Open for submissions: 2026 Bread & Roses Award

13 Nov

The Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB) is happy to announce that submissions are now being welcomed for the Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing 2026. The Bread and Roses Award celebrates non-fiction which is

  • informed by socialist, anarchist, environmental, feminist and anti-racist concerns
  • inspires, supports or reports on political and/or personal change
  • accessible and readable by the interested reader
  • relates to global, national, local or specialist areas of interest

Previous winners have included:

David Graeber’s ‘Debt: The First 5,000 Years’ (Melville House, 2011),
Hsiao-Hung Pai’s ‘Scattered Sand: The Story of China’s Rural Migrants’ (Verso, 2012),
Joe Glenton’s ‘Soldier Box: Why I Won’t Return to the War on Terror’ (Verso, 2013)
‘Here We Stand: Women Changing The World’, edited by Helena Earnshaw and Angharad Penrhyn Jones (Honno Press, 2014)
‘The Song of the Shirt: The High Price of Cheap Garments, from Blackburn to Bangladesh’ by Jeremy Seabrook  (Hurst, 2015)
The Candidate: Jeremy Corbyn’s Improbable Path to Power’ by Alex Nunns (OR Books, 2016)
Joint winners ‘Familiar Stranger: A Life Between Two Islands’ by Stuart Hall with Bill Schwarz (Allen Lane 2017) and ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race’ by Reni Eddo-Lodge (Bloomsbury 2017)
Europe’s Fault Lines: Racism and the Rise of the Right’ by Liz Fekete (Verso, 2018)
‘Afropean: Notes from Black Europe’ by Johny Pitts (Allen Lane, 2019)
‘The Chagos Betrayal: How Britain Robbed an Island and Made Its People Disappear’ by Florian Grosset (Myriad Editions, 2020)
‘Abolition Revolution’ by Aviah Sarah Day and Shanice Octavia McBean (Pluto Press, 2022)
‘Divided: Racism, Medicine and Why We Need to Decolonise Healthcare‘ by Dr Annabel Sowemimo (Wellcome Collection, 2023)

Award ceremony and prize money

There is one prize of £500 to the winning title. The prize is run in conjunction with the ARB’s prize for progressive children’s writing, The Little Rebels Children’s Book Award.

The Winner is due to be announced at Edinburgh’s Radical Book Fair in November 2026.

Submissions

The Bread and Roses Award 2026 is open for submissions from 14th November 2025 to 31st January 2026.

For full submissions criteria please visit this page on the Bread and Roses website:
https://breadandrosesprize.wordpress.com/faqs

Crucially, submitted books must have been published in 2025 and books must be written, or largely written by authors or editors normally living in the UK.

Announcing the 2025 Bread and Roses Award winners!

15 Sep

The panel of judges for the 2025 Bread and Roses Award, organised by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers and hosted by Lighthouse Books, are thrilled to announce the winners of this year’s prize. By unanimous decision, the judges selected two books as joint winners. The Award celebrates radical, accessible, and politically-left non-fiction which offers new perspectives and insights.

The winners are: Pleasure Gardens: Blackouts and the Logic of Crisis in Kashmir by Skye Arundhati Thomas and Izabella Scott (MACK), and Intervals by Marianne Brooker (Fitzcarraldo).

The books focus on very different topics, yet discuss important conversations that often go underrepresented in traditional media. The judges felt these books were unique in their approach, and hope that this award can encourage readers to pick them up and engage in the conversations they focus on. The judges extend their heartfelt congratulations to all three winning authors.

The judges said:

“Intervals, by Fitzcarraldo’s own definition, blends “memoir, polemic and feminist philosophy”. With its poignant writing on care, illness, and what makes a good death, topics that concern all of us, Intervals speaks to urgent conversations happening currently in the UK, and is grounded in strong socialist and activist traditions. Intervals highlights the relationship between class and access to healthcare. It is simultaneously a moving tribute to Brooker’s mother as well as a rallying cry. In the context of the changing law around Assisted Dying we urgently need to hear more from those affected by it, and Intervals is an excellent example of this.

