The Women in Print Conference (also the National Women in Print Conference) was a conference of

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

women involved in

publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, including workers from

feminist bookstores Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideology, ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social gender equality, equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that socie ...

, in the United States. It was conceptualized by June Arnold and involved

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and workshops. The conference was held three times: in 1976, 1981 and 1985.

Conferences

The first Women in Print Conference was held at a Camp Fire Girls campsite in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1976, running from August 29 to September 5 with 132 women attending and representing 80 organizations. The preparation for it was initiated by novelist and publisher June Arnold, and the attendees came from across the United States. The location was chosen because it was near the center of the country. Feminist bookstore worker

Carol Seajay Carol Seajay is an American activist and former bookseller. She cofounded the Old Wives Tales bookstore in San Francisco as well as the ''Feminist Bookstore News'', which she edited and published for more than 20 years before ceasing publicatio ...

attended the conference, and it inspired the creation of her trade publication ''

Feminist Bookstore News ''Feminist Bookstore News'' (''FBN'') was a trade publication for feminist bookstores. It was active from 1976 until 2000, and issues were published sometimes bimonthly and sometimes quarterly. The publication was described by Tee Corinne as "th ...

''. The second Women in Print Conference was held in Washington, D.C., in 1981, and it ran from October 1 through October 4. At the conference, Barbara Smith announced the formation of Kitchen Table: Women of Color Press. While the first conference had included only white women, this one included about 25 women of color, who thus comprised approximately 10% of the more than 250 attendees. The conference schedule included nearly 60 workshops. The third Women in Print Conference was held in San Francisco, California, in 1985, running from May 29 to June 1. It was scheduled to take place immediately after a nearby

American Booksellers Association The American Booksellers Association (ABA) is a non-profit trade association founded in 1900 that promotes independent bookstores in the United States. ABA's core members are key participants in their communities' local economy and culture, and t ...

conference. About 200 women attended and discussed topics including censorship, working class issues, and lesbian erotica.

References

{{reflist Recurring events established in 1976 Conferences in the United States Feminist events Publishing in the United States Recurring events disestablished in 1985 1976 in women's history 1981 in women's history 1985 in women's history 1976 in Nebraska 1981 in Washington, D.C. 1985 in San Francisco Women's conferences