BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Housmans Bookshop - ECPv6.18.2//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-WR-CALNAME:Housmans Bookshop X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://housmans.com X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Housmans Bookshop REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:Europe/London BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20240331T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20241027T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20250330T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20251026T010000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:+0000 TZOFFSETTO:+0100 TZNAME:BST DTSTART:20260329T010000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:+0100 TZOFFSETTO:+0000 TZNAME:GMT DTSTART:20261025T010000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250904T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250904T203000 DTSTAMP:20250904T112119Z CREATED:20250814T143713Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250904T112119Z UID:69517-1757012400-1757017800@housmans.com SUMMARY:Autonomy Now present 'Architecture and Anarchism: Building Without Authority' with Paul Dobraszczyk DESCRIPTION:Autonomy Now host ‘Architecture and Anarchism: Building Without Authority’ with Paul DobraszczykWe welcome Paul Dobraszczyk to discuss anarchist architecture\, that is\, forms of design and building that embrace the core values of traditional anarchist political theory since its divergence from the mainstream of socialist politics in the 19th century. These are autonomy\, voluntary association\, mutual aid\, and self-organisation through direct democracy. As the Paul’s recent book on the topic shows\, there are a vast range of architectural projects that can been seen to reflect some or all of these values\, whether they are acknowledged as specifically anarchist or otherwise. \n\n\n\n\nAnarchist values are evident in projects that grow out of romantic notions of escape – from isolated cabins to intentional communities. Yet\, in contrast\, they also manifest in direct action – occupations or protests that produce micro-countercommunities. Artists also produce anarchist architecture – intimations of much freer forms of building cut loose from the demands of moneyed clients; so do architects and planners who want to involve users in a process normally restricted to an elite few. Others also imagine new social realities through speculative proposals. Finally\, building without authority is\, for some\, a necessity – the thousands of migrants denied their right to become citizens\, even as they have to live somewhere; or the unhoused of otherwise affluent cities forced to build improvised homes for themselves. \n\n\n\nThe result is to significantly broaden existing ideas about what might constitute anarchism in architecture and also to argue strongly for its nurturing in the built environment. Understood in this way\, anarchism offers a powerful way of reconceptualising architecture as an emancipatory\, inclusive\, ecological and egalitarian practice. \n\n\n\nAbout the authorPaul Dobraszczyk is a teaching fellow at the Bartlett School of Architecture in London. He is the author of Future Cities: Architecture & the Imagination (2019); The Dead City: Urban Ruins & the Spectacle of Decay (2017); Iron\, Ornament & Architecture in Victorian Britain (2014); London’s Sewer (2014); and Into the Belly of the Beast: Exploring London’s Victorian Sewers (2009); amongst others.Paul’s beautiful book Architecture and Anarchism: Building Without Authority was publihes by Paul Holberton Publishing in 2021 and will be available on the night. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nShare this:\n Share on X (Opens in new window)\n X\n \n Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)\n Facebook\n \n Share on Insta (Opens in new window)\n Insta\n Like this:Like Loading… URL:https://housmans.com/event/autonomy-now-present-architecture-and-anarchism-building-without-authority-with-paul-dobraszczyk/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://housmans.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-14-153004.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250905T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250905T203000 DTSTAMP:20250724T140753Z CREATED:20250724T135427Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250724T140753Z UID:68900-1757098800-1757104200@housmans.com SUMMARY:Book launch + Exhibition: 'WE REFUSE: SAYING NO TO THE ARMY IN ISRAEL' with Martin Barzilai DESCRIPTION:Housmans warmly welcomes Martin Barzilai\, who will be coming from Paris especially for this launch event\, to discuss his book of interviews with refuzeniks\, conscientious objectors and dissidents\, who have refused to join Israel’s conscription army\, the Israel Defence Force (IDF).It takes some courage to refuse to serve in an army\, when people all around you support it. Yet some Israeli men and women\, young and old\, make that choice. The young are forced to justify themselves in front of multiple army interrogators without any support. Their elders\, some of them ex-officers\, tell comrades why they cannot continue to carry out intimidation\, destruction\, and killing in the West Bank and Gaza. \n\n\n\nPersons from under 20\, to over 60 tell of their particular experience; each one adds nuance and insight to the dominant culture within Israel. They tell us about their circumstances\, the government and army\, and their hopes for something different. Their critical perspectives offer a challenge to the views and news that comes to us through the official Israeli media.Martin is a photographer\, and there will be a display of his photographs related to the book\, exhibited at Housmans from September 5th onwards. