The lost books of Central Library: scandal or conspiracy theory?
A quarter of a million volumes were disposed of in circumstances that remain deeply contested. Some former workers accuse the council of a cover up
Sophie Atkinson
Sophie has written cultural essays and features for the New York Times, the New York Times Magazine, Gawker, the Washington Post, the Guardian Long Read and Die Zeit, amongst others.
Latest Stories
In a sea of writhing bodies, Marina Abramovic convinced me Aviva Studios makes sense
'I can hear wailing from the funeral and the yelps of the women as they scare the gods with their genitals'
Could this be the future of housing in Manchester?
Forget damp, forget sky-high energy bills. Let’s retrofit
Why has Manchester Art Gallery housed an exhibition on teapots for half a decade?
‘So this is…the temporary collection?’
The Central Library mystery, the David Hockney show and the joy of free ping pong
An editor's edition from Sophie
Cracked kerbs and pained smiles
Sophie Atkinson discovers first-hand just how disability friendly Manchester is - or isn't
Sacha Lord’s new book is eye-opening and colourful, but what does it tell us about Manchester?
Surviving cocaine rats, a drive-by shooting and being bundled into a car by gangsters
Manchester could have been Barcelona, not Dallas
Charlie Baker on Homes for Change and the path not taken
The price of living in communal paradise: admin, absentee volunteers and cat sh*t wars
‘It would be a Stepford Wives sort of place if everyone agreed’
You will always be in love, you will always be in love with love
Gwendoline Riley’s first two novels focus on singles in your area with disproportionate romantic fantasies
We all know Levenshulme’s gentrification story. How true is it?
Sunday Times-worthy cabbage, class segregation and 'lovely' dinner parties
The forgotten novel: Why we need to revive Manchester’s ‘Madame Bovary’
Madeline Linford is remembered as the first female member of the Guardian’s editorial board. But her 1930 book is witty and devastating
Burnage Garden Village is at war - and the stakes couldn't be lower
My return to a collectivist utopia
It's vast, it's beautiful — but does anyone know what Manchester's £210m venue is actually for?
Aviva Studios is the biggest cultural investment this country has made in decades. But so far, its aims appear vague