Pleasure Gardens is not only a necessary read, but Izabella Scott and Skye Arundhati Thomas also play with form in a way that is innovative and makes it accessible to more readers, using a diary format to build tension. The book shines a spotlight on the hidden side of the politics of Kashmir, disrupting a highly curated narrative by the national government, and the judges hope this publication will open the door to Kashmiri voices being published. This publication is a symbol for transnational solidarity, at a time where many Kashmiri authors have been banned by the Indian government. While the judges were surprised at the lack of submissions that discussed today’s global crises, we appreciated that Pleasure Gardens highlights the links between the Indian and Israeli governments, and represents the evolving conversation around this topic.”

The winner was announced on 15 September 2025 during a virtual ceremony hosted by Lighthouse Books, and Brooker, Scott and Thomas will share the £500 prize.

Established in 2012 by radical London bookshop, Housemans, the prize has since been run in collaboration with Five Leaves Bookshop and Lighthouse – Edinburgh’s Radical Bookshop. Previous winners of the Award include Aviah Sarah Day and Shanice Octavia McBean, Florian Grosset, Johny Pitts, Reni Eddo-Lodge and, in its very first year, David Graeber.

Full 2025 shortlist (in alphabetical order):

Bread and Roses Award 2025 – shortlist announced!

24 Jul

The judges for the Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing are delighted to announce the 2025 shortlist.

The Bread and Roses Award, presented by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers with admin support from Lighthouse Bookshop, celebrates radical, accessible, politically left non-fiction that offers new perspectives and insights. Over 100 books were sent by publishers for consideration, from publishing houses big and small across the industry, including Verso, Bloomsbury, Saqi, Peepal Tree Press, and Canongate. From a longlist of 16, the judges selected 8 for a shortlist.

The books chosen this year cover a wide array of topics which are critical to the present political discussion in the UK. Among them are social inequality, police violence, digital innovation, health politics, marginalised histories of identity, and feminism for all.

The 8 shortlisted titles are:

Meera Ghanshamdas, Chair of Judges and co-director of Round Table Books, said: Meera Ghanshamdas, Chair of Judges and co-director of Round Table Books, said: “This is my second year working on the Bread and Roses award, and it has been one of the most rewarding experiences that I have had while working in books. The titles chosen for this year by our tremendous panel of judges are at the forefront of radical political conversation within their field, approaching their subject matter with nuance and sensitivity.

I had a concern regarding this year’s submissions: a noticeable reduction of books focusing on some of the most pressing current issues in the UK and around the world, or a shift towards academic writing on the major issues.

I hope this was due to publishing lead times and the need for rigour within the discussion around these topics, rather than bigger publishers becoming more risk-averse and the decline of output from smaller publishers due to a lack of funding.”

The winner, winning £500, will be announced in a virtual ceremony on 15th September 2025

The Bread and Roses Award celebrates non-fiction which

  • is informed by socialist, anarchist, environmental, feminist and anti-racist concerns
  • inspires, supports or reports on political and/or personal change
  • is accessible and readable by the interested reader
  • relates to global, national, local or specialist areas of interest

The Bread & Roses Award was established by Housmans in 2012, and has since been run in collaboration with Five Leaves Bookshop and then Lighthouse – Edinburgh’s Radical Bookshop. Past winners of the Award include Annabel Sowemimo, Ellen Clifford, Johny Pitts, Reni Eddo-Lodge and, in its very first year, David Graeber.

Bread and Roses Prize 2025 – Longlist announced!

14 Jun

The judges for the Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing are delighted to announce the 2025 longlist. They decided to release this longlist at the start of Independent Bookshop Week to highlight the importance of independent bookshops, particularly radical bookshops, for celebrating books which speak to the present political moment.

The Bread and Roses Award, presented by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers with admin support from Lighthouse Bookshop, celebrates radical, accessible, politically left non-fiction that offers new perspectives and insights. Over 100 books were sent by publishers for consideration, from publishing houses big and small across the industry, including Verso, Bloomsbury, Saqi, Peepal Tree Press, and Canongate.

