Feminism at the Centre

Feminist Book Fortnight (FBF) is back for 2024! FBF is an annual celebration of feminist and radical books led by independent bookshops across the U.K. and we are delighted to be taking part again, hosting this special panel event in partnership with the University of Sussex. 

The original Fortnight ran from 1984 to 1991 and has recently been revived, first by Five Leaves Bookshop, and now Books on the Rise. It's key aim, as stated in 1984 is to ‘put feminism, feminist writers, books and publishers squarely and firmly in the mainstream marketplace, onto the educational curriculum and on library shelves’. For this celebratory event we're bringing together representatives from bookselling, libraries, publishing, media and academia to discuss what it means in 2024 to put feminism at the centre in our libraries, our bookshops and on our book lists and bookshelves. 

The evening will be chaired by Dr Eleanor Careless, who was a Research Fellow on the Business of Women's Words Project during which she authored Feminist Book Fortnight: A Short History as well as a longer academic article on the history of the Fortnight. She will be in conversation with the multitalented writer, bookseller and publisher So Mayer, alongside Jane Harvell, Director of Library Services at the University of Sussex; and Ruth Wainwright, owner of The Feminist Bookshop.

The Feminist Bookshop will also be sharing their Selected Twenty titles for 2023-2024. The 'Selected Twenty' were a distinctive feature of the original fortnight: a group of titles selected as those ‘which best represent the range and strength of feminist books published in a given year' (Spare Rib 155: 43).  The Feminist Bookshop will be announcing their chosen titles at the event so do come along if you want to be the first to know what's made it onto the Selected Twenty. 

We can't wait to see you there!

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This event is hosted in partnership with the University of Sussex, with funding from the Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

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Panellists

Eleanor Careless

Dr Eleanor Careless is currently a Research Fellow at Northumbria University. She completed her PhD on the poet Anna Mendelssohn at the University of Sussex (2014-2019), which included a fellowship with the Library of Congress in Washington, DC. She has since held postdoctoral positions at the University of Sussex, as part of 'The Business of Women's Words: Purpose and Profit in Feminist Publishing' project, funded by the Leverhulme Trust and partnered with the British Library (2020-21), and at the British School at Rome, where she started a project on Italian feminist print culture (2021-22).

After this she joined the 'Liberating Histories: Women's Movement Magazines, Media Activism and Periodical Pedagogies' project at Northumbria University, funded by the AHRC and partnered with LSE Women's Library. She has published journal articles and book chapters on twentieth-century women’s writing and is the co-editor of a special issue on Anna Mendelssohn. During her time at Sussex she co-ran the long-running poetry reading series Hi Zero founded by Joe Luna (2016-2018). She also acts as digital editor for the Journal of British and Irish Innovative Poetry.

So Mayer

So Mayer is a writer, publisher, bookseller, organiser and film curator. Their first collection of short stories Truth and Dare is out now from Cipher Press, and was long listed for the 2024 Republic of Consciousness Prize. Their recent books include A Nazi Word for a Nazi Thing, a book-length essay on queer films, bodies and fascism for Peninsula Press, and their most recent collaborative projects are Space Crone by Ursula K. Le Guin (Silver Press), The Film We Can’t See (BBC Sounds), Unreal Sex (Cipher Press), and Mothers of Invention: Film, Media and Caregiving Labor. So works with Silver Press, Burley Fisher Books and queer feminist film curation collective Club Des Femmes

Jane Harvell

Jane Harvell is University Librarian and Director of Library Services at the University of Sussex. She has previously worked in the Library at the London School of Economics and at the British Library in various management and curatorial roles including the National Sound Archive.

She is a member of the University Leadership Team, Professional Services Leadership Team, the Senior Responsible Officer for the Library and Study Environment Programme and take a strategic lead on advocating for open research practice and delivering learning spaces across the University. She is also Vice-Chair of Research Library UK (RLUK), a member of the SCONUL Content Strategy Group and the Chair of the Mass Observation Archive Trust whose collections are held at Sussex.

Ruth Wainwright

Ruth is the founder and owner of The Feminist Bookshop in Brighton. She also co-founded Brighton Book Festival with Carolynn Bain, which is now led by Afrori Books.  The Feminist Bookshop is a radical independent bookshop based in central Brighton which seeks to support, celebrate and promote women, non-binary and marginalised writers, creatives and entrepreneurs. 

The Business of Women's Words Project 

The Business of Women’s Words: Purpose and Profit in Feminist Publishing (BOWW) explores the dramatic story of the feminist publishing revolution that unfolded during the UK Women’s Movements of the 1970s, 80s and 90s, and their legacies for social movement inspired creative industries today. This four-year research project (2018-2021), funded by the Leverhulme Trust, looks at the contrasting histories and fortunes of legendary enterprises such as Virago Press and Spare Rib.

It examines how activists called upon cultural and creative business activities to help promote their aims despite feminists’ general antipathy and sometimes hostility to capitalist methods and ideologies. The research unearths activists’ efforts to infuse purpose with profit and to reconcile business and financial imperatives with political, artistic and egalitarian commitments, bringing life to archival treasures at The British Library. The research brings fresh perspectives to the history of feminism, which has previously focused on identities and campaigns, by considering the ways that feminists’ ethical and socialist economic strategies related to creative and entrepreneurial successes.

The Business of Women’s Words also explores the business investments and state support behind feminist cultural production and the hidden role of personal and private income, transnational networking, collective ‘crowd sourcing’, unpaid time, labour and care.

Accessibility

Access to our shop is through a large door (91cm wide) and a ramp (77W x 48L x 12H with 240kg max weight) can be placed for wheelchair access. If you require assistance or the ramp to enter the shop, please ring the doorbell that is located on the right hand side of the front door and one of our staff will come and help you.

Our chair dimensions are the following:

Width - 40 cm

Depth - 41 cm

Legs height - 47 cm

Back of the chair height - 30 cm

Our gender-neutral toilet is located on the basement level, which sadly due to structural restrictions, is not wheelchair accessible. The basement is accessed via 10 stairs with a handrail on the right hand side. We have on-site baby changing facilities in our bathroom.

If you'd like to familiarise yourself with the space beforehand, you can find photos of the space on our website.

We can't wait to see you there!