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Last night, I headed to uptown Clapham for the Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing 2012. Here’s some photos from the evening.<\/p>\n
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The ceremony took place upstairs at the\u00a0Bread and Roses pub on Clapham Manor Street – a jaunty 20 minute walk from Brixton.<\/p>\n
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Judged by Madeline Heneghan, Nina Power and Michael Rosen, the award winner could look forward to trousering a cheque for \u00a31,000 and bagging a commemorative trophy.<\/p>\n
After a reported ‘deadlock’ between the judges, the winner was declared to be David Graeber\u2019s \u2018Debt: The First 5,000 Years.\u2019<\/p>\n Described as a “brilliantly researched book” the winner was commended for being \u201cengaging, readable, relevant, motivated by a clear political will, and utterly indispensable, not only for understanding the terms of the world we live in, where they came from, but also for what we do about changing them\u201d.<\/p>\n I enjoyed several more pints in the bar downstairs, and watched this fella (below) knock out some bluesy tunes.<\/p>\n Here’s the full press release.<\/p>\n It’s rather a\u00a0lengthy\u00a0affair so it might be an idea to brew up a cuppa before settling down to read it.<\/p>\n David Graeber\u2019s \u2018Debt: The First 5,000 Years\u2019 The judges felt that this brilliantly researched book was \u201cengaging, readable, relevant, motivated by a clear political will, and utterly indispensable, not only for understanding the terms of the world we live in, where they came from, but also for what we do about changing them\u201d.<\/p>\n Although academic in its scope and scale, the judges commended Graeber for the quality of the language, and effort to make the ideas accessible and readily comprehensible.<\/p>\n Graeber\u2019s book narrowly came through after judges struggled to pick a winner between it and Nicholas Shaxson\u2019s \u2018Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the men who stole the world\u2019, which they commended for its thoroughness of research, and \u2018usefulness\u2019 in the current political climate.<\/p>\n Although based in London and holding the position of Reader in Social Anthropology at Goldsmiths, University of London, David Graeberwas unable to collect the prize as he is currently on a research trip in the United States. A representative fromTurnaround distributors collected the award and the\u00a0prize money of \u00a31,000 on his behalf.<\/p>\n The winner was announced at a ceremony on International Workers\u2019 Day, 1st May 2012, at the trade union-run Bread and Roses pub in Clapham. The pub is currently in the middle of a season of cultural events celebrating the centenary of the Bread and Roses strike.<\/p>\n The Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishingaims to promote the publication of radical books, to raise the profile of radical publishing, and to reward exceptional work. Without being too prescriptive in defining \u2018radical\u2019, the shortlisted books are informed by socialist, anarchist, environmental, feminist and anti-racist concerns, and primarily will inspire, support or report on political and\/or personal change. They may relate to global, national, local or specialist areas of interest. To be eligible books must have been published in 2011, and the author\u2019s or editor\u2019s primary residence must be in the UK.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s Bread and Roses award was judged by children’s novelist and poet Michael Rosen, lecturer and feminist author Nina Power, and Festival Director of Liverpool\u2019s annual Writing on the Wall Festival, Madeline Heneghan.<\/p>\n Quotes from the Bread and Roses judges It\u2019s a book that has the appearance \u2013 and at 534 pages, literally so \u2013 of a fearsome academic tract. But it avoids everything that frequently plagues academic writing: this book is instead engaging, readable, relevant, motivated by a clear political will and utterly indispensable not only for understanding the terms of the world we live in, where they came from, but also for what we do about changing them. It is a book written from the heart, albeit with the aid of a library the size of a palace \u2013 a people\u2019s palace, that is!\u201d<\/p>\n What makes good radical writing? We hope that as the prize continues in the future this is something we will continue to address, and that readers, writers and publishers will debate. We are starting this process by holding a panel discussion on the 9th May at Housmans Bookshop with Pluto Press editor Anne Beech, anarchist blogger Ian Bone, and Guardian journalist Suzanne Moore, asking \u2018What makes good radical writing?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n More info at\u00a0www.housmans.com\/events.php<\/a><\/p>\n More quotes from the Bread and Roses Trustees<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cTo my knowledge this is the only book prize in the UK with what could be described as having an explicitly left-wing entry criterion. The central involvement of radical bookshops in the establishment and running of the Bread and Roses award also really sets it apart from other book prizes.\u201d Nik G\u00f3recki, Housmans Bookshop<\/p>\n \u201cRadical publishing is going through a renaissance, making the establishment of the Bread and Roses Award timely.\u201d Ross Bradshaw, Five Leaves Publishing The following seven books were shortlisted:<\/p>\n \u2018Counterpower: Making Change Happen\u2019 by Tim Gee<\/strong><\/strong> What makes some campaigns succeed while others fail? In this accessible primer on power and rebellion, Tim Gee encourages us to think critically about the forces at work in struggles as diverse as the women’s suffrage movement and the Arab Spring. Counterpower provides today’s activists with inspiration for the future.