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: martin-barzilai.com \n\n\n\nMartin Barzilai was born in Montevideo (Uruguay). He has a diploma in photography from Paris’s École nationale supérieure Louis-Lumière. His first interests are in the historical\, political and social problems of his continent of origin. He has also completed several photo reportages on themes in Greece\, France\, Tunisia and in Israel/Palestine (New York Times\, Rolling Stone\, Le Monde\, 6 Mois\, CQFD…). Between 2010 and 2015\, he worked with the co-operative Sub.coop (Argentina). He worked with them on the Huis clos project (presented at the Getty Center\, Los Angeles among other places). In 2017\, he published Refuzniks : Dire non à l’armée en Israel\, with Libertalia publishers\, and next\, in 2023\, Cimetière fantôme – Thessalonique with the Editions Créaphis publishing house\, and with the support of the Fondation pour la mémoire de la Shoah. Having taught photography in Barcelona and Buenos Aires\, he now lives in Paris. \n\n\n\nDoors open at 6:45\, event starts 7:00. \n\n\n\nAs always\, tickets are priced on a sliding scale. If you are unable to pay for a ticket please do not hesitate to contact us at shop@housmans.com\, and a free ticket will be made available. \n\n\n\nIf you choose ‘book + entry’\, your copies of the book will be available to collect on the evening. If you would like to collect it earlier\, or arrange for delivery\, please contact us (postage is £2.95). Telephone 020 7837 4473 or email shop@housmans.com. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nShare this:\n Share on X (Opens in new window)\n X\n \n Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)\n Facebook\n \n Share on Insta (Opens in new window)\n Insta\n Like this:Like Loading… URL:https://housmans.com/event/book-launch-exhibition-we-refuse-saying-no-to-the-army-in-israel-with-martin-barzilai/ CATEGORIES:Book Launch ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://housmans.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IDF-CONSCIENTIOUS-OBJETORS-WE-REFUSE.png END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250913T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250913T203000 DTSTAMP:20250821T170341Z CREATED:20250814T150035Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250821T170341Z UID:69529-1757790000-1757795400@housmans.com SUMMARY:Autonomy Now present ‘Anarcho-Punk: Music and Resistance in London 1977-1988' with David Insurrection and Tony Drayton DESCRIPTION:Anarcho-Punk: Music and Resistance in London 1977-1988 with David Insurrection and Tony Drayton \n\n\n\n\n\nWe welcome David Insurrection to tell the story of an oft overlooked scene. Anarcho-punk in the 1980s truly rocked the boat. Much more than music it set out to change the world and in a not insignificant way did just that. It inspired a generation of activists\, artists and musicians to take up the fight for a better fairer world. They tore down the walls. The Sex Pistols may have opened the door but the Crass punks charged through it. This is their story. As we return to the embattled 1970s and 1980s David takes us on a journey where we visit some of the scene’s most significant locations and hot spots\, to places where change mattered and the spirit of revolt burned brightest. David will be in duscission with Tony Drayton of the infamous ‘Kill Your Pet Puppy’ punk zine and now blog at https://killyourpetpuppy.co.uk \n\n\n\nThe title of the book for me says everything – everything that we gave our soul to during those years. This book does a fantastic job at retelling that story.Col Latter (Flux of Pink Indians) \n\n\n\nThis is a well-researched psychogeographical report on the anarcho-punk squatting scene in London in the late 70s and early 80s.Tom Vague (Vague) \n\n\n\nDavid Insurrection’s opus on the anarchist years that led to a movement of such creative force that  remains unparalleled in our history\, a moment captured for all time by a witness in words and with passion.Chris Ward (Wet Paint Theatre Company) \n\n\n\nAbout the author: \n\n\n\nDavid Insurrection was born in 1962 and raised in NE Scotland. He’s married with one daughter. At the age of 17 in the autumn of 1979 he discovered punk rock. It would leave a lasting impression on him. In 1980 he first heard Crass. That experience changed everything and would determine the direction his life took from that point onwards.In 1984 he began to identify as an anarchist and took his first activist steps. By this time he had immersed himself in everything anarcho-punk. In 1988 he produced his first zine. His next zine in 1990 was called Insurrection. In 1993 he moved to London. He stayed there for four and a half years returning to his native Scotland in 1997. It was during his stay in London that he first got a hankering for writing a book on anarcho-punk. He’s still involved in the scene to this day. