G8, Gleneagles and the movement of movements
At long last, the book
‘Shut Them Down!: The G8, Gleneagles 2005 and the Movement of Movements’ is
out!
So, what’s in the book…?
The book is 368 pages long, and it’s packed with full- and half-page photos.
And there’s an excellent cartoon too! Altogether, over 60 people contributed
articles, photos, images, ideas, inspiration and many, many hours of
proof-reading. Thanks once again to all of you!
Some of the book’s articles are ‘war stories’, accounts of actions which, we
hope, carry some of the energy that was felt during the days of action. Some
provide detailed accounts of how various aspects of the mobilisation were
organised, what was learned, and how things could – perhaps – be done better
the next time around. Others still attempt to critically reflect on some of
the missed opportunities of the mobilisation: our failure to break out of the
‘activist’ ghetto, our inability to critique the G8 on its own terms, and so
on. Others still talk about the meaning of such events and the possibility of
moving beyond them. Perhaps most importantly of all, however, the book
attempts to pose the question: how do we take those worlds that felt so
possible during the week of protests and generalise them so that they make
sense in the rest of our lives?
Who put together the book, and how was it paid for…?
The book was edited, with a lot of help from our friends, by a collective of
four, based in Leeds and Brighton. All of the editors were, to different
extents and in different ways, involved with the Dissent! mobilisation to
Gleneagles. It should go without saying that none of the editors, designers,
contributors or proof-readers have been, or ever will be, paid for their
involvement.
The book has been co-published by Dissent! and Automomedia (
www.autonomedia.org ).
The book was funded primarily by Dissent!, however, the project would not have
been possible without financial assistance from Active Distribution (
www.activedistribution.org ),
Antonomasia, and a number of other friends. Upon agreement at the network-wide
Dissent! gathering in Sheffield in October 2005, Dissent! contributed £5,500
towards the total cost of around £8,000 for printing 4,000 copies of the book.
The rest of the money has been contributed by the other funding sources.
And how’s the book going to be distributed…?
‘Shut Them Down!’ is being distributed by Dissent!, Autonomedia, Active
Distribution and AK Press. The book has an ISBN number (0-9552065-0-2) and has
been registered with Nielsen BookData. This, hopefully, means that it should
be relatively straight forward for the book to be ordered via any bookshop,
library or other institution. ‘Shut Them Down!’ is *already* stocked on the
virtual bookshelves of www.amazon.co.uk and will soon be available via
www.amazon.com,
.de and other sources. Autonomedia are primarily responsible for distribution
in North America. Copies are also available to buy direct from the editors,
via a PayPal button on the book’s website (
www.shutthemdown.org ). If you know
of anyone else who would be willing to distribute the book, ask them to
contact the editors at editors@shutthemdown.org
The book’s text are registered under a Creative Commons ‘Attribution
Non-Commercial Share-Alike’ licence which means that they can be reproduced,
in any form, and in any quantity, as long as it is done for non-commercial
purposes, so long as the original source is cited, and on the condition that
the text is reprinted under the same conditions. For anyone interested, the
conditions of the licence can be viewed at:
http://creativecommons.org/licence/by-nc-sa/2.5/legalcode . Some of the
photos within the book are covered by the same licence, others have been
copyrighted by the individual photographers.
How can I, or my group, help distribute the book…?
1) If you’re involved with a local Dissent! group, or another political
group, get in touch with the editors about bulk and discount ordering (for
rates, see below). Sell copies of ‘Shut Them Down’ in your local social
centre, independent bookshop, health food store, community centre or record
shop. If your group do stalls at gigs, parties or anywhere else, think about
selling the book there too.
2) Publicity materials advertising the book are available to download from
the ‘Shut Them Down’ website. These include posters to put up at points of
sale announcing that the book is ‘On Sale Here’, and leaflets which can be
distributed in other publications, left in social centres, handed out at
events and so on. Publicity materials can also be ordered directly from the
editors.
3) Link your group’s website to the ‘Shut Them Down’ site. A banner to link
with is available to download from the website.
4) Order a (free!) review copy of the book from the editors and write a
review for a newspaper, magazine, website or blog. Please send the editors any
reviews that you write or find in other places. We’d like to display them on
the website.
5) Order copies of the book into your local library. For this you’ll need
all the book details (see end of mail), including the ISBN (0-9552065-0-2).
How much is the book being sold for, and what’s going to happen with all the
money…?
The price at which copies of the book are available depends upon how many
copies are being ordered, and by whom.
*In general, individual copies will be sold by the editors at various
events, via the PayPal button on our website, or by mail order (send cheques
or postal orders made out to ‘Shut Them Down’ to Shut Them Down!, c/o Cardigan
Centre, 145-147 Cardigan Road, Leeds, LS6 1LJ). Individual copies will be sold
at £4:95 (or 7.50 Euros, or 9.95US$) plus postage and packing. P&P rates are
available on the book’s website. Money raised from these sales will be used,
first of all, to cover other costs incurred in distribution (sending out
review copies, paying for our PO Box at the Cardigan Centre, paying for the
website, covering publicity costs and so on…) and sending copies of the book
to Russia (see below). The surplus will be paid into the central Dissent! bank
account for the network as a whole to decide how to use.
*Copies will be made available to local Dissent! groups at COST PRICE, which
is £2:00 per book plus postage and packing. Money raised from these sales will
be used for the same purposes as stated above. Local groups will be able to
sell the books on for whatever price they choose (although we would prefer
that they do not charge more than £4:95/7.50 Euros/9.95US$ per copy). Money
raised by local groups can be used to fund local projects and initiatives.
*We hope that many of those who contributed to the book will help with
distribution. To this end, copies will be available to contributors (authors,
photographers and proofreaders) at cost price (£2 per book, plus postage and
packing). Monies raised should either be paid into the central Dissent! bank
account, donated to a local Dissent! group, or used for a Dissent!-affiliated
(or similar) project.
*Copies of the book will be made available to non-Dissent! affiliated
political groups, projects and initiatives at a discounted rate (i.e. less
than £4:95 per copy plus postage and packing) at the discretion of the
editors.
*Bookshops, distributors and others wishing to place bulk orders will be
able to buy copies of the book with a one third discount (i.e. at a price of
£3.30 per copy, plus postage and packing). Money raised from these sales will,
again, be used to cover costs incurred in distribution and sending copies of
the book to Russia. Again, any surplus will be paid into the Dissent! bank
account. In exceptional circumstances, and at the discretion of the editors,
an alternative rate may be negotiated with certain shops and distributors.
*Free review copies will be sent, by the editors, to various newspapers,
journals, magazines and websites. Postage and packing will be paid for by
money raised from book sales. To obtain a review copy, email the editors
naming the publication that you are hoping to write the review for. Remember
to include a postal address.
*50 copies of the book will be mailed to a group involved in the
mobilisation against the 2006 G8 Summit in St. Petersburg. Postage and packing
will be covered by monies raised through book sales.
*An as yet to be determined number of books will be donated to Brighton
Anarchist Black Cross ( www.brightonabc.org.uk ) to send to prisoners.
Thanks for reading this far!
If you would like any more information, please email us at
editors@shutthemdown.org
Jan 2006
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