Get to know Annie
Annie Macmanus is an internationally renowned author, broadcaster and DJ. Over a twenty-year career in the arts she has built a far-reaching cultural presence rooted in quality, integrity and authenticity.
She presented BBC Radio 1's flagship new music show for seventeen years before leaving to focus on writing and podcasting. She championed female and LGBTQ+ artists throughout, and still plays the biggest festival stages and the best clubs in the world.
Her debut novel Mother Mother was a Sunday Times bestseller. Her second, The Mess We're In, has been bought for TV adaptation. Her third, The Fox, is published by Canongate in February 2027.
She now presents the BBC podcast Sidetracked with Nick Grimshaw, and writes Changes, her newsletter on Substack.
What's on
Club nights, festivals, and literary events.
14Oct
Wed
Literary
Annie in conversation with Louise Kennedy and Mary Costello, two of Ireland's finest writers, at her monthly salon in Camden.
London Irish CentreLondon · 8pm
Tickets16Oct
Fri
DJ
The full club night, 7pm until midnight.
Invisible Wind FactoryLiverpool · 7pm
Tickets19Oct
Mon
Literary
A special edition of the salon: Annie in conversation with Maggie O'Farrell.
London Irish CentreLondon · 7.30pm
Sold out17Dec
Thu
DJ
The Christmas edition at Outernet, Tottenham Court Road. Doors 7pm, done by midnight.
Outernet LiveLondon · 7pm
Sold out18Dec
Fri
DJ
The Christmas edition at Outernet, Tottenham Court Road. Doors 7pm, done by midnight.
Outernet LiveLondon · 7pm
Sold outClubbing
Before Midnight is rewriting the rules of clubbing. It's the full club experience, with extended sets, proper sound systems and local warm-up DJs, but everything wraps up before midnight.
No more choosing between a night out and functioning the next day. Before Midnight brings the energy, the community and the magic of the dance floor forward, so you can lose yourself in the music and still make it home at a reasonable hour.
Annie plays extended sets alongside carefully chosen guests. It started in spring 2022, sold out Finsbury Park in 2023 and now fills Alexandra Palace.
Books
Three novels about family, place, and what it means to belong. From Belfast to Kilburn to a stranger on a dating app.
“A beautifully natural, offbeat story of love and betrayal”
Carmel is fifty-three, widowed, and furious at her husband for dying. When she meets a fellow widower called Graham on a dating app, she lets herself hope again. Across the sea in London, Lisa has built her life around helping other people.
When the two women's lives collide, it sets off a connection neither of them could have imagined. A taut, psychologically sharp novel about romance fraud, desire and the need to be seen.
2023
“Tender, hilarious, sad, hopeful” Louise Kennedy
Orla Quinn arrives in London at the turn of the millennium and moves into a squalid Kilburn house with her best friend and a band called Shiva. She wants to make music, but two jobs and a party every night aren't helping, and as the hype around the band grows, so does the hedonism.
2021 · Sunday Times bestseller
“A page-turning exploration of grief, addiction, young motherhood and unbreakable family ties” British Vogue
Set in Belfast, Annie's debut is a coming-of-age novel and an intimate family study: a mother who disappears, and a son looking for answers across generations of family history.
Podcasts
with Nick Grimshaw
Sidetracked is Annie and Nick Grimshaw's music podcast for BBC Sounds. Every week they break down the latest stories and interview the biggest names in music for honest, funny and revealing conversations.
Annie's newsletter
Annie’s cultural recommendations and her personal writing on change.
We are officially in our toddler era...
Read · 4 min
I wanted to tell you about three books I have loved that are great for an Autumn read.
And being part of ‘the family of things’.
The Grace Of The World and Love Is Blind...
Donal Ryan - Where Are The Kings
Six questions and answers on change...
Hares, charades and a frozen shoulder...
Bookings & enquiries
For DJ bookings, speaking engagements, press or collaborations, get in touch with Annie's team.
Soft Serve Management
