries is Monday 11th October, at midnight.

Last year’s competition was won by Rose Cullen, who impressed the judges with her stylish and darkly humorous tale. Hannah Kate says: ‘Last year saw a bumper crop of entries for the competition, with a really strong shortlist. Rose's story impressed the judges by how well it handled the short form, but also with the delicious payoff it gave us at the end. The competition crown passed to a worthy winner, but I'm intrigued to see what this year’s entries will bring.’

All writers need to enter the competition is a computer with a microphone… and a good story. Entries can be recorded via Hannah’s website. More information and rules of the competition, including information for people unable to submit a recording, can also be found on the website.