For all that Manchester has to offer - whether it's film, literature, theatre, music or exhibitions that take your fancy, we bring you the best, and worst, of what's going on.

Literature Section Editor - Rebecca Gould mancsanclit@googlemail.com

Spotlight On: Bill Rogers

Rebecca Gould

Our series looking at the best authors to come out of Manchester continues this month with new crime writer Bill Rogers. Read, get inspired, and maybe you could be featured on these pages...

Shelf Help

Rebecca Gould

Sad Santa’s gone and left us with a freezing cold January? Want to get back in the mood and recreate that Christmas blues feeling? Let The Sanctuary Literature section help you recapture the elements that make you feel so ‘special’ during the festive period.

Library Loving

Charlotte Rowland

Think the benefits of your library extend to harsh lighting and uncomfortable desks? Think again.

It's The Write Time

Rebecca Gould

In the gloomy climate of recession, it's time to get creative. While other businesses may be floundering, the creative arts have never been more promising, especially in Manchester. Find out why here.

Spotlight On: Carol Ann Duffy

Rebecca Gould

The first in a series of articles celebrating the very best literary talent to come out of Manchester. This month in the spotlight is novelist, playright and the present Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy.

Classic Revisited: The Snowman

We all know it, we all love it (and if you say you don't you're lying), and it just wouldn't be Christmas without it. Here we take a look at the book behind the film, and the song....

Festive Bargain Books

Rebecca Gould

Books are one of the easiest gifts to give - here we give you the round up of the best literary bargains!

The Jesus Wish List

Rebecca Gould

A short chat with THE most difficult person to get hold of at this time of year, and we exclusively bring you the Son's Christmas list.

Theatre Section Editor - Jessica Mann mancsanctheatre@googlemail.com

A New Company and New Writing for Manchester

Abi Hynes

Faro Productions is Manchester's newest theatre company, and we get a preview of their latest performance 'Lord, Life and Keeper'.

Review: Angels with Manky Faces

Lynsey Martenstyn

The latest offering from Manchester based MaD Theatre Company hits The Dancehouse, showing Victorian gang culture in Manchester. Did they live up to their reputation?

Why Theatre?

 Catherin e Roper

The theatre can be quite an intimidating place to anyone who hasn't been near a stage since
pantomimes as a kid. So here we give you all the advice we can on how to handle a visit to the theatre.

Review: Lady Garden

Jess Mann

Our very own home grown all female comedy troupe, Lady Garden have been touring and exciting critics since 2008. Having now performed at The Dancehouse we went along to see how the year had treated them.

Arts & Exhibitions  Section Editor - Antonia Grosse mancsancarts@googlemail.com

Review: Home Grown: The Story of Hip Hop (15^th October 2009- March 2010) – The Urbis Centre, Manchester.

Natasha Dunnoos

The latest offering from the Urbis traces the history of Hip Hop in Britain, through photography, fashion, film and of course, music. You might be pleasantly surprised by just how much you learn....

We are all species of Darwin Mania

Katie Taylor

Earlier this year it was his 200^th Birthday and many exhibitions across the UK and Europe celebrated. Now he has come to Manchester and is the subject of two exhibits. Charles Darwin and his life work are on display at the Manchester Museum and the John Rylands University Library, Deansgate.

America in Graphics

Antonia Grosse

The Whitworth Art Gallery’s latest print exhibition ‘The American Scene – From Jackson to Pollock’, is a solid visual documentation of the extraordinary social and political changes that marked early modern American life. On loan from the British Museum, it includes works by John Sloan, Edward Hopper, Josef Albers, Louise Bourgeois, Franz Kline, Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock

Les Enfants Terrible - Courtesy of Goya

Antonia Grosse

My first encounter with Jake and Dinos Chapman was a few years back at the old Saatchi Gallery, where I was greeted with an unpleasant sculpture of a life size tree, hung with dismembered and bloody mannequins. On viewing The Disasters of War, my suspicion that these `enfant terribles' were still as mischievous as ever was undoubtedly confirmed.

Music Section Editor Billy Bankes - mancsancmusic@googlemail.com

Gig review: Samson and Delilah

Polly Jackman

Contemporary folk is slowly, and perhaps quite unbelievingly, and forcefully making its way into all our iTunes libraries. Combining this with one of the best and weirdest venues in Manchester makes for a very good night.

Listen out for... Egyptian Hip Hop

Tom  Whitehouse

Not your usual Manc band, but perhaps that's a good thing in a time where guitar-driven indie seems to be a dying breed?

Album Review: Draygo's Guilt 'Trust Me...'

Billy Bankes

An album to relieve us of the generic, reality TV "superstars" that the Christmas season brings...

In 2010, Listen out for... Little Comets

Will Ramon

After clinging onto the coat tails of headline acts such as Hockey, The Noisettes and The Twang, 2010 could form the perfect platform for Newcastle’s latest hope ‘The Little Comets’.

Film  Section Editor - Rob Knowles mancsancfilm@googlemail.com 

Desert Island Flicks: Jeremy Kyle

Robert Knowles

What films would the UK's moral arbiter take to a desert island?

A Single Man

Scott McEwan

Tom Ford makes a stylish first appearance in the film industry.

Italian (blow) Job

Robert Knowles

 Tinto Brass, boobs, time and smurf genitals. Go on... click.

No Love Lost In Hollywood

Thomas Chalk 

Kathryn Bigelow and James Cameron used to be united in marriage; now they're competitors for the most prestigious award a director can recieve.   

Diary of a Disgraced Soldier

Robert Knowles

This contraversial film, presented by Kinofilm on 10th February at the Greenroom Manchester, is a disturbing, uncomfortable, but brilliant.  

A Controversial New Film gets its North West Premiere

Kinofilm presents the controversial micro feature documentary Diary of a Disgraced Soldier. Having played to success in Cornwall, here's info on how you can go and see what promises to be an extraordinary film for yourselves.

A Serious Man - Review

Scott McEwan

The new Coen Brothers film proves to be business as usual. With comedy, symbolism and larger than life characters, it gives the audience a lot to take home with them.

Spielberg and the Films he's not Making

Robert Knowles

The esteemed director of some of the worlds best loved films is down on his luck. There is hope, though...   

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus - Review 

Scott Mcew an 

Possibly one of the most hotly anticipated films of the year, clouded by the unfortunately and premature death of Heath Ledger, and perhaps one of the oddest  stand-in combinations you could think of. But is it any good?

Ten Reasons to stay in the U.S.A. (and keep watching movies)

Rob Knowles

With global domination securely within its reach, the U.S. of A is furthering its ideological hold on the world by persuading us, through the medium of film, why it's better to live there than anywhere else...