The staff of the Zero Books publishers have announced their mass resignation and the founding of a new press, Repeater Books. The move follows what founder Tariq Goddard described as "a long standing antagonism with the ownership of John Hunt Publishing, our parent company" in a statement released this week on Zero’s Facebook page. (The post has since been removed by John Hunt, who replaced it with another saying: "There have been differences of opinion on how Zer0 Books should be run. Tariq Goddard has resigned and set up a new imprint/company, Repeater Books. We wish him well.")
Goddard’s full statement reads: "I am resigning from the post of publisher of Zero books, along with fellow founders, Mark Fisher and Matteo Mandarini, our editor Alex Niven, and publicist, Tamar Shlaim. Our decision has nothing to do with the content of Zero books or the authors that write them, both of which we are very proud to be associated with, but comes as a consequence of a long standing antagonism with the ownership of John Hunt Publishing, our parent company. We will be beginning a new publishing project, REPEATER, though not before thanking our authors and readership for allowing Zero books to be such an unexpected and, we hope, enduring success."
Zero was founded in 2009 with a remit to combat what they saw as a prevailing anti-intellectual trend in contemporary culture. They have published texts by Goddard, Fisher and Niven, alongside many, many others, by authors including David Stubbs, Anne G. Sabo, Greg Sharzer, Adam Kotsko and Johan Kugelberg. Read out recent review of Agata Pyzik’s Poor But Sexy: Culture Clashes In Europe East And West here.
Repeater have now launched a website which expresses their intention to continue the work started by Zero, stating: "Radical change is possible and necessary but only if alternative thinking has the courage to move out of the margins. Repeater is committed to bringing the periphery to the centre, taking the underground overground, and publishing books that will bring new ideas to a new public. We know that any encounter with the mainstream risks corrupting the tidiness of untested ideals, but we believe that it is better to get our hands dirty than worry about keeping our souls pure."
We’re looking forward to seeing what their first publications will be – for the time being, keep an eye on their Facebook page and the Zero Books Twitter for updates.
