Monday, April 22, 2019

Surround Springfields event on Saturday 27th April 2019

From Stop New Nuclear

Latest approximate timetable for the day is as follows:

12:00-1:00 Assemble outside Springfields Nuclear Fuels

1:00  Speakers, live music

3:00 forming of human chain to surround the base

Exhibition in the nearby village hall

5:00 Live link with indigenous communities resisting uranium mining, in the village hall
(Link for anyone wanting to connect with this from home to come before the end of the week)

7:00 End

Confirmed speakers 
  • Roy Pumfrey (Stop Hinkley)
  • Chinks Grylls (Stop Hinkley)
  • Ruth Owens (Anti-fracking nanas)
  • Linda Walker (Chernobyl Childrens Project)
  • Marianne Birkby (Radiation Free Lakeland)
  • Kate Hudson (CND)
  • Nikki Clark (South West Against Nuclear)
  • Martyn Lowe (Close Capenhurst)
  • Rowland Dye (TP)
  • Chris Bluemel (The People's Nuclear Co-operative)*

Minibuses 

or e-mail Rowland rowland.dye@cooptel.net
Bridgwater - https://www.facebook.com/events/2108521725852207/
-----------------------
We can now confirm that we will be doing a minibus pick-up from Preston railway station at 1100, 1200 and 1300 for the Surround Springfields demonstration.  
When you exit the station look for a minibus with a 'Surround' sign in its windscreen. 
Phone contact for Preston minibus shuttle: 07886028910


Recommended dress code: Wellies and waterproofs

Saturday, April 20, 2019

Little Rebels Award Shortlist 2019: Press Release

The 2019 Little Rebels Award Shortlist:
Propaganda, War and Autocrats


Zanib Mian (left) with Little Rebels Judge, Catherine Johnson, at the London Radical Book Fair, June 2018


Government propaganda, militarization, misjudged Western ‘aid’ and the UK’s participation in the slave trade are just some of the themes highlighted by this year’s shortlist for the Little Rebels Award for Radical Children’s Fiction.


Small, independent publishers figure strongly on the shortlist, including titles from HopeRoad and Lantana Publishing. Anne Booth makes her second Little Rebels Award appearance (Girl With A White Dog was shortlisted in 2015) and former Little Rebels Award judge, Catherine Johnson, is shortlisted for her historical fiction novel, Freedom, an account of the UK’s role in the slave trade which takes the 1781 Zong Massacre as its cue.


The full Little Rebels Award 2019 shortlist (for books published in 2018) is:
Across the Divide by Anne Booth – Catnip Publishing
Freedom by Catherine Johnson – Scholastic
The Ghost and Jamal by Bridget Blankley – Hope Road Publishing
The King Who Banned the Dark by Emily Haworth-Booth – Pavilion Children’s Books
The New Neighbours by Sarah McIntyre – David Fickling Books
Running on Empty by S E Durrant – Nosy Crow
Tomorrow by Nadine Kaadaan – Lantana Publishing


War and conflict are recurrent themes while receiving very different treatments: Across the Divide explores the pacifist movement and the militarization of local communities; picture book, Tomorrow (by Nadine Kaadan who moved to London following the onset of the Syrian conflict), portrays civil war through the eyes of a family forced to stay indoors; The Ghost and Jamal exposes young people as the real casualties of wars and critiques Western charitable ‘interventions’ in conflict zones. Two of the shortlisted titles foreground disabled characters as significant voices and agents: The Ghost and Jamal’s protagonist has epilepsy and AJ’s parents in Running on Empty have learning disabilities. Durrant’s novel, set in Stratford (London), stars a working-class family struggling under the pressure of financial hardship and a welfare system ill-equipped to support them. Picture book, The New Neighbors, hints at themes very familiar to previous Little Rebels Award shortlists -the treatment of refugees and pre-conceptions about new arrivals- while the protagonist of the third picture book on the list, The King Who Banned the Dark, is an autocrat who instills obedience in his citizens through imagined fears.      

Fen Coles, Co-Director of Letterbox Library, said of the shortlist: “From a king who bans the dark to a tower block community fearful of the ratty (!) newcomers, the Little Rebels Award shortlist demonstrates again that weighty topical themes can be brought to the youngest minds in ways which are playful, provocative, thoughtful and fun. Social divisions, conflict, the rise in far right parties and ideologies, threats to democratic rule as well as very home-grown human rights abuses such as the Windrush scandal are all ‘live’ topics which children are hearing about through ubiquitous social medias. The Little Rebels titles continue to offer young people and children texts to help them navigate, question and make sense of the fractured world which surrounds them”.


