THREE AUTHORS WHO’VE recently published books reflecting on different aspects of the history of anarcho-punk and the counterculture will deliver talks at the 2026 Manchester and Salford Anarchist Bookfair on 31 October.
Rich Cross will be joined by former Poison Girls bassist Sue Cooper to reflect on This is a Message to Persons Unknown: The story of Poison Girls; Nick Soulsby will discuss his recent book Born of Struggle, Living in Hope: The Anarcho-Punk Lives of the Centro Iberico, 1971-1983; while Boff Whalley will read from, discuss and perform songs inspired by his tome But: Life Isn’t Like That, Is It?
All three titles were published by PM Press in both the UK and the US.
The organisers have published the full list of talks for this year’s event, which also includes sessions by: the Network of Radical Libraries and Archives; Mike Finn (Founding Freedom: Charlotte Wilson); the International Solidarity Movement (Take Action in Palestine); Frankie Hines (The anarchist imagination: what can anarchist literature do?); Morag Rose (The Feminist Art of Walking); Ruth Kinna (Anarchism: War, violence and scapegoating); Iain McKay (Kropotkin, Anarchism and Freedom); and a session by the Freedom News team.
This is a message to Persons Unknown: The story of Poison Girls – Rich Cross / Sue Cooper
An extraordinary group of anarchist musicians and activists who worked alongside Crass but also followed their own autonomous creative path, Poison Girls were key players in the original British anarcho-punk insurgency of the 1970s and 1980s.
Author Rich Cross, whose new book This is a Message to Persons Unknown: The Story of Poison Girls, is encouraging a renewed recognition of the band’s impact, will be joined by Sue Cooper (aka Bella Donna), one of the original members of Poison Girls from their formative days in Brighton, to reflect on the significance on the group’s music, lyrics and artistry.
There’ll be a chance to see a digital display of Poison Girls’ visuals, hear the sounds of the band, and to ask questions about the turbulent and exciting times in which Poison Girls challenged ‘persons unknown’ to come out of hiding.
But: Life Isn’t Like That, Is It? – Boff Whalley
Tying in with a new collection of stories by Boff Whalley – musician, author, and a founding member of the anarcho-punk band Chumbawamba and Commoners Choir – this event is part reading, part gig and part conversation.
Boff will play songs from a lifetime of writing and making music, songs which chime with the book, and will draw from a personal history of creative activism as well as telling stories about real lives, real people, and real life. Stuttering, wayward, disjointed, funny, ridiculous, and pretty much unplanned.
With the release of ‘But’, Boff has toured countless bookshops, libraries and venues both the UK and USA.
Anarchists, Squats, Punks and Spaniards: the Forgotten History of Centro Iberico 1971-1983 – Nick Soulsby
It’s hard to imagine a desolate London where an entire four-floor Victorian school stood empty, ready to provide sanctuary to radical organisers and radical music. Likewise, that it should owe its origins to a Spanish Civil War anarchist in exile who would also provide the spark for the Angry Brigade. This is the tangled tale of Centro Iberico, the UK‘s only enduring anarchist centre of the late 70s-early 80s.
Manchester and Salford Anarchist Bookfair 2026
People’s History Museum, Left Bank / Bridge Street, Manchester M3 3ER
31 October 2026 | Doors: 10:00-16:00 | Free
Rich Cross with Alec Dunn and Eric Yanke. 2025. This is a Message to Persons Unknown: The Story of Poison Girls. Oakland, CA: PM Press.Order from PM Press (UK) or PM Press (US).
Nick Soulsby. 2026. Born of Struggle, Living in Hope: The Anarcho-Punk Lives of the Centro Iberico, 1971-1983. Oakland, CA: PM Press. Order from PM Press (UK) or PM Press (US).
Boff Whalley. 2025. But: Life Isn’t Like That, Is It?. Oakland, CA : PM Press. 979-8-88744-089-7 / 979-8-88744-091-0. Order from PM Press (UK) or PM Press (US)