Welcome to the Feminist Audio Books website.
- Update 24 June 2023
The FAB audio library has been closed for some years.
Linda is storing FAB in her spare room and Is hoping to find a group of people who would like to revive this amazing resource and take it forward into the future.
If you are interested in finding out more or getting involved, contact Linda by
mobile
07485725024
email
Contact.FeministAudio@gmail.com
There are more feminist, lesbian and woman-focussed books available to buy in audio now, but still only a fraction of print books. Some will never be produced in audio commercially, especially some of the older classic texts which FAB recorded in the 1980s and 1990s.
What is FAB?
FAB has been a postal library service, producing and lending feminist, woman-focused and lesbian books plus other material on audio tape since the 1980s.
FAB was created in the 1980s by a group of visually impaired women who wanted access to feminist material. It was set up in London with funding from the Greater London Authority. In 2000 a member, Joan, took over co-ordinating FAB from her home after it being closed for 3 years. Joan passed FAB onto Linda in 2006, when it was housed in the Pankhurst Centre in Manchester for 8 years. Changing usage of the centre led to the stock then being re-located to Linda’s home.
FAB continued to produce audio books and magazine extracts on and off until 2013. Dwindling membership due to death of members, and the changing circumstances of the co-ordinator, Linda, led to FAB sliding into abeyance.
This is an amazing resource. Although some of the books FAB produced are now available commercially, so could not be lent out again by this library, it is not likely that many of the, approximately 300 titles, would be taken up commercially, and there are still many, many feminist, lesbian and woman-focussed books that are not available to women who do not use printed material.
Other pages on this website still list the books FAB has recorded.
Changes in technology, such as the advent of e-books, does not open the world of books to all. And listening to books using synthesized speech can be extremely unpleasant. There is still a need for books in audio read by a human being.
If you have a passion for making books available to all – then please contact Linda.
What needs to happen?
These are Linda’s thoughts, but the way forward would be decided by a new co-ordinating group.
- Set up a new co-ordinating group (preferably 5-6 people to share the work).
- Review and research the current need for audio feminist, lesbian and woman-focussed books in a non-commercial setting and how fulfilling this need could be achieved.
- Set up a framework for FAB as a service and reinstate FAB’s Copyright License.
- Find funding to add to FAB’s current finances to digitise books.
- Start lending books again.
- Start recording books again.
feministaudiobooks 