Another bonus episode today for Spoken Label (Poetry / Author Chat) features an exclusive chat with Jo from Urmston Books and Board Games.

Urmston Books and Board Games is an independent family-run bookshop and board game cafe designed to celebrate stories, both for you and by you. Our family personally select and curate our favourite books, board games and baked goods, bringing people together in community-centred events.

The episode today features a chat with Jo about Trafford's Celebration of Reading which is taking place on Saturday 6th June, 10:30am - 3:30pm at Urmston Library.

Trafford’s Celebration of Reading is a day of free literary events held in Urmston Library, co-organised by Trafford Libraries and Urmston Books and Board Games. A blend between a book fair and festival, the event offers talks and workshops across all ages as well as a chance for local authors to exhibit their latest books and introduce them to a local audience.

Tickets can be booked at: https://www.urmstonbooks.co.uk/celebration-of-reading

Urmston Bookshop and Board Games can be at: https://www.urmstonbooks.co.uk/

Entry to the event and book fair is entirely FREE and we'd love to see lots of you there, but spaces are limited for author talks and workshops, so do reserve your ticket in advance.

Urmston Books and Board Games can be found at 72 Flixton Rd, Urmston, Manchester M41 5AB

Urmston Library is at 34 Golden Way, Urmston, Manchester M41 0NA

Latest up from Spoken Label (Poetry Podcast) features making her debut, the amazing Alexis Quin.

Alexis is a poet, writer, musician, and shamanic/Reiki practitioner originally from the United States, now based in Manchester with her wife Danielle and their two cats, Jade and Salem. Raised between New York and the American South, her relationship to language was shaped early through literature, music, queerness, spirituality, and the emotional landscapes that exist between people.Though classically trained in music with foundations in blues and jazz, poetry remains the art form most deeply connected to her soul. Influenced by writers such as E. E. Cummings, Walt Whitman, and Audre Lorde - alongside the lyrical intimacy of Meshell Ndegeocello - Alexis writes toward feeling rather than simple description. Her work explores love, longing, devotion, power dynamics, queer identity, spirituality, memory, and the ways human connection can transform us.Her poetry is often shaped by the people who have crossed her path as teachers, whether through tenderness, heartbreak, desire, or revelation. Alongside Danielle, she is currently developing a collaborative poetry collection tracing the chronology of their relationship - a love they often describe as ancient, oceanic, and timeless.Now rooted in Manchester’s vibrant creative community, Alexis continues building both her literary voice and spiritual practice, drawn to art that evokes emotion as viscerally as music itself.Instagram - Greyyylex and Rainbowreikishamanism

This was streamed live on my facebook page (Spoken Label) on 26 May 2026, a special bonus Podcast episode (Apologises for the cutting in and out of this episode in a few places).

This special episode features on the 100th anniversary of Jazz Musician Miles Davis's birthday, a special chat with Stockport writer Andy Cash who has bought on the 26th May 2026, his debut collection, 'The Blue Flame' which brings to life Miles's life in poetry.

An excellent collection

Check it out here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1066661502?ref=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_mwn_dp_9V344XJE6M384P7M43AN&ref_=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_mwn_dp_9V344XJE6M384P7M43AN&social_share=cm_sw_r_ffobk_cso_cp_mwn_dp_9V344XJE6M384P7M43AN&bestFormat=true&fbclid=IwY2xjawSFX1pleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFBbG9FeE50dVVPVnZkb3Jmc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHh7-Vacu7hEyj8muvI7qKxuBaOJ-AF3PLGvkhPNHDSIjSJKbBHCJ_FWr0BH2_aem_qCdDc7ltqTN6Iq8I8E7d8Q