Hannah Kate

poet, short story writer and editor based in Manchester

December 10, 2023

North Manchester FM: Hannah’s Bookshelf, Saturday 16 December, 2-4pm

Tune in to North Manchester FM on Saturday 16th December at 2pm for a festive edition of Hannah’s Bookshelf… it’s my pre-Christmas Christmas Special!

Coming up on this week’s show, I’ve got a fantastic selection of seasonal flash fiction, courtesy of this year’s 3 Minute Santas writers: Andy N, Rosie Cullen, Katie Willow, George Melling, Dorinda MacDowell, Allison Symes, Lisa Williams, Andy Redsmith, Rosemary Johnson, Tony Harrison, Martin Elder, Jenny Sanders and Jeanette Greaves. We’ve got thirteen seasonal bite-sized tales to get you in a festive mood, so pull up a chair, help yourself to some mulled wine, and settle in for some fabulous festive fiction. There’ll even be some Christmas music too!

Catch the Hannah’s Bookshelf 3 Minute Santas Special on Saturday 16th December at 2pm on 106.6FM (if you’re in the North Manchester area) or listen online (if you’re further afield).

Missed the show? You can catch it again here:

December 8, 2023

North Manchester FM: Hannah’s Bookshelf, Saturday 9 December, 2-4pm

Join me on Saturday for another episode of Hannah’s Bookshelf on North Manchester FM. This week, my guest will be the fantastic Tony Harrison.

Tony is a writer, teacher, lecturer and examiner. He has a PhD in American Literature from the University of Manchester and has worked for many years in secondary education and in higher education at Manchester University, Manchester Metropolitan University and Salford University. Tony has an MA in Scriptwriting from Salford University, was a member of the Manchester Royal Exchange Theatre Writers’ Workshop, and has written several plays. His short stories and poems have appeared in online publications and have been broadcast on Manchester local radio. Disappearing Acts is his first novel.

I’ll be talking to Tony about Disappearing Acts, and about his writing in general. And, of course, he’ll be sharing his selections for this week’s Apocalypse Books.

Catch the show on Saturday at 2pm on 106.6FM (if you’re in the North Manchester area) or listen online (if you’re further afield).

Missed the show? You can catch it again here:

November 29, 2023

North Manchester FM: Hannah’s Bookshelf, Saturday 2 December, 2-4pm

Join me on Saturday at 2pm on North Manchester FM for more News, Reviews and Short Interviews on Hannah’s Bookshelf. Here’s what’s coming up on this week’s show…

An interview with Andy N I first interviewed Andy back in October 2016, and our last catch-up was in August 2020. Andy is the author of 10 full poetry collections, the last one being Changing Carriages at Birmingham New Street, and he co-runs Chorlton Cum Hardy’s always-welcoming spoken word open mic night Speak Easy. He co-runs and runs podcasts such as Spoken Label (an author/artist podcast) and Cloaked in the Shadows (supernatural/paranormal chat) as well as doing ambient music under names such as Ocean in a Bottle, Polly Ocean and Mandy in a Bottle. Birth is his first novel.

A review of a new novel by Tony Harrison I’ll be reviewing Disappearing Acts, the debut novel by Tony Harrison.

A review of a new novel by Diarmid MacArthur I’ll be talking about Barloch: The Wind as Witness by Diarmid MacArthur (out now from Sparsile Books).

And What Are You Reading?… the section of the show where I ask writers about the books they’re reading at the moment. This week I’ve got another selection of reviews and recommendations. And if you’re a writer who’d like to take part, check out this post with details of how to join in!

Plus… you can hear my round-up of news from the World of Words. If you’ve got a news story you’d like to share, please use the News Form to submit it to the show.

Catch the show on Saturday at 2pm on 106.6FM (if you’re in the North Manchester area) or listen online (if you’re further afield).

Missed the show? You can catch it again here:

November 21, 2023

North Manchester FM: Hannah’s Bookshelf, Saturday 25 November, 2-4pm

Join me on Saturday at 2pm for Hannah’s Bookshelf on North Manchester FM. This week my guest will be the fab Deborah Jenkins.

Deborah is a freelance writer and part-time teacher. Her debut novel Braver (Fairlight Books 2022) was shortlisted for the Writers’ Guild Best First Novel Award and the Society of Authors’ ADCI Literary Prize. She has written educational textbooks as well as articles for the TES online and Guardian Weekend among other publications. Her short fiction has appeared in magazines and anthologies and she has also published a novella, The Evenness of Things. Her new book, Winter Lights, is a collection of short stories set in a small town in the run-up to Christmas.

I’ll be talking to Deborah about Winter Lights, her writing and teaching work, and about fiction generally. And, of course, she’ll be sharing her selections for this week’s Apocalypse Books.

Catch the show on Saturday at 2pm on 106.6FM (if you’re in the North Manchester area) or listen online (if you’re further afield).

Missed the show? You can catch it again here:

November 12, 2023

North Manchester FM: Hannah’s Bookshelf, Saturday 18 November, 2-4pm

Join me on Saturday at 2pm for more Hannah’s Bookshelf on North Manchester FM. This week, my guest will be the brill Jason Wilson.

An animation artist for ten years, Jason later worked in an international drugs ring headed by his father – Anthony Spencer – a notorious career criminal with a history of bank robberies and counterfeiting. Working and aiding his father, whether heading a drugs ring, on the run, on trial, serving time, or at death’s door following a shootout with rivals, Jason went on to write up these experiences in his book, The Old Man and Me. A social document of nineties drug smuggling, The Old Man and Me offers a frank and brutal account of a man’s life, of a son’s journey, of the need to find answers.

In recent years, an artist and psychology graduate, Jason drew graphic novels and worked in mental health before settling down to write true-crime books.