The books chosen this year cover a wide array of topics which are critical to the present political discussion in the UK. Among them are social inequality, police violence, digital innovation, health politics, climate change, marginalised histories of identity, feminism for all, and the experience of forced displacement and refuge. With that being said, we are always limited by what publishers submit. Any obvious omissions from the present political and human rights discourse can be attributed to an absence of titles in the submission period.

After careful deliberation, the judges selected 16 books for the longlist:

Meera Ghanshamdas, Chair of Judges and co-director of Round Table Books, said: “This is my second year working on the Bread and Roses award, and it has been one of the most rewarding experiences that I have had while working in books. The titles chosen for this year by our tremendous panel of judges are at the forefront of radical politics conversation, approaching their subject matter with nuance and sensitivity.”

The shortlist will be announced on 24th July 2025

The winner, winning £500, will be announced on 15th September 2025

The Bread and Roses Award celebrates non-fiction which

  • is informed by socialist, anarchist, environmental, feminist and anti-racist concerns
  • inspires, supports or reports on political and/or personal change
  • is accessible and readable by the interested reader
  • relates to global, national, local or specialist areas of interest

The Bread & Roses Award was established by Housmans in 2012, and has since been run in collaboration with Five Leaves Bookshop and then Lighthouse – Edinburgh’s Radical Bookshop. Past winners of the Award include Annabel Sowemimo, Ellen Clifford, Johny Pitts, Reni Eddo-Lodge and, in its very first year, David Graeber.

Submissions welcome for the 2025 Bread & Roses Award

1 Nov

The Alliance of Radical Booksellers (ARB) is happy to announce that submissions are now being welcomed for the Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing 2025. The Bread and Roses Award celebrates non-fiction which is

  • informed by socialist, anarchist, environmental, feminist and anti-racist concerns
  • inspires, supports or reports on political and/or personal change
  • accessible and readable by the interested reader
  • relates to global, national, local or specialist areas of interest

Previous winners have included:

David Graeber’s ‘Debt: The First 5,000 Years’ (Melville House, 2011),
Hsiao-Hung Pai’s ‘Scattered Sand: The Story of China’s Rural Migrants’ (Verso, 2012),
Joe Glenton’s ‘Soldier Box: Why I Won’t Return to the War on Terror’ (Verso, 2013)
‘Here We Stand: Women Changing The World’, edited by Helena Earnshaw and Angharad Penrhyn Jones (Honno Press, 2014)
‘The Song of the Shirt: The High Price of Cheap Garments, from Blackburn to Bangladesh’ by Jeremy Seabrook  (Hurst, 2015)
The Candidate: Jeremy Corbyn’s Improbable Path to Power’ by Alex Nunns (OR Books, 2016)
Joint winners ‘Familiar Stranger: A Life Between Two Islands’ by Stuart Hall with Bill Schwarz (Allen Lane 2017) and ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race’ by Reni Eddo-Lodge (Bloomsbury 2017)
Europe’s Fault Lines: Racism and the Rise of the Right’ by Liz Fekete (Verso, 2018)
‘Afropean: Notes from Black Europe’ by Johny Pitts (Allen Lane, 2019)
‘The Chagos Betrayal: How Britain Robbed an Island and Made Its People Disappear’ by Florian Grosset (Myriad Editions, 2020)
‘Abolition Revolution’ by Aviah Sarah Day and Shanice Octavia McBean (Pluto Press, 2022)
‘Divided: Racism, Medicine and Why We Need to Decolonise Healthcare‘ by Dr Annabel Sowemimo (Wellcome Collection, 2023)

Award ceremony and prize money

There is one prize of £500 to the winning title. The prize is run in conjunction with the ARB’s prize for progressive children’s writing, The Little Rebels Children’s Book Award.

The Winner is due to be announced in the Autumn of 2025.

Submissions

For full submissions criteria please visit this page on the Bread and Roses website:
https://breadandrosesprize.wordpress.com/faqs

Crucially, submitted books must have been published in 2024 and books must be written, or largely written by authors or editors normally living in the UK.

