History

The first London Bookfair was held at the autonomy centre in Wapping back in December 1981. Half a dozen anarchist publishers spread out their wares, and when hardly anyone turned up they played a pool tournament. It was a nice time and everyone said: “let’s do it again next year”. So they did.

Through the years there have been plenty of dramas, beefs, and dust-ups but also countless seeds planted, new connections made and movements fermented. There have been thousands of stalls and workshops, countless news books, zines and art pieces taken home and used to inspire the next wave of anarchists. The annual anarchist bookfair in London is a vital part of our temperamental milleu's lifeblood and it's an event that has inpired dozens of Bookfairs around the UK and the world.

In 2019 a new crew announced they would be taking on the management role and starting cooking up some trouble... just in time for the world to shut up shop for a couple of years! Ah well, we came out of the pandemic with a triumphant return to Conway Hall before being one of the few events not to shut up shop because the Queen snuffed it, holding an absolutely massive anarchist Bookfair across four venues just down the road from the weekend royalist's mournathon.

This was followed last years event which was primarily held at Richmix, a venue we are delighted to say we're returning too in 2024.

Recent Adventures
2023 - Richmix - Freedom - LARC - Whitechapel 41st Anarchist Bookfair. ARCHIVE
2022 - Bishopsgate Institute - Freedom - Whitechapel Gallery - Toynbee Hall
2021 - Conway Hall & Red Lion Square Gardens
2020 - Online (This was due to due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. This was world's largest Digital Bookfair.) STALLS LIST

Archive of Posters