Paul Westlake obituary

My friend Paul Westlake, who has died of cancer aged 65, was a pillar of the radical publishing world from the mid-1970s onwards. He was an advocate of workers' co-operatives and gained much experience in ensuring that the output of independent publishers reached the bookshops.In autumn 1976, after months of planning, we became co-founders, with three others, of a distributor for small radical and feminist publishers, including periodicals. Paul, who had a few years' experience in managing a bookshop, took on the key role of handling the finances, which was a big challenge, particularly for someone without an accounting background.At the beginning, Paul organised the building of an office and warehouse in Clerkenwell Workshops, central London, putting up the internal walls block by block. The Workshops were also home to the magazines Spare Rib and Undercurrents.In 1979 Paul co-founded Zed Books, where he met his partner, Anne. He took on a role in finance and rights administration and in 1983 persuaded the company and its owners to convert to a workers' co-operative. He supported the Industrial Common Ownership Movement for nearly a decade. Always ready to help out in the running of the organisation, he personally introduced the staff to spreadsheets. He also played a leading role in Hackney Co-operative Developments and chaired its trust, which today has a solid property base in Dalston.Paul spent more than 20 years fostering southern African publishing. He founded the... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2013-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-01-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Francis Wyndham obituary

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[ The Guardian | 2018-01-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Fred Bass, 89

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2018-01-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Brooke Goffstein

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-12-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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PubTech Connect 2018: Pamela Paul and Sam Dolnick of the 'New York Times'

The opening keynote speakers for PubTech Connect 2017 are two of the people leading the forward looking efforts at the 'Times': assistant editor Sam Dolnick and editor of the 'New York Times Book Review' Pamela Paul. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-12-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amelia Edwards obituary

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[ The Guardian | 2017-12-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Obituary: Kathleen Karr

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[ The Guardian | 2017-12-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Industry Notes: Paul Auster at Guadalajara; Amazon Publishing on Short Writings

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2017-11-29 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-11-16 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-11-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Guardian | 2017-11-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-11-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Guardian | 2017-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-10-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Guardian | 2017-09-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2017-09-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Publishers Weekly | 2017-08-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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