In conversation with Leah Cowan and Emily Kenway

The Feminist Bookshop and Thousand 4 £1000 warmly invite you to join Aliya Yule in conversation with Leah Cowan and Emily Kenway on the narratives around migration and the damaging impacts of oppressive border regimes.

Details

The evening will comprise short readings from Leah and Emily's new books Border Nation and The Truth About Modern Slavery, both recently published by Pluto Press, followed by a discussion and Q&A chaired by Aliya Yule.

The event is hosted jointly by The Feminist Bookshop and Thousand 4 £1000 (T4K), the Brighton based charity which aims to provide a community response to enforced homelessness amongst forced migrants. T4K pool small donations from hundreds of people to provide housing and other support to migrants who would otherwise be destitute.

This event is the fifth in their Citizens of the World in Conversation series - online discussion events exploring stories of migration, culture, creativity and connection from around the globe.

Border Nation and The Truth About Modern Slavery are available to purchase from The Feminist Bookshop with all profits from sales donated to Thousand 4 £1000.

Tickets

Tickets are donation based, with all proceeds to Thousand 4 £1000.

The event will be hosted on Zoom and the link for admission will be made available to ticket holders on Eventbrite.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact info@thefeministbookshop.com.

Leah Cowan - author of Border Nation

Leah Cowan is the former Politics Editor at the award-winning magazine gal-dem. She works at Project 17, an advice centre which supports migrant families with No Recourse to Public Funds (NRPF). She speaks on race, gender and migration, including for UN Women, in the House of Commons, and at the Trade Unions Congress, and has written for VICE, openDemocracy and the Guardian.

Border Nation, published in March 2021, explores why and how oppressive borders must be resisted. Laying bare the web of media myths that vilify migrants, Leah Cowan dives into the murky waters of corporate profiteering from borders by companies like G4S, and the ramping up of everyday borders through legislation. She looks at their colonial origins, and explores how a draconian approach to border crossings damages our communities.

As borders multiply, so too must resistance. From demonstrations inside detention centres to migrant-led campaigns and acts of cross-border solidarity, people are fighting back to stand up for everyone's freedom to move.

Border Nation is available to purchase at The Feminist Bookshop here.

Emily Kenway - author of The Truth About Modern Slavery

Emily Kenway is a writer and activist. As a former advisor to the UK's first Anti-Slavery Commissioner she was at the heart of modern slavery action. She has written for a variety of publications including the Guardian and TLS.

The Truth About Modern Slavery, published in January 2021, reveals how modern slavery has been created as a political tool by those in power. It shows how anti-slavery action acts as a moral cloak, hiding the harms of the 'hostile environment' towards migrants, legitimising big brands' exploitation of the poorest workers and oppressing sex workers.

Blaming the media's complicity, rich philanthropists' opportunism and our collective failure to realise the lies we're being told, The Truth About Modern Slavery provides a vital challenge to conventional narratives on modern slavery.

The Truth About Modern Slavery is available to purchase at The Feminist Bookshop here.

Aliya Yule

Aliya Yule is the Healthcare Organiser at Migrants Organise, focusing on migrant access to health as part of the Patients not Passports campaign.

Migrants Organise is a platform where refugees and migrants organise for power, dignity and justice. They develop leadership and open up spaces for relational, organised participation of migrants and refugees in public life.