From Self-Publishing Collective to Multinational Corporation: The Publishing History of In Other Words–Writing as a Feminist

Abstract

This case study investigates how books and journals arising from a political movement can be repackaged and commodified for the benefit of a multinational corporation 1 . In Other Words was published in 1987 in Hutchinson Education's ‘Explorations in Feminism’ series, after Hutchinson took over the series from the publications collective of the Women's Research and Resources Centre (which later changed its name to the Feminist Library, which still exists today). By the time In Other Words sold out its print run in the mid-90s, the book had passed through five publishing houses, before coming to rest with Routledge. It was out of print until 2011, when Routledge contacted the editors to say they were reissuing In Other Words as a facsimile edition in hardback, paperback, and e-book. The book was based on papers produced for a conference on feminism and writing that was held in Edinburgh in 1983, organized by Gail Chester, the author of the present article, Sigrid Nielsen, who co-edited In Other Words with Gail, and Ellie Siegel, who would have been a co-editor had she not returned to the USA. There were 130 participants at the conference, and it was organized as part of the prevailing WLM collective ethic/practice, which was to bring feminist writers together to learn from and encourage each other. While focusing on Routledge's publishing policies, the article locates these within the policies of academic book and journal publishing more widely. It reflects on the market for printing and reprinting of feminist books and journals, and the conundrums of the interface between commercial publishing and radical political projects.