Zed Books Celebrates 25 Years of International Publishing. (Books).

Zed Books - the radical, socially committed UK publisher - is marking its 25th anniversary this year. How has an independent publisher, organised as a workers' co-operative, managed not just to survive, but also to grow and prosper?

Zed's mission is to publish and distribute, effectively and equitably in both South and North, books that matter. The company publishes almost 60 titles annually on international and 'Third World' issues, which are widely used in university courses and by practitioners and researchers throughout the world. Zed, based in London, is managed co-operatively by its worker directors and has no external shareholders.

"A major concern is the political, social and ethical content of our books. Making a positive difference, both in social action and intellectual ideas, is what motivates us to persevere as an independent publishing house" says editor Robert Molteno.

Its authors include such leading intellectuals, writers and activists as Nawal el Sadaawi, Vandana Shiva, Samir Amin, Maria Mies, Wolfgang Sachs, Immanuel Wallerstein and Ashis Nandy. In many cases, Zed was the first to publish their works in English. Its lists currently include Global Issues, development and environment, gender, politics and political economy, human rights, war, conflict, cultural studies, anthropology, Africa, Asia and Middle East.

Zed has published some 1,000 titles over the 25 years, about half of which are still selling well through its current stock list. Output has grown steadily to around 60 titles a year. Its members are particularly concerned that Zed titles should be visible and available at affordable prices in countries and regions which suffer from lack of books and which may be neglected or even, ignored by other publishers.

Over the years, an extensive network of distributors and stockholders has been built up in 35 countries and five continents outside Europe & UK. Zed also has over 80 partner publishers in 20 countries, and its titles have been translated into more than 25 languages around the world.

Zed Books intends to go on demonstrating that an independent and democratically managed publishing company can operate successfully in a harsh commercial environment. Its energies will continue to be channelled into books that demand action for a just, more peaceful and more, environmentally responsible world.