Are the Kids All Right? by B.J. Epstein is the first survey of  English-language children's literature that features lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or otherwise queer characters. It explores how LGBTQ characters are portrayed and what this says about contemporary society and it covers picture books, middle-grade books, and young adult fiction. Epstein explores why sex, sexuality and gender non-conformity is something that many writers and publishers of children's and young adult lit appear to shy away from. She passionately demonstrates that the information children get from literature matters, and that so called 'difficult' topics can be communicated in entertaining and informative ways.  Are the Kids All Right? uses ideas from queer theory and other research to interrogate the ways LGBTQ characters are portrayed in books for children and young people, and to analyse what messages readers of such books might receive. This book brings together literary studies, sociology, queer studies, and other academic fields in an accessible manner, where the research supports the detailed analyses of over fifty books for children and young adults. In Are the Kids All Right?, Epstein looks at a range of topics, such as the lack of diversity in many of these works, how same-sex marriage is portrayed, the relative absence of bisexual and transgender characters, the way that many of these books are marketed and intended as "issue books", and more. Are the Kids All Right? is a practical and informative book that will inspire writers and publishers to produce better LGBTQ literature for young readers. About the author: B.J. Epstein is the author of over 150 articles, book reviews, personal essays, and short stories. She is lecturer in Literature and Public Engagement at the University of East Anglia, and she is also a translator from the Scandinavian languages to English.

Are the Kids All Right?: Representations of LGBTQ Characters in Children's and Young Adult Literature

Epstein, B. J.

Teen & Young Adult

HammerOn Press

'It's fascinating and moving to discover and identify those LGBT people in less happy times, who fought for the freedoms LGBT people now enjoy in the UK. This book will make you look back with gratitude and astonishment for what has been achieved.' Sir Ian McKellen  LGBT activist and civil rights history from the 1960s to the 2000s has had a huge impact on our social and political landscape in the UK, yet much of this history remains hidden.   Prejudice and Pride: LGBT Activist Stories from Manchester and Beyond explores some aspects of LGBT activist history. It covers educational activism, youth work activism and the history of the LGBT Centre in Manchester.   Through personal stories of activists, heard and recorded by young people from LGBT Youth North West, we explore the wibbly wobbly nature of people's histories. We reveal how they interlink in surprising and creative ways to form the current landscape of both prejudice and pride.  Prejudice and Pride also contains exercises for interpreting and ideas for collecting activist histories within youth work.  'The struggle for LGBT equality is a long and continuing one. If you read one book about LGBT activists and activism read this one...accessible, passionate and empowering.' Claire Mooney

Prejudice and Pride: LGBT Activist Stories from Manchester and Beyond

History

LGBT Youth North West

Historical Study & Educational Resources

Fat Activism: A Radical Social Movement

Charlotte Cooper, a fat activist with more than 30 years experience, lifts the lid on a previously unexplored social movement and offers a fresh perspective on one of the major problems of our times. In her expansive, intelligent grassroots study she: - Reveals details of fat activist methods and approaches - Features extensive accounts of fat activist historical roots going back over four decades - Explores controversies and tensions in the movement - Shows that fat activism is an undeniably feminist and queer phenomenon Fat Activism: A Radical Social Movement is a rare instance of fat people speaking about their lives and politics on their own terms. The book is the result of Charlotte's community-based doctoral research. ‘Charlotte Cooper’s fierce new book Fat Activism: A Radical Social Movement should be required reading for scholars and activists. Cooper draws on extensive interviews with fat activists to render a trenchant analysis of our field of motion. She takes a penetrating look at activist efforts and self-understandings, eschewing easy praise in favor of discernment that ultimately promises to invigorate the movement.’Kathleen LeBesco / Marymount Manhattan College (Associate Dean) ‘Charlotte Cooper is once again in the vanguard of radical social change with this book about fat activism. She has captured the history of the fat rights movements, interviewed fat activists, and demonstrated the extensive and exciting breadth of fat activism in a global setting. Fat activism is often portrayed as ineffective when in fact its lack of conformity and interdisciplinarity can serve as a model for other social movements.’Esther Rothblum / Editor / Fat Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society 'For any civil rights movement to succeed, it must know its history; to build on its strengths and learn from its mistakes. With the ubiquity of the Internet, the historical knowledge and record of activism can be rewritten with 140 characters. That is one of the many reasons that Fat Activism: A Radical Social Movement is important. Anyone interested in the epistemology, ontology, and methodology, (not to mention history) of fat activism should make this a central text of their library.Cat Pausé / Massey University / Co-Editor of Queering Fat Embodiment 'It is in the interest of the ethically and intellectually dubious field of “Obesity Research” to flatten fat subjects; rendering our voices narrowly defined by punchy rhetoric, our activist interventions reduced to child-like flailing against the big bad thin-dominated world. Charlotte Cooper’s book resists this myopic view of resistance to fat oppression in form and content. Fat Activists need more researchers and writers examining and reflecting on our work from within, and this book stands as an offering and opening in that vein.' Naima Lowe / Artist and Member of the Faculty at The Evergreen State College 'In public discourse the voices of people who would be identified as obese are rarely heard. Enter Charlotte Cooper, researcher, performer, and therapist who has devoted most of her adult life to fat activism. Her book is a personal account of the fat activist movement. Cooper defines fat activism as “cultural work”. She critiques ideas about body positivity and a “monolithic ideal of trite self love”, and calls out careerist researchers for “reproducing fat people as fascinating but passive specimens.” Cooper guides the reader into a fertile place of growth a million miles from timebombs and epidemics, and gives a human face to a large segment of the population who are too often dehumanised.' Tanya Glyde, review of Fat Activism in The Lancet