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nShare this:\n Share on X (Opens in new window)\n X\n \n Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)\n Facebook\n \n Share on Insta (Opens in new window)\n Insta\n Like this:Like Loading… URL:https://housmans.com/event/autonomy-now-present-anarcho-punk-music-and-resistance-in-london-1977-1988-with-david-insurrection/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://housmans.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Anarcho-Punk-Music-and-Resistance-in-London-1977-1988-with-David-Insurrection.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250917T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250917T203000 DTSTAMP:20250807T161904Z CREATED:20250807T161902Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250807T161904Z UID:69142-1758135600-1758141000@housmans.com SUMMARY:Book Talk: THE MERCY STEP: Marcia Hutchinson in conversation with Mel Pennant DESCRIPTION:Gosh this is an exciting one! Join us for a wonderful evening with two incredible authors from the Windrush generation: Marcia Hutchinson and Mel Pennant. The two will be discussing Marcia’s fantastic recent novel\, The Mercy Step. \n\n\n\nBradford\, December 1962. A precocious Mercy makes her reluctant entrance into the world\, torn from the warm embrace of her mother’s womb\, to a chaotic household that seems to have no place for her. Her siblings do not understand her\, her mother’s attention is given to the Church\, and the entire family lives at the whims of her father’s quick temper.  \n\n\n\nLeft to herself\, Mercy finds solace in books\, her imagination\, and the quiet comfort of her faithful toy\, Dolly. But escapism has its limits\, and as the grip of family\, faith and fear threatens to close in\, Mercy learns she must act if she wants a different future; one where she is seen\, heard\, and her family set free.  \n\n\n\nThe Mercy Step is a sharply-witted and tender portrait of a young girl’s quiet rebellion\, and her refusal to be broken.  \n\n\n\nMarcia and Mel will read from and discuss the book for around 45 minutes-1hr followed by a Q&A. Expect conversations around the Black British Experience\, women’s writing and Britain in the 60s! Hope to see you there. \n\n\n\nAs always\, tickets are priced on a sliding scale. If you are unable to pay for a ticket please do not hesitate to contact us at shop@housmans.com\, and a free ticket will be made available. \n\n\n\nIf you choose ‘book + entry’\, your copies of the book will be available to collect on the evening. If you would like to collect it earlier\, or arrange for delivery\, please contact us (postage is £2.95). Telephone 020 7837 4473 or email shop@housmans.com. \n\n\n\nDoors Open at 6:45pm\, Event Starts 7:00 \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nShare this:\n Share on X (Opens in new window)\n X\n \n Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)\n Facebook\n \n Share on Insta (Opens in new window)\n Insta\n Like this:Like Loading… URL:https://housmans.com/event/book-talk-the-mercy-step-marcia-hutchinson-in-conversation-with-mel-pennant/ CATEGORIES:Book Launch,Book Talk,In Store,Literary Event ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://housmans.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/717pYt1ZBTL._SL1500_-1.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250924T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250924T203000 DTSTAMP:20250805T161139Z CREATED:20250805T153440Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250805T161139Z UID:69091-1758740400-1758745800@housmans.com SUMMARY:BOOK TALK: ENGLAND'S MILITARY HEARTLAND DESCRIPTION:‘A thoughtful and human account of the enmeshment of the military into the landscapes of everyday life […] As we enter a renewed phase of militarised geo-politics\, this work becomes more urgent than ever.’— Gargi Bhattacharyya\, Director of the UCL Sarah Parker Remond Centre for the Study of Racism and Racialisation \n\n\n\nIn association with King’s College London\, Housmans are delighted to host a talk around an essential new book: ENGLAND’S MILITARY HEARTLAND: Preparing for War on Salisbury Plain. This wonderful\, alarming and brilliantly written book explores the vital\, but underdiscussed\, interrelations between British military and civic life. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDuring the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan\, the armed forces became increasingly visible – partly due to public alarm at the number of fatalities but also as a result of interventions by government\, media and military leaders. Today the world is undergoing a terrifying arms race in which powerful arms companies are competing to produce new generations of killing technology\, including AI and nuclear weapons. Many people feel powerless to stop their governments spending more and more on defence\, and being complicit in ongoing war crimes. \n\n\n\nIn all this it’s important to remember that the military are a public institution and depend on taxpayers. The public has a right to understand the costs and consequences of maintaining a labour force for war-fighting\, especially one that works closely with major arms companies and contributes heavily to global carbon emissions. \n\n\n\nENGLAND’S MILITARY HEARTLAND introduces a ten-year investigation of the military training area