Nick Pollard (left) delivering part of the FWWCP deposit to TUC Librarian Jeff Howarth

The TUC Library has taken delivery of an exciting new archive deposit – a collection of publications from the Federation of Worker Writers and Community Publishers. The FWWCP existed from 1976-2007, comprised of over 60 local groups spread throughout the country. The material has been deposited by Nick Pollard, a lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University who had a long-running involvement in the Federation, and Joanna Bornat, Emeritus Professor at the Open University. The Federation was a voluntary, community-run organisation designed to allow ordinary, working class people to share and discuss their creative writing and facilitate community self-publication. The Federation often represented groups of writers on the periphery of society, including ethnic groups, lesbian and gay groups, and members with mental health issues.

The archive collection contains a large number of the Federation’s publications and magazines and will be of great interest to researchers studying adult education, creative writing, community history, social movements, working class culture, oral history, etc. The material also includes publications from community publishers such as the former Centerprise bookshop in Hackney and QueenSpark Books in Brighton. We will also be acquiring a further addition to the collection from Professor Simon Dentith at Reading Univesity. Although the Federation formally ceased its activities in 2007 there is still a presence on the internet here.

As the material has only just arrived and has not yet been catalogued it is not currently open to the public, but if you would like more information about the collection or the FWWCP please contact us at tuclib@londonmet.ac.uk or 020 7133 3726