10th annual Derry Radical Bookfair event in Pilots Row Community Centre
Bookfair an 'important part of the Bloody Sunday March for Justice week'
This year marks the 10th annual Derry Radical Bookfair event in Pilots Row Community Centre at the heart of the Bogside.
The Bookfair has been described as "important for creating a space in which authors, books and social justice campaigns can come together in one location to help discuss and distribute ideas and actions".
A spokesperson for the Derry Radical Bookfair said: "We have a working committee that comes together each year to plan and organise the events that have become an important part of the Bloody Sunday March for Justice week.
"As part of the events planned for the Derry Radical Bookfair, which takes place this weekend - Saturday, January 31 - committee members will mark the occasion at the opening of the day's events in Pilots Row Community Centre at 12 noon."
12 noon: Book signing - 'The Killing of the Reavey Brothers' by Eugene Reavey
This year marks the 50th anniversary of when the Reavey family’s life was devastated by sectarian murder.
Eugene’s brothers, John Martin, Brian and Anthony were viciously shot in an attack by loyalist gunmen. John Martin and Brian were killed instantly and Anthony would die from complications to his wounds. On the same night, three members of the O’Dowd family were also attacked and killed. Both shootings are now known to have been the work of the notorious Glennann Gang, a loyalist paramilitary grouping which included members of the UDR and RUC.
1pm: Book signing - 'And Flowers Grew up Through the Concrete' by Laurence McKeown
Laurence McKeown survived 70 days on hunger strike in 1981. This new memoir covers his time in the H-Blocks for the period 1981–1992.
In this frank, revealing and deeply personal memoir, McKeown leads us through the development of the many prison struggles that followed the hunger strikes and the deaths of ten of his comrades.
The author speaks candidly and movingly, especially when recalling relationships with his mother and father, and how he had to come to terms with their deaths while imprisoned.
This is not just a story of prison struggle; it is a story of a communal life lived, a coming to terms with material conditions so as to better challenge those conditions. It is a story of flowers growing up through concrete.
2pm Talk: Conversations on Anarchism
3pm Book Launch: 'From The Bog to the Cloud by Patrick Bresnihan and Patrick Brodie
One of this year's noted book launches at the Derry Radical Bookfair, will be a new piece of work from acclaimed author’s Patrick Bresnihan and Patrick Brodie with their new title ‘From the Bog to the Cloud – Dependency and Eco-Modernity in Ireland.
The event will be introduced by V’cenza Cirefice, an ecofeminist researcher, organiser and artist from South Down. She has worked with communities resisting extractivism in Ireland and internationally and is part of several collectives including CAIM (Communities Against the Injustice of Mining), Making Relatives Collective and Slí Eile.
"Join us and help us celebrate the 10th annual Derry Radical Bookfair at 12-5pm, Pilot’s Row Community Centre in Rossville Street."