on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire\, England and explores what it means to live next to a military base. The book questions how war blurs the boundaries between military and civilian\, and what can or cannot be addressed by the use of lethal violence\, sanctioned and organised by the state. To explore this we bring together a group of scholars and activists\, working on land justice and military ecological damage\, to think about how we resist the drive to war at home. \n\n\n\nWhat is it like to live next door to a British Army base? England’s military heartland provides an eye-opening account of the sprawling military presence on Salisbury Plain\, drawing on a wide range of voices from both sides of the divide. \n\n\n\nTargeted for expansion under government plans to reorganise the UK’s global defence estate\, the Salisbury ‘super garrison’ offers a unique opportunity to explore the impact of the military footprint in a particular place. But this is no ordinary environment: as well as being the world-famous site of Stonehenge\, the grasslands of Salisbury Plain are home to rare plants and wildlife. \n\n\n\nHow does the army take responsibility for conserving this unique landscape as it trains young men and women to use lethal weapons? Are its claims that its presence is a positive for the environment anything more than propaganda? This book investigates these questions against the backdrop of a historic landscape inscribed with the legacy of perpetual war. \n\n\n\nUrgent\, important\, and poignantly recounted.’— Laleh Khalili\, author of Sinews of War and Trade \n\n\n\n‘Exposes the remarkable extent to which militarisation is shaping not only the lives of humans\, but the character and quality of the land on which they and other creatures live.’— Cynthia Enloe\, author of Twelve Feminist Lessons of War \n\n\n\nOUR SPEAKERS: \n\n\n\nSaskia Papadakis is a social researcher with expertise in the UK environmental movement\, anti-racism and British Black Power\, and socio-spatial inequalities in the UK. She organises across grassroots migrants’ rights groups in London. \n\n\n\nAntonia Dawes is a lecturer and writer at King’s College London. She works on racism\, antiracism and cultural theory. Her first book Race Talk (2020) is about race and racism in southern Italy. At this event she will speak on her new book England’s Military Heartland\, co-authored with Vron Ware\, Mitra Pariyar and Alice Cree. \n\n\n\nKhem Rogaly researches the political economy of the military and its role in climate crisis. His most recent report for the thinktank Common Wealth explored the potential for a just transition away from military production through interviews with workers. He will speak about the Khaki Economy in England’s Military Heartland in relation to the escalating arms race today. \n\n\n\nRachael Milliner is a member of the Museum of Enclosure\, an emergent\, itinerant\, internationalist\, political education project collecting oral histories of dispossession in England. Representing the project\, they will discuss how access to enclosed and militarised land is vital to performing memory work and relational accountability\, calling for further interventions in dominant British property culture. \n\n\n\nAs always\, tickets are priced on a sliding scale. If you are unable to pay for a ticket please do not hesitate to contact us at shop@housmans.com\, and a free ticket will be made available. \n\n\n\nIf you choose ‘book + entry’\, your copies of the book will be available to collect on the evening. If you would like to collect it earlier\, or arrange for delivery\, please contact us (postage is £2.95). Telephone 020 7837 4473 or email shop@housmans.com. \n\n\n\nDoors Open at 6:45pm\, Event Starts 7:00 \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nShare this:\n Share on X (Opens in new window)\n X\n \n Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)\n Facebook\n \n Share on Insta (Opens in new window)\n Insta\n Like this:Like Loading… URL:https://housmans.com/event/book-talk-englands-military-heartland/ CATEGORIES:Book Launch,Book Talk,In Store ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://housmans.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/9781526174840.jpg END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20250926T190000 DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20250926T210000 DTSTAMP:20250826T165524Z CREATED:20250826T165502Z LAST-MODIFIED:20250826T165524Z UID:69699-1758913200-1758920400@housmans.com SUMMARY:MAGAZINE LAUNCH: DEATH KIT ISSUE 2 DESCRIPTION:Death Kit celebrates the launch of their second issue with a party at Housmans on 26th September. Readings from Gabrielle Sicam\, Josh Abbey\, Michael Hampton\, and more!\n\n\n\nTICKETS: \n\n\n\nThis is an externall organised event\, tickets are free and can be book here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/death-kit-issue-2-launch-tickets-1548375886959?aff=oddtdtcreator \nShare this:\n Share on X (Opens in new window)\n X\n \n Share on Facebook (Opens in new window)\n Facebook\n \n Share on Insta (Opens in new window)\n Insta\n Like this:Like Loading… URL:https://housmans.com/event/magazine-launch-death-kit-issue-2/ ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://housmans.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/PARTY-POSTER.jpg END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR