The stalls, workshops, and after-party gig made for an event to be remembered
~ Don B ~
On Saturday (June 7th) the fourth annual Newcastle Ewan Brown Anarchist Bookfair was held at the Star and Shadow Cinema in Newcastle Upon-Tyne. A strong fixture in the UK anarchist bookfairs calendar, expectations as always were high for the event, and this year once again built upon the successes of the previous years.
It was a day of solidarity, enjoyment, and dedicated planning and organising for future actions and initiatives. All of this was done not just for the cause of anarchism, but also in loving memory of Ewan Brown, a local anarchist who we sadly lost and deeply miss.
The stalls once again had a strong showing, with a good mix of local groups and more national outfits. From the local area we had North East Anarchist Group (NEAG) and the Northumbria branch of the IWW, as well as Food and Solidarity (a local mutual aid organisation), Tyneside Anarchist Archive, and the Battle of Stockton Campaign. Local Palestine solidarity groups also had a presence, with both Newcastle PSC and People Against Rafael (a group dedicated to shutting down a local Israeli-owned weapons factory) sharing a stall. The national and international groups included both AK and PM Press, and Freedom Press. All stalls received strong engagement throughout the day, and it was oftentimes very difficult to get around either of the two rooms they were in!
The theme of this year’s workshops was: “’Creative Flow’ writing, speaking, using your mind and your hands to change the world around you”. Five workshops were hosted on the day. A talk on prisoner writing started the day with details on how to successfully write to prisoners, followed by a talk by a member of the IWW regarding radical writing, and discussing the new IWW publication The Wobbly Times. Food and Solidarity discussed community organising and strategy, and Palestine Action discussed direct action strategy and how to help shut down the Israeli war machine in the UK. The workshops ended with a trans and non-binary discussion space. All workshops were well attended, especially the Palestine Action talk, which packed the room to the point where no one could move, showing how strong the appetite is for radical direct action in the face of genocide.
The day then ended with a gig in the afternoon, Gaydar, Ketwig Salon, and Driven Serious all played – it was also well attended, helped raise a lot of money for next year’s bookfair, and allowed for a well-deserved rest and wind-down.
The day had an excellent turnout throughout, and the venue was packed with people in the stall’s rooms, workshops, and the Star and Shadow café. With so many local causes to get involved in, from Palestine solidarity to mutual aid, having an anarchist presence in these spaces is more important than ever, and anarchism is definitely on the rise in the North-East, and bookfairs such as this one provide a vital date in the calendar to consolidate ourselves for another year of action.