Announcing the 2024 Bread & Roses Award Winner!

16 Sep

The panel of judges for the 2024 Bread and Roses Award, organised by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers and hosted by Lighthouse Books, are thrilled to announce the winner of this year’s prize. By unanimous decision, the judges have selected Divided: Racism, Medicine and Why We Need to Decolonise Healthcare by Dr Annabel Sowemimo (Wellcome Collection) as this year’s winner. The Award celebrates radical, accessible, and politically-left non-fiction which offers new perspectives and insights.

The judges would like to offer their heartfelt congratulations to Dr Annabel Sowemimo. The judges said: “Divided fit all of the criteria for the Bread and Roses Award. It is unique in its radical nature and widely encompassing in its coverage of the issues in the healthcare system. It contributes greatly and robustly to the discussion of racism in UK healthcare, particularly given that this issue is most often discussed in mainstream spaces with reference to the US. Sowemimo discusses racism and inequality in healthcare through personal experiences and rigorous research that is resonant across generations. This book is not only timely, but also indispensable to those who work in healthcare, care about healthcare, and interact with healthcare in the UK – which is to say every one of us.” 

Although the decision to select the winner was unanimous, it was a difficult decision to only select one winner. The judges would like to highlight two further books: I Feel No Peace: Rohingya Fleeing Over Seas & Rivers by Kaamil Ahmed (Hurst) and Friends of Israel: The Backlash Against Palestine Solidarity by Hil Aked (Verso). The judges said “At this time of genuine terror, loss of life and political strife across the world and in the UK, the judges feel that these books are indispensable in understanding how we got to this point and where we can go now. They shed light on issues that are mired in miscommunication and disinformation. We sincerely hope that they will be read widely and used to provide further nuance to the issues of migration, foreign relations, and international justice and human rights.”

The winner was announced on 16 September 2024 during a virtual ceremony hosted by Lighthouse Books, and Dr Sowemimo will receive a £500 prize.

Established in 2012 by radical London bookshop, Housemans, the prize has since been run in collaboration with Five Leaves Bookshop and Lighthouse – Edinburgh’s Radical Bookshop. Previous winners of the Award include Aviah Sarah Day and Shanice Octavia McBean, Florian Grosset, Johny Pitts, Reni Eddo-Lodge and, in its very first year, David Graeber.

Full 2024 shortlist (in alphabetical order):

I Feel No Peace: Rohingya Fleeing Over Seas & Rivers by Kaamil Ahmed (Hurst)

Friends of Israel: The Backlash Against Palestine Solidarity by Hil Aked (Verso)

Empire of Normality : Neurodiversity and Capitalism by Robert Chapman (Pluto)

Shattered Nation: Inequality and the Geography of A Failing State by Danny Dorling (Verso)

Woman Life Freedom: Voices and Art from the Women’s Protests in Iran edited by Malu Halasa (Saqi)

Divided: Racism, Medicine and Why We Need to Decolonise Healthcare by Annabel Sowemimo (Wellcome Collection)

Bread & Roses Award 2024 – Shortlist announcement

17 Jun

The Bread & Roses Award, presented by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers with admin support from Lighthouse books, celebrates radical, accessible, politically-left non-fiction which offers new perspectives and insight. This feels particularly necessary at this concerning time of growing right-wing action and politics in the UK and worldwide, with a general election just around the corner.

Over 60 books were sent by publishers for consideration, from publishing houses big and small across the industry including Verso, Saqi, Profile, Repeater, and Hajar Press. 

Our panel of judges are thrilled to present a shortlist of 6 titles. The winner will be announced in a virtual ceremony in September and be awarded a £500 prize.

The books selected for the shortlist are vastly different in their topics, yet all relevant to the many political crossroads that we are facing. The books cover medical racism and the need for decolonisation, the consequences of capitalism on neurodiversity, the UK’s relationship with foreign state political lobbyists, genocide, displacement and refugees, women’s rights and the place of art in liberation, and the startling inequality in the UK itself. 

SHORTLIST:

The judges said:

“The books shortlisted for this 2024’s Bread and Roses Award are exemplary in their insight into some of the most widespread issues that are faced in the UK and in the rest of the world. 

