Rylands Special Collections take centre stage at The Odyssey film launch
09 Jul 2026
Find out how the Library recently partnered with Universal Pictures to promote The Odyssey movie.
Last week, Professor Christopher Pressler, University Librarian and Director of The John Rylands Library, and Dr Jeremy Penner, Curator of African and Near Eastern Manuscripts, travelled to New York and London to take part in international press junkets for The Odyssey, Sir Christopher Nolan's highly anticipated new film.
There, they presented one of the University's most remarkable treasures – the oldest surviving copy of Homer's Odyssey in book form anywhere in the world – alongside the film's cast and filmmakers. The collaboration with Universal Pictures placed a 1,700-year-old manuscript from The University of Manchester at the heart of a major contemporary cultural moment and introduced the Library's Special Collections to global media audiences.
The appearance at the junkets marks a significant milestone for the Library and reflects months of work behind the scenes from curators, conservators, exhibitions, communications, operations, security and digital colleagues. As Chris shared with Library staff, it represents a moment in which the University Library has taken its place "at the very centre of global culture".
See The Manchester Odyssey at the Rylands
The story doesn't end with the press junkets. From Wednesday, 15 July 2026, colleagues and members of the public will be able to see the manuscript for themselves as part of The Manchester Odyssey, a new display in the Collections Gallery at The John Rylands Library. The exhibition opens just two days before the worldwide release of the film.
Copied in Egypt in the third century CE, when readers were beginning to move from scrolls to bound books, the parchment manuscript tells the story of Odysseus's long journey home and reunion with his family. The display will allow visitors to explore the manuscript's extraordinary survival across seventeen centuries, alongside other rare and fascinating objects that showcase the breadth and significance of the Library's Special Collections.
A global year for Special Collections
The Manchester Odyssey project forms part of a wider story of Manchester's collections reaching international audiences.
Earlier this year, Lives and Literacy in Ancient Egypt opened at the Harry Ransom Center at The University of Texas at Austin. The exhibition, the first major international exhibition from The John Rylands Library to be staged in North America, showcases some of the world's most significant ancient Egyptian papyri, including the earliest known New Testament fragment.
Meanwhile, Ian Curtis: Insight has brought material from the Ian Curtis Archive in the British Pop Archive to New York for the first time. Featuring handwritten lyrics, photographs, letters and artefacts, the exhibition highlights Manchester's continuing influence on global music and culture.
Together, these projects demonstrate the growing international profile of the Library's Special Collections and their role in advancing the University's vision of sharing knowledge, culture and research with the world. From ancient manuscripts and Egyptian papyri to popular culture archives, Manchester's collections are connecting with audiences across North America and beyond.
The Manchester Odyssey opens at The John Rylands Library on 15 July 2026. Colleagues are encouraged to visit and experience this extraordinary manuscript for themselves.