Ireland’s Leading Radical Bookfair Takes Place in Derry

This year marks the 4th annual Radical Bookfair in Derry which now forms part of the city’s political calendar at the Pilots Row Community Centre in the heart of the Bogside.

Organisers of the Derry Radical Bookfair will once again host the country’s largest selection of independent radical press, book sellers, publishers and distributors from across Ireland with a number of participants taking part from Scotland, England and Wales.

A spokesperson for the Derry Radical Bookfair said “We have seen many participants return time and time again to the Radical Bookfair after previous successful fairs held in the city. What we are proud of is having a large variety of political opinions as expressed though the many different forms of radical literature on display. Literature not normally found in mainstream bookshops and outlets. What we have is a healthy and expanding network of independent booksellers and publishers who have forged links and new important contacts which the Derry Radical Bookfair is a vital focal point as part of the political calendar.

“The Radical Bookfair has many different political views and radical traditions which makes up the lift of the city. We pride ourselves in creating a space for books of local, national and international interests including social and labour history as well as themes covering radical feminism, queer liberation, anarchism, marxism, republicanism and environmentalism. It is also a day in which a number of campaign groups have the opportunity to table stalls so as to highlight ongoing concerns such as human rights, environmental and social justice issues.

“This year we will be including a speakers corner which will host a number of talks and discussions from Anti-fascism to Anarchism throughout the day which will again add to the overall community spirit that the book fair has created at Pilots Row. For many the event ties in well with the week long events as part of the run up to the annual Bloody Sunday March for Justice.”

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Restrictions In Place For 6th Annual Derry Radical Bookfair

Restrictions in place for a space Derry Radical Bookfiar

Restrictions in place during 6th annual Derry Radical Bookfair 2022 Restrictions will be in place at this year’s Derry Radical Bookfair which takes place on Saturday 29th January 2022 12pm to 5pm.

A spokesperson for the Radical Bookfair said that “there will never a number of restrictions in place ahead of this years Bookfair in line with current health guidelines.

“Those taking part have been asked to ensure face masks will be worn at all times and hand hygiene is adhered to throughout the day.

“This will ensure that those attending can do so in a safe and will ventilated location. Anyone entering Pilots Row Community Centre and participating in the Bookfair will be asked to wear a face mask, sanitise hands and keep a safe distance in accordance with health guidance.

“We have no problem in keeping with the current pandemic guidelines in order for this important annual to take place over the Bloody Sunday weekend.

“Sadly last year we had to call off the Bookfair due to extensive restrictions however the Derry Radical Bookfair now forms part of the city’s political calendar so we’re more than happy to adhere to a safe environment for everyone in order to see our 6th annual Bookfair go ahead. Those presenting book and information stalls, as well as those who participate on the day will welcome the return of the Derry Radical Bookfair under the present circumstances.”

Derry Radical Bookfair takes place on Saturday 29th January 2022 at Pilots Row Community Centre in Rossville Street from 12pm to 5pm.

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AONACH LEABHAR RADACAH DHOIRE 2022

Beidh an 6ú aonach leabhar dá chineál i nDoire Dé Sathairn 29ú Eanáir 2022.


Cuirfear fearadh na fáilte roimh dhíoltóirí beaga neamhspleácha a leabhair agus foilseacháin radacacha le smaointe agus le hábhair léitheoireachta nach bhfuiĺ fáil orthu sna gnáthshiopaí a chur faoi bhráid an phobail.


Foisliúcháin a bhaineann le feachtais i gcóngar is i gcéin, leis an sóisialachas, leis an Mharxachas, leis an phoblachtachas agus leis an chomhshaolachas a bheas ar fáil ar an lá.

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Back with a Bang: The 6th Radical Bookfair To Take Place in Derry

This year’s Radical Bookfair will take place in Derry as the city commemorates the 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday.  This year will mark the 6th Derry Radical Bookfair and the first since the global pandemic closed the majority of public gatherings.  A spokesperson for the Derry Radical Bookfair said: 

“We are delighted to announce that the forthcoming Derry Radical Bookfair will be taking place once again at Pilots Row.  It’s now viewed by many who attend to be the rightful home of the book fair, an ideal space right in the heart of the Bogside particularly at this time. 

“Last year we witnessed the book fair move online, which opened up the event to a more international audience however, the book fair is about selling books, meeting people, networking and having direct access to a wide variety of radical books from radical feminism, queer politics to anarchism.  There is nothing like the type of atmosphere the Derry Radical Bookfair creates and in January 2022 it will prove to be bigger and better.

“The footfall varies from year to year and after last year’s break due to Covid restrictions, people can be assured that we will have the space and environment in line with current guidelines, to allow those attending to explore the host of books and publications on display.  

“The 6th Derry Radical Bookfair will take place alongside a series of events marking the 50th Bloody Sunday March for Justice Commemorations.  From planned talks, walks and discussions we have no doubt that it will be an extremely busy weekend in Derry. The Radical Bookfair is still one of the country’s largest radical book fair with a wide selection of independent radical press, book sellers, publishers and distributors from across Ireland with a number of participants taking part from Scotland, England and Wales. A very important focal point for many and firmly part of the city’s political calendar.

Facebook event here

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DRB 2021 Talk: Ben Fletcher: The Life and Times of a Black Wobbly

Virtual book launch of Peter Cole’s Ben Fletcher: The Life and Times of a Black Wobbly on Saturday, January 30th hosted by the Derry Radical Bookfair.

Peter presents a background to his amazing new book on Ben Fletcher, an African American who helped lead the IWW’s most militant and effective interracial branch, epitomized the union’s brand of anti-capitalism and anti-racism.Fletcher (1890−1949) was a tremendously important and well-loved member of the IWW during its heyday, the first quarter of the 20th century.

A brilliant union organizer and a humorous orator, Fletcher helped found and lead Local 8 of the IWW’s Marine Transport Workers Industrial Union. When founded in 1913, this union was a third African American, a third Irish and Irish American, and a third other European immigrants. Despite being hated by the bosses and redbaited by the government, Local 8 controlled the waterfront for almost a decade.

Peter Cole is a Professor of History at Western Illinois University (United States) and a Research Associate in the Society, Work and Development Program at the University of the Witwatersrand (South Africa).

He is the author of Wobblies on the Waterfront: Interracial Unionism in Progressive Era Philadelphia and the award-winning Dockworker Power: Race and Activism in Durban and the San Francisco Bay Area.

He also is the founder and co-director of the Chicago Race Riot of 1919 Commemoration Project (CRR19).This is the first European book launch of his latest book and is followed by a Q&A.

Please click on the following link for video here

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DRB 2021 Talk: Oscar Wilde Anarchism, Anti-colonialism & Art

Deaglán Ó Donghaile (author, Oscar Wilde and the Radical Politics of the Fin de Siècle) Drawing on his new book, Oscar Wilde and the Radical Politics of the Fin de Siècle and his forthcoming study, Revolutionary Wilde, Dr Deaglán Ó Donghaile discusses how the themes of anarchism, anticolonialism, and art are key to Oscar Wilde’s literary writings.

While Wilde has traditionally been viewed as an apolitical and even conservative author, Deaglán explains how his works are key anarchist texts that engage very directly with class struggles and anticolonial themes.Wilde’s plays, fiction and essays publicly criticised the coercion laws that were imposed on Ireland throughout the nineteenth century – laws that provided the legal and ideological bases for various forms of repressive neoliberal legislation today.

In particular, Deaglán discusses the enduring relevance of Wilde’s famous essay, “The Soul of Man Under Socialism”, which drew on anarchist and anticolonial critiques of power, authority, and state violence by proposing that art and culture could unite people in solidarity against capitalism and imperialism.

This event is followed by a Q&A and the full talk can be viewed here

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DRB 2021 Talk: The politics of anarchism, burnout & collective care

As part of this years series of talks and discussions, Nicole Rose, an anarchist organiser, former prisoner and the author of Overcoming Burnout and The Prisoner’s Herbal has taken part in the Derry Radical Book as part of an online event exploring the politics of anarchism, burnout & collective care.

This event was organised by our friends the Incarcerated Workers Organising Committee Ireland (IWOC), the event explores how organisers can avoid and negotiate burnout as well as the mutual aid models we can create to support people with chronic illnesses.

It also highlights the role of grassroots herbalism in building individual and community health autonomy.

The link to this video can be viewed here

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Special Preview Screening of ‘Bring Down The Walls’

Derry Radical Bookfair has partnered with Void Gallery for a special Preview Screening of ‘Bring Down The Walls’, a new film by the artist Phil Collins.


With a prison population of more than 2 million, the US is the world’s biggest jailer. Coinciding with the escalation of mass incarceration in the 1980s, house music emerged from Black, Latinx and queer communities embattled by oppressive law enforcement policies. Bring Down The Walls looks at the prison industrial complex through the lens of house music and nightlife, proposing the dance floor as a space of personal and collective liberation, and new ways in which we could come together as a society.
The screening will be accompanied by a set of reading lists on prison abolition and prison struggle from radical, independent publishers.


This online screening is free but booking is essential. Please book at this link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/…/special-preview…
A link will be posted here on the day of event.


Film length: 88 minutes


The film will be available online 7-12pm, Saturday 30th January


The screening will be available on www.derryvoid.com.


This screening is presented by Void Gallery in partnership with Derry Radical Bookfair and Shady Lane Productions.


In the next days we’ll be sharing some reading lists on Prison Abolition from some of the independent publishers who have participated over the past several years with us at the Derry Radical Bookfair.


Image: Phil Collins
Bring Down The Walls, 2020
Colour, sound; 88 min. 
Courtesy Shady Lane Productions
Photo: Mel D. Cole


Image description: The photo frames two people of colour on a dance floor. Their faces are relaxed, their arms are extended and their bodies are close to one another as they dance. 

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The politics of anarchism, burnout & collective care

Nicole Rose is an anarchist organiser, former prisoner and the author of Overcoming Burnout and The Prisoner’s Herbal. Nicole will take part in the Derry Radical Book as part of an online event exploring the politics of anarchism, burnout & collective care.

Organised by our friends the Incarcerated Workers Organising Committee Ireland (IWOC), the event will explore how organisers can avoid and negotiate burnout as well as the mutual aid models we can create to support people with chronic illnesses.

It will also highlight the role of grassroots herbalism in building individual and community health autonomy. 

Link to Facebook event & Zoom event here

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Oscar Wilde: Anarchism, Anticolonialism & Art

Deaglán Ó Donghaile (author, Oscar Wilde and the Radical Politics of the Fin de Siècle)Drawing on his new book, Oscar Wilde and the Radical Politics of the Fin de Siècle and his forthcoming study, Revolutionary Wilde, Dr Deaglán Ó Donghaile will discuss how the themes of anarchism, anticolonialism, and art are key to Oscar Wilde’s literary writings.

While Wilde has traditionally been viewed as an apolitical and even conservative author, Deaglán will explain how his works are key anarchist texts that engage very directly with class struggles and anticolonial themes.

Wilde’s plays, fiction and essays publicly criticised the coercion laws that were imposed on Ireland throughout the nineteenth century – laws that provided the legal and ideological bases for various forms of repressive neoliberal legislation today.In particular, Deaglán will discuss the enduring relevance of Wilde’s famous essay, “The Soul of Man Under Socialism”, which drew on anarchist and anticolonial critiques of power, authority, and state violence by proposing that art and culture could unite people in solidarity against capitalism and imperialism.

Link to Facebook event & Zoom Talk here

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