Some of these titles highlight issues closely relevant to the UK, such as the Dorling’s investigation into inequality in our own nations, Sowemimo’s work on racism in the medical field, Chapman’s unique and eye-opening discussion of neurodivergence and capitalism, and Aked’s reporting on the effect of Israeli lobbyists on Palestinian Solidarity in the UK. These are books that have the power to shape many of our decisions and actions – especially with the general election coming up.

The others remind us of our individual and collective positions and responsibilities in responding to crises and issues outside of our island, which nonetheless require our attention and remembrance beyond the fast-paced and forgetful media cycle. Halasa has collected art and stories of protest in Iran to galvanise and strengthen our solidarity with the women striving for liberation. And Ahmed, based on interviews with Rohingya survivors who have been displaced and faced many horrors reminds us of their resilience and need for accountability.”

Established in 2012 by radical London bookshop, Housemans, the prize has since been run in collaboration with Five Leaves Bookshop and Lighthouse – Edinburgh’s Radical Bookshop. Previous winners of the Award include Aviah Sarah Day and Shanice Octavia McBean, Florian Grosset, Johny Pitts, Reni Eddo-Lodge and, in its very first year, David Graeber.

The Bread and Roses Award 2025 will open for submissions in October 2024, where it will, as ever, invite submissions of non-fiction books which are informed by socialist, anarchist, environmental, feminist and anti-racist concerns, and which inspire, support or report on political and/or personal change.

Media contact: books@lighthousebookshop.com

Bread & Roses Prize 2024 – Longlist announced!

30 May

The judges for the Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing are delighted to announce the 2024 longlist!

The Bread and Roses Award, presented by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers with admin support from Lighthouse books, celebrates radical, accessible, politically-left non-fiction which offers new perspectives and insight. Over 60 books were sent by publishers for consideration, from publishing houses big and small across the industry including Verso, Saqi, Profile, Repeater, and Hajar Press. 

The books chosen this year cover a wide array of topics which are critical to the present political discussion in the UK. Among them are social inequality, Britain’s place in global political conflicts, health politics, the mental health impact of climate change, marginalised histories of identity, feminism for all, and the experience of forced displacement and refuge.

The books are:

  • A Nation of Shopkeepers: The Unstoppable Rise of the Petty Bourgeoisie by Dan Evans (Repeater Books)
  • Divided: Racism, Medicine and Why We Need to Decolonise Healthcare by Annabel Sowemimo (Wellcome Collection/Profile)
  • Doro: Refugee, hero, champion, survivor by Doro Goumaneh and Brendan Woodhouse (Unbound)
  • Empire of Normality : Neurodiversity and Capitalism by Robert Chapman (Pluto)
  • Friends of Israel: The Backlash Against Palestine Solidarity by Hil Aked (Verso)
  • I Feel No Peace: Rohingya Fleeing Over Seas & Rivers by Kaamil Ahmed (Hurst)
  • Is It Ever Just Sex? By Darian Leader (Hamish Hamilton)
  • Mad World : The Politics of Mental Health by Micha Frazer-Carroll (Pluto)
  • Shattered Nation: Inequality and the Geography of A Failing State by Danny Dorling (Verso)
  • Spinning Out: Climate Change, Mental Health and Fighting for a Better Future by Charlie Hertzog Young (Footnote)
  • Three Worlds: Memoirs of an Arab-Jew by Avi Shlaim (Oneworld)
  • Woman Life Freedom: Voices and Art from the Women’s Protests in Iran by Malu Halasa (Saqi)

The decision was made through hours of sincere and deeply engaged debate and the judges would like to offer heartfelt congratulations to all those who have made it this far. These were difficult decisions and there were many books we wish we could have included and that should still be celebrated.

The shortlist for the Bread and Roses Award will be announced on 17 June 2024.

Bread and Roses Award 2024: Meet the Judges

17 Apr

Work is well underway with 2024’s Bread and Roses Award – a book award dedicated to lifting up and celebrating radical left-wing political non-fiction. – with some fantastic books being read, enjoyed and painstakingly discussed.