Politics & Social Sciences

Cooper, Charlotte

Sociology

Charlotte Cooper, a fat activist with more than 30 years experience, lifts the lid on a previously unexplored social movement and offers a fresh perspective on one of the major problems of our times. In her expansive, intelligent grassroots study she: 
- Reveals details of fat activist methods and approaches 
- Features extensive accounts of fat activist historical roots going back over four decades 
- Explores controversies and tensions in the movement 
- Shows that fat activism is an undeniably feminist and queer phenomenon 
Fat Activism: A Radical Social Movement is a rare instance of fat people speaking about their lives and politics on their own terms. The book is the result of Charlotte's community-based doctoral research. 
‘Charlotte Cooper’s fierce new book Fat Activism: A Radical Social Movement should be required reading for scholars and activists. Cooper draws on extensive interviews with fat activists to render a trenchant analysis of our field of motion. She takes a penetrating look at activist efforts and self-understandings, eschewing easy praise in favor of discernment that ultimately promises to invigorate the movement.’Kathleen LeBesco / Marymount Manhattan College (Associate Dean) 
‘Charlotte Cooper is once again in the vanguard of radical social change with this book about fat activism. She has captured the history of the fat rights movements, interviewed fat activists, and demonstrated the extensive and exciting breadth of fat activism in a global setting. Fat activism is often portrayed as ineffective when in fact its lack of conformity and interdisciplinarity can serve as a model for other social movements.’Esther Rothblum / Editor / Fat Studies: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society 
'For any civil rights movement to succeed, it must know its history; to build on its strengths and learn from its mistakes. With the ubiquity of the Internet, the historical knowledge and record of activism can be rewritten with 140 characters. That is one of the many reasons that Fat Activism: A Radical Social Movement is important. Anyone interested in the epistemology, ontology, and methodology, (not to mention history) of fat activism should make this a central text of their library.Cat Pausé / Massey University / Co-Editor of Queering Fat Embodiment 
'It is in the interest of the ethically and intellectually dubious field of “Obesity Research” to flatten fat subjects; rendering our voices narrowly defined by punchy rhetoric, our activist interventions reduced to child-like flailing against the big bad thin-dominated world. Charlotte Cooper’s book resists this myopic view of resistance to fat oppression in form and content. Fat Activists need more researchers and writers examining and reflecting on our work from within, and this book stands as an offering and opening in that vein.' Naima Lowe / Artist and Member of the Faculty at The Evergreen State College 
'In public discourse the voices of people who would be identified as obese are rarely heard. Enter Charlotte Cooper, researcher, performer, and therapist who has devoted most of her adult life to fat activism. Her book is a personal account of the fat activist movement. Cooper defines fat activism as “cultural work”. She critiques ideas about body positivity and a “monolithic ideal of trite self love”, and calls out careerist researchers for “reproducing fat people as fascinating but passive specimens.” Cooper guides the reader into a fertile place of growth a million miles from timebombs and epidemics, and gives a human face to a large segment of the population who are too often dehumanised.' Tanya Glyde, review of Fat Activism in The Lancet

Life is War: Surviving Dictatorship in Communist Albania

Life is War: Surviving Dictatorship in Communist Albania is a collection of oral histories that guides readers through through the decades (1944-1992) in which everything was controlled by the Communist Party; what work one could do, what food was available, and even who one could marry. The reader accompanies Shannon, the author and historian, through intimate interviews with six Albanian men and women. We hear how everyday people survived shocking living conditions, political persecution and oppression dependent on ethnicity, political status, gender and sexuality. This is a thorough and vivid history of lived communism in Albania, charting political and ideological shifts through the experiences of those who survived. Life is War stands as remarkable and profound testimony to the resilience of humanity in the face of unrelenting political terror. An accurate and precise historical work, engagingly rendered from life narratives, it plunges the reader into the difficult emotional truths that are at the core of remembering Albania's communist past. Life is War is a valuable contribution to studies of everyday life under communism and dictatorship. Eloquently written and expertly researched, it will appeal to readers interested in life histories, war, communism, European history and trauma studies. 'Life is War is unparalleled in its redemptive character as far as the victims of Albanian communism are concerned. Through the act of narration this book redeems the stories and lives of its characters, which would have otherwise perished in oblivion. Blendi Kajsiu, author of A Discourse Analysis of Corruption: Instituting Neoliberalism Against Corruption in Albania, 1998-2005, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Antioquia, Colombia. 'This is a powerful book about the intensity and imagination of story telling. Woodcock's detailed descriptions create a vivid picture of the Albanian landscape, the enduring legacy of dictatorship and hardship in the lives and struggles of people today.' Carrie Hamilton, Reader in History, University of Roehampton. 'Life is War gives voice to the experiences of Albanians--men, women, Romani, Vlachs among them--who survived Enver Hoxha's notoriously repressive and increasingly isolated regime. The stories Shannon Woodcock chronicles enrich our limited knowledge of everyday life in Albania, and are a welcome addition to social histories and collected memory studies of the communist period in Eastern Europe.' Gail Kligman, co-author of the award-winning Peasants Under Siege: The Collectivization of Romanian Agriculture, 1949-1962.

Woodcock, Shannon

Europe

Life is War: Surviving Dictatorship in Communist Albania features six intimate interviews with women and men who survived Enver Hoxha's communist regime. The book reveals how everyday people survived political persecution and oppression, and champions human resilience in the face of unrelenting political terror. "Life is War is unparalleled in its redemptive character as far as the victims of Albanian communism are concerned. Through the act of narration this book redeems the stories and lives of its characters, which would have otherwise perished in oblivion," Blendi Kajsiu. "This is a powerful book about the intensity and imagination of story telling. Woodcock's detailed descriptions create a vivid picture of the Albanian landscape, the enduring legacy of dictatorship and hardship in the lives and struggles of people today," Carrie Hamilton.

Singing for Our Lives: Stories from the Street Choirs centres on more than 40 oral histories gathered from members of the UK's many street choirs. The title is taken from 'Singing for Our Lives', a song by Holly Near that is popular in the repertoire of many street choirs. Exploring the role of street choirs in political culture, Singing For Our Lives introduces this neglected world to a wider public, including activists and academics. The book intends to inspire the reader to engage with this world: to find out more, to join a choir in their community, to enlist their local street choir to support campaigns for social change and, more generally, to mobilise artistic creativity in progressive social movements. Singing for Our Lives is introduction to street choirs and their history, exploring origins in and connections with other social movements, for example the Workers Education Association, the Clarion movement, Big Flame and the Social Forum movement. The book identifies the political nodes where choir histories intersect, notably Greenham Common, the Miners' Strike, anti-apartheid and Palestinian struggles. Signing for Our Lives also elaborates the personal stories and experiences of people who participate in street choirs, and the unique social practices created within them. The book tells the important, if often overlooked story, of how making music can contribute to non-violent, just and sustainable social transitions.

Singing for Our Lives: Stories from the Street Choirs

Arts & Photography

Writing Collective, Campaign Choirs

Music

Veganism is so much more than what we eat. It's about striving to live an ethical life in a profoundly unethical world. Is being vegan difficult or is it now easier than ever? What does veganism have to do with wider struggles for social justice - feminism, LGBTQ+ politics, anti-racism, environmentalism? C. Lou Hamilton's compulsively readable book dives deep into the heart of these questions. Veganism, Sex and Politics explores the potential dangers and irresistible pleasures of living a vegan life. <ul> <li>Based on the author's vegan journey</li> <li>Explores connections between veganism, feminist, queer and anti-racist politics</li> <li>Analyses debates about Veganism, Ethical Consumerism and Climate Change</li> </ul> C. Lou Hamilton is a feminist writer with a passion for fake fur, animals real and imaginary, and assorted things queer and vegan. She lives in London.

Veganism, Sex and Politics: Tales of Danger and Pleasure

Cookbooks, Food & Wine

Hamilton, C Lou

Vegetarian & Vegan

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the HammerOn Press publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by HammerOn Press

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the HammerOn Press publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Are the Kids All Right?: Representations of LGBTQ Characters in Children's and Young Adult Literature

Prejudice and Pride: LGBT Activist Stories from Manchester and Beyond

Fat Activism: A Radical Social Movement

Fat Activism: A Radical Social Movement

Life is War: Surviving Dictatorship in Communist Albania

Life is War: Surviving Dictatorship in Communist Albania

Singing for Our Lives: Stories from the Street Choirs

Singing for Our Lives: Stories from the Street Choirs

Veganism, Sex and Politics: Tales of Danger and Pleasure