Inverted Ziggurat by maniacyak.

On 5 March it’s World Book Night, and as the nation prepare to give away 1 million books, Birmingham Central Library and The Birmingham Poetry Ultras are holding a couple of celebratory events, with a line up of writers, storytellers and poets.

Birmingham Central Library

From 6.30pm – 8.45pm, at Birmingham Library Theatre, three of the city’s best-selling writers RJ Ellory, Mike Gayle and Catherine O’Flynn will be joining readers and book givers to celebrate books, libraries and reading.

Free tickets for this are available from the Box Office on (0121) 303 2323 or from Central Library reception.

Saturday Night Reader then takes outside Central Library place from 9 – 10pm, as literary fans are invited to join Birmingham Poet Laureate, Roy McFarlane, former Young Poet Laureate Matt Windle, storyteller Katrice Horsley, and local writer Paul McDonald for an hour of rambunctious storytelling, poetry, laughs and free books.

Birmingham Poetry Ultras

Hosting an evening of poetry appreciation and discussion, Birmingham Poetry Ultras will be in The Old Moseley Arms, Balsall Heath, from 8pm.

They’ll also be giving out free copies of their selected book, Seamus Heaney’s “New Selected Poems 1966-1987”, on a first come first served basis.

The exhibition will feature the work of Albanian Roma artist, Ferdinand Koci, along with posters exploring the Romany language and flag, Gypsy Remedies and the Tinker Tailor Soldier Sailor poster, plus a series of posters on the different professions of individual Gypsies, Roma and Travellers.

The exhibition runs until 28 February. For more information, take a look at the Facebook event page.

Birmingham based artist Rubina Bibi will be exhibiting a collection of her new work in Central Library as of today, until 18 December.

She’ll be raising money for The Pakistan Floods Appeal, and will be around for discussions on 11 December from 2 – 4pm.

To tie in with the Face to Face exhibition we told you about the other week, Collecting Contemporary Photography… In conversation with Brian Griffin and Stuart Whipps, is taking place on Tuesday 9 November at 6-8pm.

Pete James, Head of Photographs at Birmingham Central Library, will be discussing the ways in which Griffin and Whipps create, make, exhibit and sell their work to institutions and private individuals. The library holds one of the ‘national collections of photography’, and has recently acquired work by both Griffin and Whipps to add to this growing collection.

The event will be taking place in the lecture theatre at BIAD, Birmingham City University, Margaret Street. To book your place e-mail katja.ogrin@artsandbusiness.org.uk or call 0121 248 1200.

If you’ve already been, or are planning a visit, to the current Face to Face exhibition at Snow Hill, you can also leave your own review on the Facebook page. If the existing ones are anything to go by, this exhibition is well worth a visit.

Sssssssshhhh! Get your reading specs out because after a rare sighting, the Secret Library Card is back in circulation, hidden in books at Birmingham Central Library.

Check the last post from the Secret Librarians for the cryptic clue which will lead you to the current location of the Secret Library Card, where you can take up the task of the ‘Secret Re-shelving Ritual’.

From 30 September – 21 November, a major retrospective exhibition, Face to Face, will take place in two adjacent locations in Birmingham’s Colmore Business District, exhibiting the work of Birmingham born photographer and filmmaker, Brian Griffin.

A large-scale outdoor retrospective will showcase Griffin’s portraiture over the last 38 years, including many of his most prominent portraits of leading musicians, politicians and celebrities. Two accompanying indoor exhibitions will feature Griffin’s award-winning series’ Team and The Water People.

The outdoor retrospective will be displayed at Snowhill Station, with the indoor exhibition held at the new One Snowhill development.

Following the exhibition, Team and The Water People will be on long-term loan to Birmingham Central Library, adding to their extensive collection of vintage prints.

Why is Birmingham investing in a new central library? Will it meet genuine needs or is it simply landmark architecture for the city and very little to do with library services?

On 22 September, The Birmingham Salon and CILIP West Midlands, a local librarian organisation, invite you to join them in raising these questions. They will be meeting at The Studio to debate the merits of the plans for the new Birmingham Central Library. The meeting is from 7.30pm – 9pm, with complimentary drinks before hand from 6.45pm.

To find out more about this, take a look at the full event details.

Mark is well known for his Tom Thorne series and his new book From the Dead is no less gripping and fast paced as his previous novels.

Andrew Taylor will be talking about his new book The Anatomy of Ghosts, which is a beautifully written novel of dichotomies set in 18th century Cambridge.

Meanwhile Martyn Waites (who has recently been revealed as being one half of Tania Carver, the ‘author’ of The Surrogate), will be talking about his latest book Speak No Evil based on the award winning Joe Donovan crime series.

Guests will be settling in at 6.30pm, for a 7.00pm start, and the event is free. Book your tickets via the Birmingham Box Office on 0121 303 2323 or in person at Central Library reception.

If you’ve wandered by Central Library recently, you’ll have noticed a new addition to the decor.

Painted over the course of three days, artist Lucy McLauchlan was given permission by Central Library and Birmingham City Council Planning to give the infamous brutalist library a make over. The project is part of the ongoing work of EC-Arts.

It was Lucy’s wish to produce one of her infamous murals in Birmingham to simply ‘beautify the city’.  This coupled with EC-Arts motivation to commission artistic interventions, temporary and permanent within the public realm, utilising architecture where possible was the foundation for the Library project.

Lucy’s written a post about it with a few more pictures.

It’s still unknown as to how long the birds will be allowed to stay, so go take a look while you can.