We’re excited to announce this year’s panel of judges! Here you can read about them and some of their favourite radical books. The Bread & Roses Award is presented by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers and chaired by Lighthouse – Edinburgh’s Radical Bookshop.

AGOMONI GANGULI-MITRA

A Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh, with interest in health, gender, justice and race, and a trustee and Shakti Women’s Aid. I wrote What Draupadi Said to Penelope, which won a Laurel Award at the Edinburgh Fringe 2024. I am also a student of Indian dance and music.

What book/s have prompted you to take action?

Patricia Hill Collins’ Black Feminist Thought has allowed me to rethink what is traditionally considered beautiful academic writing. It has taught me that embodied lived experience from the margins should be central to what we think and worry about. And it has shown me that important, radical ideas can be expressed in clear, accessible and enjoyable language.

MEERA GHANSHAMDAS

Meera Ghanshamdas is co-director of Round Table Books CIC, a community interest company based in Brixton that specialises in championing books from experiences currently under-represented in the book industry and is actively working to make the industry a more inclusive space. She has judged the Klaus Flugge Prize, the British Book Awards, and the Mo Siewcharran Prize as well as sitting on multiple selection panels for English Pen. She was born in Hong Kong and has lived in the Philippines, South Africa, and India before settling in London.

What book/s have prompted you to take action?

(if it ever was) Silence is not an option any longer. The only way that the conversation will evolve is through active communication and dissent. And evolve it must.

MYMONA BIBI

@wordsbymymona

Mymona is a Bengali-British writer, creative workshop facilitator and ESOL teacher in Newcastle. Her writing has been featured in Corridor8 and Lumpen Press, exploring identity and home. She’s a core member of the collective Brown Girls Write and has performed spoken word poetry at Northern festivals and events. Her writing and community work investigates how multilingualism affects epistemology in marginalised communities.

What book/s have prompted you to take action?

Aftermath by Preti Taneja was one of the first books that prompted me to take action. This book allowed me to connect my feelings of grief about the world with a wider understanding of society and politics. Before reading this, the grief I’d felt about my experiences in this world felt unexplainable and therefore not worth dealing with or overcoming. Preti’s awareness of self, positionality and factors affecting the circumstances written about in the book showed me that my grief was explainable and worth unpicking. The poeticism of the writing mixed with its call for abolition and action showed me that activism comes in various forms, but at the start, it comes from the core emotions that make us human.

OLIVIA CALDERÓN (photo credit Gabrielle Tse)

Olivia Calderón is a Cuban American poet based in Edinburgh. Her work has appeared in Interpret and Gutter, along with various local anthologies. In 2023 she was shortlisted for the Grierson Verse Prize, and graduated with her MSc in Creative Writing. She is currently the managing editor for Outcrop Poetry.

What book/s have prompted you to take action?

The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klein. It absolutely opened my eyes to how close these issues really were to me. I grew up in Miami, and saw first hand the impact of the Latin American regimes, but to see it laid out so matter of factly was jarring, as I had never known the depth of US involvement. Since then I’ve been adding a lot more non-fic to my rotation – I want to be much more active in my learning and practice within myself and the community.

RAY SHIPLEY

Ray is a writer, bookseller, and librarian. They love reading all kinds of books, particularly ones that deal in community, politics, and/or queerness. From Aotearoa New Zealand, Ray has recently moved to Edinburgh with their Scottish wife; Ray now spends their time reading, exploring, looking for friends, and furiously job-hunting.

What book/s have prompted you to take action?

So many! Last year the stand outs were Funny Weather: Art in an Emergency by Olivia Laing; The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World by Antony Loewenstein; and Audition by Pip Adam. All three, in very different ways, prompted me to feel fresh fire in the face of deep injustices.

SCOTT HARTLES

I’m Scott Hartles, I am CWU Assistant Regional Secretary Scotland. I have been active in the trade union movement for my whole adult life. I am a socialist, and an avid reader. Reading non-fiction allows me an opportunity for a socialist education that I couldn’t get in a formal environment.