The Little Rebels Children’s Book Award is now in its 7th year. The Award recognises fiction for ages 0-12 which promotes or celebrates social justice and equality. It is run by booksellers, Housmans Bookshop and Letterbox Library and is awarded by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB). This year’s judges are: author Patrice Lawrence; Emily Drabble, Head of Children’s Book Promotions/Prizes at BookTrust; B.J. Epstein, Senior Lecturer at the University of East Anglia; Darren Chetty, Teacher, Writer, Researcher; Shaun Dellenty, Trainer in LGBT+ inclusive education.


Last year’s Little Rebels Award winner, Zanib Mian, went on to sign a three-book deal with Hachette Children’s Group (HCG) in late 2018. The first book in the series, Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet, was launched this month and is based on the original The Muslims text. The title has also been sold to PRH’s Putnam in the U.S.
The winner of this year’s Little Rebels Award will be announced on July 10th at an award ceremony, hosted in the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education’s new Literacy Library, Southwark.**            


***ENDS***


Contact:
Fen Coles
Letterbox Library
Unit 151 Stratford Workshops
Burford Road
Stratford E15 2SP
Tel: 020 8534 7502


Further Information
About the Little Rebels Children’s Book Award
Full details of the award, including the shortlist and prize giving ceremony for previous years, can be found at:  www.littlerebelsaward.wordpress.com.


About Letterbox Library
Letterbox Library is a 36-year-old, not-for-profit, children’s booksellers and social enterprise. They specialise in children’s books which celebrate diversity, equality & inclusion as well as books which promote social justice. www.letterboxlibrary.com.


About the Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB)
The ARB is a supportive community for the UK’s radical booksellers; www.radicalbooksellers.co.uk. The ARB also runs the (adult) Bread & Roses Award for Radical Publishing. www.bread-and-roses.co.uk.

-------------------------------------

** N.B. As previously notified, the London Radical Bookfair, where this award ceremony usually takes place, is not happening in 2019.
========================


UPDATE

AND THE WINNER IS...



‘FREEDOM’ WINS 
LITTLE REBELS AWARD FOR RADICAL 
CHILDREN’S FICTION 2019



Catherine Johnson has fought off competition from Sarah MacIntyre and recently accoladed debut artist Emily Haworth-Booth, to win The 2019 Little Rebels Award for Radical Fiction. 



A short historical novel, Freedom tells the story of Nat, a young boy enslaved on a Jamaican plantation, brought over to England in the late eighteenth century. Hopeful that, once on UK soil, he will finally be free from bondage, Nat instead witnesses the pivotal role Britain played in building the slavery industry. 


Praising the winning title, the award judges commented: 
Freedom is radical in a number of ways. It tells a story of a young enslaved man in Britain. It explores the humanity of those whose humanity was denied through chattel slavery. It subtly examines the similarities and the differences between class oppression and a system of slavery rooted in racism. It tells a story of Britain that continues to be neglected. Johnson’s writing is a masterclass in the maxim ‘show don’t tell’ - through the point of view of her protagonist we are brought into his world and yet we are afforded space to emotionally engage with the story she offers us.”
Darren Chetty, Teaching Fellow at UCL and contributor to The Good Immigrant. 


“Catherine Johnson brings the horrific history of slavery to life in this important piece of historical fiction for a middle grade audience. A brilliant adventure story that shines a much-needed spotlight on the UK’s role [and which also introduces us to] real life people who should be more famous than they are, including former slave turned author and abolitionist Olaudah Equiano and Shadrack Furman, the first black army Pensioner. A well deserved win from one of the UK’s most fabulous storytellers.” 
Emily Drabble, head of children's books promotion and prizes at BookTrust


The winner of the Little Rebels Children’s Book Award 2019 was announced at an event held in the CLPE (Centre for Literacy in Primary Education) Literacy Library on Wednesday July 10th. This followed on from a panel discussion with the other shortlisted authors for 2019. These were Bridget Blankley for The Ghosts & Jamal (HopeRoad Publishing); Anne Booth for Across the Divide (Catnip Publishing); Emily Haworth-Booth for The King Who Banned the Dark (Pavilion Books); Nadine Kaadan for Tomorrow (Lantana Publishing); Sarah McIntyre for The New Neighbours (David Fickling Books).


The Little Rebels Children’s Book Award is now in its 7th year. The Award recognises fiction for ages 0-12 which promotes or celebrates social justice and equality. It is run by booksellers Housmans Bookshop and Letterbox Library and is awarded by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB). This year’s judges were: author Patrice Lawrence; Emily Drabble, Head of Children’s Book Promotions/Prizes at BookTrust; B.J. Epstein, Senior Lecturer at the University of East Anglia; Darren Chetty, Teacher, Writer, Researcher; Shaun Dellenty, Trainer in LGBT+ inclusive education.


