“Join me on Saturday 26th March, 2-4pm, for my annual Hannah’s Bookshelf Live Poetry Special on North Manchester FM. And this year, it is actually live again (well, pretty much)! I’ve got 12 brilliant poets lined up to perform their work for you. Most of the poets will be performing live from the studio in Harpurhey, but a couple will be performing remotely from further afield. Check out who’s going to be on the show…” writes present Hannah Kate.

Ged Austin
Ged Austin, the Mancunian under-the-radar non-conformist urban poet, is the author of 50 different books and over 5000 original poems. He is a Manchester volunteer homelessness outreach worker, and a regular weekly podcast host for Drywave, the sober events charity organisation.

Bethany Rivers
Bethany Rivers has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and has two collections: the sea refuses no river (Fly on the Wall Press) and Off the Wall (Indigo Dreams). She is the author of Fountain of Creativity: Ways to Nourish Your Writing (Victorina Press) and the editor of As Above So Below online poetry magazine. She teaches creative writing and mentors writers one to one.

Andy N
Andy N is the author of six full length poetry collections, the most recent being Haiku of Life and does ambient music under the name of Ocean in a Bottle. He co-runs Chorlton-cum-Hardy’s always welcoming spoken word open mic night Speak Easy and runs/co-runs podcasts such as Spoken Label, Reading in Bed and Storytime with Andy & Amanda.

Amanda Steel
Amanda Steel is an author, poet, podcast co-host and copywriter. She co-hosts the book review podcast Reading in Bed. She has written several books including Ghost of Me, which was a finalist in the Author Elite Awards 2020.

John Darwin
John Darwin won the best spoken word show award at the Greater Manchester Fringe 2021 with his show John Darwin’s Happy Hour. His new poetry collection will be published by Flapjack Press in Autumn 2022.

Fiona Linday
Fiona wrote the YA Get Over It after her prize-winning short, ‘Off the Beaten Track’, won the Unique Writing Publication’s Short Story Award, with prose non-fiction, ‘Love’, published in YA eBook The Heavenly Road Trip. She has edited commissioned anthologies with Dahlia Publishing: Family Matters, an anthology of new writing, was published in 2019, and Making Our World Better was published in 2022. Her collection Count Our Blessings was published by Onwards & Upwards in 2021.

Jimmy Bongo
Jimmy Bongo is a comedy conscious poet, a documentary short film-maker, a reiki healer and an event organiser.

Thomas McColl
Thomas McColl has had poems published in magazines such as Envoi, Iota, Prole, International Times and Ink, Sweat & Tears, and his latest collection, Grenade Genie, came out in 2020 with Manchester-based publisher Fly on the Wall Press. Tom’s read his poetry and stories at many events in London (where he lives) and beyond – including Celine’s Salon, The Quiet Compere, Birkbeck Writer’s Room and Newham Word Festival – and has been featured on BBC Radio Kent, BBC Radio WM and TV’s London Live.

Patricia Cunningham
Patricia Cunningham was born in Dublin and raised in North Manchester. She moved away for a while and returned to Manchester 7 years ago. She writes short stories and plays, and she’s published a memoir based on growing up in the Irish/Catholic community of the 1960s.

Judy Morris
Judy Morris was a teacher and headteacher before becoming a writer. Her two books Face in the Mirror, a poetry anthology and teachers’ guide to support young people’s mental health and wellbeing, are due for release next month.

Tesni Penney
Tesni Penney is a poet and writer from the High Peak. Aside from writing, she is a keen horse rider, swimmer and has taken up skateboarding whilst at university. She loves being outdoors, and nature is one of the main inspirations for her work.

Paul Morris
Paul Morris was a lawyer before becoming an author, and apologises for this. His published books include fiction and poetry, and include his Amazon Poetry Chart topper Beyond the Morning Sun, which supports services charity Combat Stress.

These wonderful writers and performers will all be appearing on this week’s Hannah’s Bookshelf on Saturday from 2pm. You can catch the show on 106.6FM (if you’re in the North Manchester area) or listen online (if you’re further afield).