<\/p>\n \u2018Debt: The First 5,000 Years\u2019 by David Graeber Contrary to the fairytales told in economic textbooks, human beings didn\u2019t start with barter, discover money, and then develop credit systems. In fact, as anarchist and anthropologist David Graeber argues in this wide-ranging work, drawing on a vast panoply of evidence, exactly the reverse is true. Moreover \u2013 and whether we recognise it or not – debt has been at the heart of our political and moral systems ever since.<\/p>\n \u2018Tweets from Tahrir: Egypt’s Revolution as it Unfolded, in the Words of the People Who Made it\u2019 edited by Nadia Idle and Alex Nunns The story of the Egyptian uprising \u2013 through the toppling of Mubarak \u2013 by the people who made it, told in 140-or-fewer-character Tweets. Editors Nadia Idle and Alex Nunns have created an inspiring and coherent narrative that not only explains the evolving strategies of both sides but also allows the participants\u2019 personalities to shine through.<\/p>\n \u2018Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class\u2019 by Owen Jones In order to deflect blame from their own role in increasing inequality and decreasing social mobility, Britain\u2019s political and media elites have wilfully promoted the notion of the working class as an object of fear and ridicule. Expertly researched and highly topical, Owen Jones\u2019 book is already a bestseller in radical bookshops around the UK.<\/p>\n \u2018Magical Marxism\u2019 by Andy Merrifield Urban theorist Andy Merrifield imagines a Marxism that moves beyond the stale debates about class and the role of the state, drawing inspiration from \u2013 and connections between – The Invisible Committee\u2019s \u2018The Coming Insurrection\u2019, Guy Debord\u2019s \u2018Society of the Spectacle\u2019 and Gabriel Garc\u00eda M\u00e1rquez\u2019s \u2018Hundred Years of Solitude\u2019. Highly readable.<\/p>\n \u2018Penny Red: Notes from the New Age of Dissent\u2019 by Laurie Penny<\/strong><\/strong> Whether filing a report from inside a police kettle in Whitehall or analysing the feminist implications of Stieg Larsson’s \u2018The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo\u2019, Laurie Penny’s writing is always sharp as a knife. Angry and articulate, this is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand and engage with the new generation of UK activists.<\/p>\n \u2018Treasure Islands: Tax Havens and the Men who Stole the World\u2019 by Nicholas Shaxson Nicholas Shaxson\u2019s expos\u00e9 of the mechanics of tax havens reveals a collusion between governments and the wealthy that perverts democracy, sidesteps the law, and leaves the poorest paying the price. Clear, gripping and incendiary, this is an essential primer for anyone trying to understand today\u2019s global economy. Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing\u00a0www.bread-and-roses.co.uk<\/a>![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/05\/bread-and-roses-radical-publishing-04.jpg\" "\\"bread-and-roses-radical-publishing-04\\"")
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\nwins the first ever\u00a0Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing 2012<\/em><\/em><\/strong><\/strong><\/em><\/em>
\nIn the centenary year of the infamous Bread and Roses strike, the Alliance of Radical Booksellers is proud to announce the winner of the first annual Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing. David Graeber\u2019s \u2018Debt: The First 5,000 Years\u2019 clinched the prize in the final hour, following a reported deadlock between the guest judges.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/strong>Announcing the winner on behalf of the judging panel, Nina Power said:
\n\u201cThe winner of the first Bread and Roses prize for Radical Publishing has written a text that breaks many rules, and does so excellently in each case: this is a book that covers so much material, refers to so many historical periods and geographical spaces, that the reader is dazzled \u2013 not only by the easy erudition of the writer but about how much it is possible to learn and with so little pain.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong><\/strong>Nik G\u00f3recki of Housmans Bookshop, and one of the Trustees of the prize, found that the notion of judging radical writing was problematic, and brought up some interesting questions as to how to evaluate desirable qualities:\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong>
\n\u201cIn trying to create guidelines for the judging process, we soon found that certain desirable criteria often contradicted one another, such as relevance to the current political situation as opposed to valuable historical analysis, or writing that is populist and rousing against more theoretical and reflective work. The question of \u2018what political texts people want to read, as opposed to those the author wants them to read\u2019 is still unresolved.<\/p>\n
\nThe Alliance of Radical Booksellers
\n<\/strong><\/strong>The Bread and Roses prize is awarded by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB), a recently formed organisation, which helps to support and promote the work of Britain\u2019s progressive booksellers.
\nwww.radicalbooksellers.co.uk<\/a>
\nThe 2012 Shortlist\u00a0<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nNew Internationalist, \u00a39.99<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nMelville House, \u00a321.99 (Hardback)<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nOR Books, \u00a38.00<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nVerso, \u00a314.99<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nPluto Press, \u00a317.99<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nPluto Press, \u00a312.99<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nVintage, \u00a38.99<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nMore information and links<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n
\nAlliance of Radical Booksellers\u00a0www.radicalbooksellers.co.uk<\/a>
\nThe Bread and Roses pub\u00a0www.breadandrosespub.com<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n