I’ll be talking to Jason about The Old Man and Me, true crime writing and his work in general. And, of course, he’ll be sharing his selections for this week’s Apocalypse Books.

Catch the show on Saturday at 2pm on 106.6FM (if you’re in the North Manchester area) or listen online (if you’re further afield).

Missed the show? You can catch it again here:

November 8, 2023

North Manchester FM: Hannah’s Bookshelf, Saturday 11 November, 2-4pm

Join me on Saturday at 2pm for another episode of Hannah’s Bookshelf on North Manchester FM. This week, my guest will be the fab Fiona Linday.

After supporting literacy in schools, Fiona wrote for young adults: Get Over It, Adventures, Onwards and Upwards. Before that came her prize-winning short story, ‘Off the Beaten Track’, and she won the Unique Writing Publications Story Award with ‘Love’, which was published in Spiritual Awakenings.

Fiona was published in an eBook anthology of short stories, The Heavenly Road Trip, with ‘Help For Writers’, and she also self-published a Great War Winners family history booklet for 7 to 11 year-olds. She enjoys facilitating with Attenborough Arts and Leicester University Life-Long Learners, and creating Arts Council England supported Family Matters & Making Our World Better with Dahlia Publishing. Fiona’s 2021 collection of short stories and poetry is Count Our Blessings, and she is currently drafting picture books set in nature. By raising awareness, she celebrates wildlife and builds up toddler resilience.

I’ll be talking to Fiona about her writing and coaching work, and about her collection on Saturday’s show. And, of course, she’ll be sharing her selections for this week’s Apocalypse Books.

Catch the show on Saturday at 2pm on 106.6FM (if you’re in the North Manchester area) or listen online (if you’re further afield).

Missed the show? You can catch it again here:

November 2, 2023

North Manchester FM: Hannah’s Bookshelf, Saturday 4 November, 2-4pm

Join me on Saturday at 2pm on North Manchester FM for more News, Reviews and Short Interviews on Hannah’s Bookshelf. Here’s what’s coming up on this week’s show…

A review of a new short story collection by Sonya Moor I’ll be talking about The Comet and Other Stories (out now from Cōnfingō Publishing).

A review of a new poetry collection by Christopher P. Mooney I’ll be talking about Stark Raving Naked, a new collection that’s available now from Naked Cat Publishing.

Library Haul!… I’ll be talking about the books I’ve checked out this month from Abraham Moss Library in Crumpsall.

And What Are You Reading?… the section of the show where I ask writers about the books they’re reading at the moment. This week I’ve got another selection of reviews and recommendations. And if you’re a writer who’d like to take part, check out this post with details of how to join in!

Plus… you can hear my round-up of news from the World of Words. If you’ve got a news story you’d like to share, please use the News Form to submit it to the show.

Catch the show on Saturday at 2pm on 106.6FM (if you’re in the North Manchester area) or listen online (if you’re further afield).

Missed the show? You can catch it again here:

October 25, 2023

North Manchester FM: Hannah’s Bookshelf, Saturday 28th October, 2-4pm

Join me on Saturday at 2pm on North Manchester FM for the 2023 Hannah’s Bookshelf Halloween Special. I’ll be broadcasting live from the North Manchester FM studio with the usual spooktastic shenanigans!

Most importantly, on this week’s show, I’ll be playing the shortlisted entries for this year’s 3 Minute Scares competition – and it’s an amazing collection this year (though a big warning for arachnophobes!) – before revealing the winner of the competition – Greater Manchester’s Spookiest Wordsmith!

All this, a bit of Halloween-themed music, and as is tradition I will be presenting the show in fancy dress!

Catch the show on Saturday at 2pm on 106.6FM (if you’re in the North Manchester area) or listen online (if you’re further afield).

Update! As I said on the show, I was in monochrome for this year’s Halloween Special!

Missed the show? You can catch it again here:

October 20, 2023

North Manchester FM: Hannah’s Bookshelf, Saturday 21 October, 2-4pm

Join me on Saturday at 2pm for another episode of Hannah’s Bookshelf on North Manchester FM. Today, I’m joined by a very exciting group of guests, as I’ll be talking about the upcoming (starts on Sunday!) Synagogue Nights series at Manchester Jewish Museum.

I’ll be joined by Demi Franks, Creative Producer at Manchester Jewish Museum, who’ll be talking to me about Synagogue Nights and this autumn’s programme of performances at the museum. We’ll also be hearing from some of the artists who will be performing this autumn: James Nissen (Journeys Into Jewish Song), Tanya Truman and Emily Rose Simons (Becoming Nigella), Peter Stein (Out of Exile: The Photography of Fred Stein), and Deb Filler (Kravitz, Cohen, Bernstein & Me).

Also on Saturday’s show… as it’s October… I’ll be talking about some of the seasonal books I’ve been reading this month. And, of course, by seasonal, I mean spooky!

Catch the show on Saturday at 2pm on 106.6FM (if you’re in the North Manchester area) or listen online (if you’re further afield).

Missed the show? You can catch it again here:

October 18, 2023

3 Minute Scares is back for its eighth ectoplasmic year!

North Manchester FM’s Halloween creative writing competition is open for submissions for 2023.

North Manchester FM‘s Hannah Kate wants your scary stories for Halloween! Once again, 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 28th October.

We’re delighted to announce that the prize for this year’s best entry is a fabulous Halloween book bundle (with a few little surprises). 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 Tuesday 24th October, at midnight.

Last year’s competition was won by Catrìona McLean. North Manchester FM presenter Hannah Kate says: ‘Catrìona was a worthy winner last, with a story that blew me and guest judge Daisy Black away with its creativity and expert use of the short form. I’m really looking forward to seeing what this year brings!’

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.