What book/s have prompted you to take action?

The Spirit Level : Why Equality is Better for Everyone by Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett. I read this book after it was recommended to me by a tutor on a trade union course when I first became active at the age of 19. The way the book laid out various forms of inequality in unequal countries with charts and then compared it to countries who have more equal societies with charts. At the time I was politically minded but not active. This book ignited my political activism and passion in equality for all in terms of class but also, race, gender, sexuality, age or disabled. I have not stopped fighting for equality ever since.

VIV CHENG

Viv (She/they) is a translation geek and liquid aficionado. She has lived in Shanghai, Singapore and Brazil advocating for mental health and refugees; and now finds her place behind the till at Typewronger books, Edinburgh.

What book/s have prompted you to take action?

The Living Mountain by Nan Shepherd. I read this book during lockdown and the very first month I moved to Scotland. The gorgeous writing has changed my perspective on nature, and after reading the book I took my very first hike, and it converted me to a lover of the outdoors.

There’s also the Lighthouse team behind the scenes, led by:

CHRISTINA NEUWIRTH

Bookseller & Prize Administrator, and I’m also a writer and researcher.

What book/s have prompted you to take action?

Living a Feminist Life by Sara Ahmed, None of the Above by Travis Alabanza, Culture is Bad For You by Brook et al, The Truth about Modern Slavery by Emily Kenway. All of these changed something fundamental about how I think and interact with the world.

NOOR HEMANI

Bookseller & Chair of Judges

What book/s have prompted you to take action?

This Changes Everything by Naomi Klein. This was one of the first books that I read which helped me to understand the relationship between the economy and the environment and the human cost of capitalism and climate change. I learnt what it meant to live in a place that only ever benefited from the end product, and only ever contributed to making climate change worse. It led me to make personal changes and to learn from activists pursuing systematic change.

Announcing the 2023 Bread & Roses Award winner!

28 Feb

The Bread and Roses Award for Radical Publishing 2023 goes to Abolition Revolution by Aviah Sarah Day and Shanice Octavia McBean. 

Abolition Revolution is a guide to abolitionist politics in Britain, drawing out rich histories of resistance from rebellion in the colonies to grassroots responses to carceral systems today. The authors argue that abolition is key to reconceptualising revolution for our times – linking it with materialist feminisms, anti-capitalist class struggle, internationalist solidarity and anti-colonialism.” (Pluto Press)

43 books were submitted to the Award in 2023, from publishing giants like Penguin and Hachette, to smaller independents like Pluto, Saqi Books and Autonomedia. Our panel of judges had the difficult task of selecting a winner from a very strong shortlist of five books, and the winner was announced in a virtual ceremony on 27th February, and will be awarded a £500 prize.

Mairi Oliver, chair of judges, said:

“Abolition Revolution subverts both genre and conventional thinking on prisons and the abilities of people in community to care for one another. While it is a book of political thought, Day and McBean have overturned the genre by writing an original blend of well-researched arguments, manifesto-like demands for change and personal stories and interviews. It is a refreshingly brave book, clear in its objectives and determination  to bring different communities of people and activists together, and to galvanise the reader to create change, not as one person, but as part of a collective.”

The ceremony recording can be viewed here on Lighthouse Bookshop’s website.

Examining disability rights, queer rights, legacies of empire, race and education, and the need to radically change our criminal justice system, the shortlisted books toed the line between intimate personal reflections and confident political analysis seeking to inspire change:

The Bread & Roses Award, presented by the Alliance of Radical Booksellers, is a book award dedicated to lifting up and celebrating radical left-wing political non-fiction. This feels particularly necessary at this concerning time of growing right-wing action and politics in the UK and worldwide.

The Bread & Roses Award was established by Housmans in 2012, and has since been run in collaboration with Five Leaves Bookshop and then Lighthouse – Edinburgh’s Radical Bookshop. Past winners of the Award include Ellen Clifford, Johny Pitts, Reni Eddo-Lodge and, in its very first year, David Graeber.

Design a site like this with WordPress.com
Get started