The Melbourne Anarchist Bookfair is a free event held annually at The Abbotsford Convent on St Heliers Street, Abbotsford.
In 2015, it will take place from 10am-6pm on Saturday the 8th of August.
Over the past five years, the Bookfair has gathered hundreds of people from Melbourne and beyond to share ideas, attend workshops and strengthen networks.
The Bookfair consists of up to 40 stalls held by independent book-sellers and activist groups. Alongside the stalls, there will be workshops running all day on all kinds of anarchist and direct action topics.
In the past we have had info and discussions covering topics such as anarchism, indigenous sovereignty, land rights and colonialism, sexism and gender, feminism, justice, sexual assault, workplace struggles, community spaces, environmental action and much more. We hope this year will continue to build on the ideas and networking, and welcome a broader audience and participation.
So please get involved and be a part of the 5th Melbourne Anarchist Bookfair!
(Facebook event here.)
Support for parents and carers with children
There will be a kids’ space – with toys and games for older and supervised kids – and a childcare room – where kids can be left with a qualified childcare worker, or parents can have quiet time with littlies. If possible, let us know how many kids you will be bringing, their ages, and how long you plan to stay. The childcare room will also be available for drop-ins so long as there is room, which in past years there generally has been. We are also trying to include more kid-friendly workshops and stalls! If you are interested in facilitating a kid-friendly activity at the bookfair, or if you are interested in volunteering for childcare, please write to us.
Volunteering
We believe that it takes collective involvement to create and maintain community spaces and events, so please help us share the responsibility of making the Bookfair happen by volunteering! We will need help on the day with set-up, door, clean up and childcare, so we ask that everyone attending consider contributing 1 hour of effort to making this event happen.
How to get there
All the information on how to get there by bus, bike, trains or whatever is on the Abbotsford Convent website. Try not to come by car as there is often a Farmers’ Market at the Collingwood Children’s Farm and parking can be scarce.
View Larger Map
Site map
(Click for larger version.)
Principles
The Anarchist Melbourne Bookfair is for a society based on mutual aid and voluntary co-operation – against all forms of government and economic oppression – and believe everyone should share in the general prosperity. We struggle to break down racial, religious, national and sex barriers, and to fight for a just world without borders.
- The Melbourne Anarchist Bookfair Collective affirms and promotes values of mutual aid, direct and participatory democracy, anti-authoritarianism, autonomy and solidarity. We reiterate our opposition to capitalism, imperialism, patriarchy, heterosexism, transphobia, ableism, racism, colonialism, statism and all other forms of oppression; anyone that perpetuates or promotes these attitudes is not welcome at the bookfair.
- The collective will respect the autonomy of individuals, groups and booksellers who participate in the bookfair and related activities.
- The Melbourne Anarchist Bookfair is a space to network around, highlight and aid struggles, both local and international.
- The Melbourne Anarchist Bookfair strives to promote anarchist ideas through workshops as well as the bookfair itself, be that the introduction of these ideas to the public, or the elaboration of these ideas and dialogue between anarchist tendencies. We have a spirit of openness towards the different traditions, visions, and practices of anarchism.
- Priority within the bookfair itself will be on the written word (books, pamphlets, zines) by groups including publishers, distributors, and action-oriented groups as well as individuals. We will also accept, on a case-by-case basis, information and participation from community/activist groups, small publishers, and vendors of materials such as buttons, T-shirts, films, music or patches who fit within these principles; we encourage these groups to also source reading material wherever possible.
- Recognising that Australia is stolen land we will work to include indigenous people and information about indigenous struggles in the bookfair.
- We do not accept the participation of political parties or groups affiliated with political parties at the bookfair.
- All decisions are by consensus of the Melbourne Anarchist Bookfair Collective. All face-to-face meeting decisions are deemed to have the consensus also of absent members if after three working days of posting the minutes to the e-list there are no objections. Only active collective members who have been to at least two meetings can block consensus. If a member is away from two meetings without an apology they are deemed to have become inactive. A quick decision-making process is as follows: a proposal is put to the e-list and clearly designated urgent and if no one objects within three working days it is deemed to have consensus.
These principles where adapted from those of the Montreal Anarchist Bookfair.
About the organisers
The people on the A Events Melbourne organising collective of the Melbourne Anarchist Bookfair are from a variety of anarchist and activist groups which include or have included: Anarchist Affinity, Anarchist Feminists, Barricade Bookshop, Eureka Campaign, Guerrilla Gardeners, Industrial Workers of the World, Kate Sharpley Library, Loophole Community Centre, the Melbourne Anarchist Club, the Anarcho-Syndicalist Federation (ISF-IWA), Melbourne Indymedia, Ned Ludd Appreciation Society, Friday Free Shop, The Sharehood, Squatters and Unwaged Workers Airwaves (SUWA), 3CR, Tunnerminawait & Maulboyhneer Commemoration Group, Upsiders, Wednesday Action Group, and Workers Solidarity Network. We are (amongst others) Fiona, Margaret, Peter, Bonnie, Jonathan, Lauren, Dimitri, Moo, Teigan, Chris and Dave. We also organise Camp Anarchy in March every year.
Contact us
If you want to get in touch please use the contact form or write to info@amelbournebookfair.org.
Finances
In 2014, our budget looked like this:
Expenditure
Venue – $1600
Flyers & posters – $300
Programme – $300
Insurance – $300
TOTAL – $2500
Income
Stalls – $1000
Programme Ads – $100
Benefit Gig – $600
Donations – $900
TOTAL – $2500
Donate
Do you think an Anarchist Bookfair in Melbourne is a great idea but don’t have time to help out? Why not donate? If you can, please make a direct deposit into our bank account:
Name: A Melbourne Events
BSB: 814-282
Account: 31139932
Thanks!
History
In 2014 we had these stalls, these workshops, these skillshares, and this was our flyer:
In 2013 we had these stalls and this programme and this was our flyer:
In 2012 we had these stalls and this programme and this was our flyer:
In 2011 we had these stalls and this programme and this was our flyer:
