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Reading revolution at the Institute

NIK GORECKI looks forward to the radical book fair which takes place in London at the weekend

RADICAL booksellers, publishers, artists and activists of all stripes are set to occupy the venerable environs of London’s Bishopsgate Institute on May 10 with the London Radical Bookfair And Alternative Press Takeover 2014. 

With over 130 exhibitors and 20 guest speakers, this will be a unique gathering of progressive readers, thinkers and doers, in a celebration of radical publishing and politics. 

The free event is organised by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB),  which formed in 2011 to raise awareness of the radical book trade. The fair provides an annual opportunity to bring Britain’s radical booksellers together to meet in person with publishers and the reading public. 

And it’s when there’ll be an awards ceremony for the ARB’s  two annual book prizes — the  Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing and the Little Rebels Children’s Book Award. Shortlisted authors from the two awards will give talks and participate in panel discussions throughout the day.

Among them are Rob Evans, Ben Griffin, Oscar Guardiola-Rivera, Barry Kushner, Katharine Quarmby, Andrew Simms and Imogen Tyler. Guest judges of the Bread and Roses prize are editor of The F-Word blog Jess McCabe, associate editor at The Guardian Seumas Milne and writer, philosopher and activist Nina Power. 

Shortlisted for the children’s prize are Deborah Chancellor, Gill Lewis and Geraldine McCaughrean.

There will be a panel discussion on the Little Rebels Children’s Book Award and there’ll be other debates on radical children’s literature and radical black and Asian publishing. 

Also on offer is a virtual tour of the invaluable collection of radical materials at the Bishopsgate Institute and workshops on printmaking and bookbinding

As in previous years, we’ll be showcasing the depth and breadth of radical publishing. While there are currently other book fairs dedicated to progressive titles, they tend to focus on tightly defined political traditions. 

The aim of the London Radical Bookfair is to be a broad church that brings together these traditions and make them accessible to a wider audience. 

Hope to see you there.

n The fair is free and takes place from 10am-5pm on May 10 at the Bishopsgate Institute, 230 Bishopsgate, London EC2, details: www.londonradicalbookfair.wordpress.com.

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