Last year’s Little Rebels Award winner, Zanib Mian, went on to sign a three-book deal with Hachette Children’s Group (HCG) in late 2018. The first book in the series, Planet Omar: Accidental Trouble Magnet, was launched in April 2019 and was based on the original The Muslims text. The title has also been sold to PRH’s Putnam in the U.S. 


ENDS 


Contact:
Fen Coles
Letterbox Library 
Tel: 020 8534 7502


FURTHER INFORMATION


About the Little Rebels Children’s Book Award
Full details of the award, including the shortlist and prize giving ceremony for previous years, can be found at:  www.littlerebels.org


About Letterbox Library
Letterbox Library is a 36-year-old, not-for-profit, children’s booksellers and social enterprise. They specialise in children’s books which celebrate diversity, equality & inclusion as well as books which promote social justice. www.letterboxlibrary.com.


About Housmans Bookshop
Housmans Bookshop is one of London’s longest surviving and last remaining radical bookshops. Housmans is a founder member of the ARB. They were awarded the London Independent Bookshop of the Year Award in 2016. www.housmans.com.


About the Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB)
The ARB is a supportive community for the UK’s radical booksellers; www.radicalbooksellers.co.uk. The ARB also runs the (adult) Bread & Roses Award for Radical Publishing. www.bread-and-roses.co.uk.

Saturday, April 13, 2019

New Anarchist Research Group Programme Update

* Venue:  MayDay Rooms, 88 Fleet Street, London, EC4Y 1DH  - please note that we take a collection at the end of the afternoon to cover the cost of hiring the room.  
Here are the details of the next three meetings of the New Anarchist Research Group: 


Saturday 27 April, 2019, MayDay Rooms 2:00-4:00 pm*
          This month's meeting is slightly different from our usual format, as the presentation will be given by one of the other groups that often meet at the MayDay Rooms on the same day as we do - Plan C.    
Anarchists like us! Communists like us!
Plan C is a unique organisation in the UK, one that sits at odds in both the Left and the traditional Anarchist scene. Though it draws its history from both Anarchist and Communist movements, Autonomist Marxist Feminism, New left Populist movements as well Anti-Capitalist struggles, it has refused to be drawn into dogmatic and scholastic schisms that categorise the left, opting to put its energy into developing communities of care and resilience, and developing new alliances and forms of action through an ecology of movements. 
In this talk, a founder member of Plan C LDN  presents the history and formation of Plan C from its beginning in 2012, the fusion of various ideas within the Post “anti-capitalist” movement of the early 2000’s that met the student movement of 2010, and the emergence of ideas like social strike, social reproduction, luxury communism, commons and forms of constituent power all the way to our current conjecture.  

Saturday 25 May 2019, MayDay Rooms 2:00-4:00 pm* 
Anarchy or Chaos: M.P.T. Acharya and Indian Anarchism
Ole Birk Laursen
M.P.T. Acharya 1887-1954 libcom image
This talk explores the life and activities of the Indian anarchist M.P.T Acharya from his anticolonial activities to life in Russia during the Revolution, and more than three decades in the international anarchist movement.

Ole Birk Laursen is a Lecturer at New York University in London.  His research concerns anti-colonialism and anarchism in the early twentieth century 

Saturday 22 June, 2019 MayDay Rooms 2:00-4:00pm*
Anarchist Theory in Landscape Planning
Tim Waterman
Kropotkin in 1864 - wikipedia image
Anarchism’s influence on landscape theory and planning, dating back to Proudhon, but perhaps more importantly to Elisée Reclus and Peter Kropotkin, is powerful, but has long been suppressed or denied. This makes it difficult to understand just how strong anarchism’s undercurrents have remained in landscape theory, and how continuous a lineage anarchist planning possesses, through figures such as Patrick Geddes and Colin Ward. This talk will trace the emergence of the contemporary idea of landscape as situated social ecology within green anarchist theory since the 19th century and show how it is an emancipatory ecological, social, cultural, and intellectual framework for planning and design 
Tim Waterman is Senior Lecturer in Landscape Architecture History and Theory at the Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL. He is also a non-executive director at the radical digital arts collective Furtherfield. He is at work on the book Landscape Citizenships and has recently edited two others: Landscape and Agency: Critica Essays with Ed Wall and the Routledge Handbook of Landscape and Food with Joshua Zeunert.