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London Anarchist Bookfair 2023/24

Wilf said:
Well, okay then, I'll pick up the old age and/or disability baton: not great having the bookfair over 4 sites. I'm sure the sites are all accessible, but that doesn't match the reality of getting around.

I'll probably be attending and hope to meet a few urbs, so none of that is some kind of disguised attack on the organisers. Same time it is a bit thoughtless. Though, having organised similar but smaller events I'll also happily acknowledge that putting these things together is hard work.
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4 sites? FFS
 
Bit of a Hokey Cokey it seems and the ACG are out again...

Regarding ACG at the Bookfair - Anarchist Bookfair London

While we had rejected ACG's stall application in previous years, this year it was accepted after consideration based on the organisation's current public position on trans issues, some recent articles published on trans politics on their website and the fact that many new people are now part of...
anarchistbookfair.london anarchistbookfair.london
 
nogojones said:
Bit of a Hokey Cokey it seems and the ACG are out again...

Regarding ACG at the Bookfair - Anarchist Bookfair London

While we had rejected ACG's stall application in previous years, this year it was accepted after consideration based on the organisation's current public position on trans issues, some recent articles published on trans politics on their website and the fact that many new people are now part of...
anarchistbookfair.london anarchistbookfair.london
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Oh ffs
 
Magnus McGinty said:
View attachment 393748
You don't get more accessible than spreading the event over four locations.
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This Zosia Brom said:
6. Yes, I also think it would be better to have this bookfair in one venue. However, we got what we could on, basically, no budget. While initially, Bishopsgate Institute offered us the whole building, they later withdrew this offer as they needed the space for some other event. So we went on a mission to find more venues as close as possible, and that is what we got. I think convincing some of the better East London non-anarchist spaces to run an anarchist event was pretty cool, but I guess this may be just me.
7. If anyone on this forum thinks we could do better, then the best way of going about it would be to email us with your suggestions or offer of help, rather than be clever online. You are also welcome to organise your own bookfair if you want. We will probably promote it if you do.
8. Having an event across several venues is ofc an accessibility issue by itself. We released an accessibility statement stating that and asking anyone who thinks they will struggle to move between the venues we are using to get in touch. We also announced it on social media several times, and we worked with everyone who did get in touch to make their day as easy as we could.
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I've no idea what has gone on or hasn't gone on (re ACG), but that is farcical. Embarrassing. People do things like booking trains, maybe taking time off work. Ffs!
 
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Something something easier to imagine the end of the world than an end to squabbles about who gets invited to the bookfair.
 
Magnus McGinty said:
So why have a logo plastered on official documentation Dystopiary crowing about accessibility when the reality is that they don't have the funds to actually crow about it?
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Yeah I suppose. In the last bit of what I quoted about saying to get in touch, that's still not going to work for everyone. Probably better to leave out the "accessibility" and just say they're doing what they can but it's not great re access. It'd be more honest. Maybe I'll get in touch with them and suggest that.
 
Magnus McGinty said:
So why have a logo plastered on official documentation Dystopiary crowing about accessibility when the reality is that they don't have the funds to actually crow about it?
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Getting any venue for the bookfair in London is very hard, I don't think it's fair or a good criticism that it's had to be put on over a few places tbh. Not sure how much less accessible it makes it either tbh, people have to get about in their daily lives to different places, must be a tiny number that can't go at all because of this which is unfair for them but unavoidable I expect.
 
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The whole bookfair collective statement on the ACG is fucking confused nonsensical bullshit, fuck the people that wrote that the politically poisonous pricks.

Yet Peace News have a stall, and they've published a bunch of 'gender critical' articles haven't they?

And the Bookfair can cope with having a meeting on Ukraine with differences of opinion that basically involves disagreements about fighting on the side of a State and actually killing people (simplistically), but the ACG have been judged as not having quite reached some unknown acceptable standard on trans stuff so they can't come?

Fucking absolute joke.
 
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LDC said:
Getting any venue for the bookfair in London is very hard, I don't think it's fair or a good criticism that it's had to be put on over a few places tbh.
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Getting decent accessible venues (that are also preferably cheap and have hybrid facilities) can be a challenge even in large cities unless an organisation has a serious budget to spend.
 
zedr said:
does anyone know what transphobia the acg are being accused of?
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No accusations or probably any transphobia, just not being up to some unclear esoteric and arbitary standard the Bookfair haven't even made clear.
 
cesare said:
The ACG were born out of GC friendly people leaving AFED. In a nutshell.
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Not sure it was that simple at all.

Edited after another reading of their muddled statement.
 
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LDC said:
Not sure it was that simple at all.

But they could initially attend this year, but suddenly had the stall rejected. So why the change? The statement doesn't even explain that beyond 'recently published articles and some new members that don't understand the history of the organisation'? Can't see any articles on their website about trans stuff at all.
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That's the history of the split. If you have a different version of events I'd be interested to hear it.

Idk about the politics of the book fair over the last couple of years.
 
I'm not going to comment on this latest development at the bookfair, certainly not before I've had a chance to talk to my comrades in the ACG.
cesare said:
The ACG were born out of GC friendly people leaving AFED. In a nutshell.
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No offence cesare but I don't think think that is an accurate summary. But seeing as I was neither in the AF or in the UK when the split from the happened I'll say no more and let those who have direct experience of event comment - if they wish to.

Regardless the split from the AF happened years ago. The ACG has had people who have no background or experience in the AF right from the start, and at the current time (and for some significant time) the number of ex-AFers is far less than people who have joined the ACG 'new' as it were.
 
Well there's some people on here that were members of (or close to) the ACG so they might explain, but it wasn't as simple as a split of GC people / non-GC people afaik.

But either way they were allowed a stall until recently, so what's changed?
 
LDC said:
Well there's some people on here that were members of (or close to) the ACG so they might explain, but it wasn't as simple as a split of GC people / non-GC people afaik.

But either way they were allowed a stall until recently, so what's changed?
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I didn't say GC/non GC if you look back. I said GC friendly.
 
Jesus have had to read that statement a few times to make sense of it.

So, "We have, however, recently been made aware of new information which suggests there may still be dis-unity within ACG when it comes to trans solidarity which has excacerbated existing concerns within the bookfair collective ... We welcome the feedback and discussion and have made the decision to inform ACG we are now unwilling to give them a stall at this year's bookfair."

They're not giving them a stall due to some internal disagreements they've heard about within the ACG!? WTF.
 
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