Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications

Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications
Founded1969; 55 years ago (1969)
FoundersJessica Huntley (1927–2013), Eric Huntley (b. 1929)
Country of originUK
Headquarters locationLondon
Publication typesNon-fiction, fiction, poetry and children's books by Black writers

Bogle-L'Ouverture Publications (BLP) is a radical London-based publishing company founded by Guyanese activists Jessica Huntley (23 February 1927 – 13 October 2013)[1] and Eric Huntley (born 25 September 1929)[2] in 1969, when its first title, Walter Rodney's The Groundings With My Brothers, was published.[3] Named in honour of two outstanding liberation fighters in Caribbean history, Toussaint L'Ouverture and Paul Bogle,[4] the company began operating during a period in the UK when "books by Black authors or written with a sympathetic view of Black people's history and culture were rare in mainstream bookshops in the UK."[5] Alongside New Beacon Books (founded in 1966) and Allison & Busby (founded in 1967), BLP was one of the first black-led independent publishing companies established in the UK.[6][7] BLP has been described as "a small, unorthodox, self-financing venture that brought a radical perspective to non-fiction, fiction, poetry and children's books."[8]

  1. ^ Margaret Busby, "Jessica Huntley obituary" Archived 15 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine, The Guardian, 27 October 2013.
  2. ^ Margaret Andrews, Doing Nothing is Not An Option: The Radical Lives of Eric & Jessica Huntley, Middlesex, England: Krik Krak, 2014. ISBN 978-1-908415-02-8.
  3. ^ "Bogle-L’Ouverture Publications" Archived 27 January 2023 at the Wayback Machine at FHALMA website.
  4. ^ "Creation for Liberation Parts 1 and 2 (1979 and 1981)" Archived 13 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine, YouTube video.
  5. ^ Andrews (2014), p. 113.
  6. ^ "Bogle L'Ouverture Publications", The Radical Lives of Eric & Jessica Huntley website. Archived 2 August 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ "Towards a radical black publishing space" Archived 24 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine, George Padmore Institute.
  8. ^ "PPP remembers fallen Party stalwart, Jessica Huntley –in 'Evening of Tributes and Reflection'" Archived 9 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine, Guyana Chronicle, 9 November 2013.