What do we mean when we say system change?

We urgently need to change the systems we live in, but what changes are big enough?

As we head toward the end of this year’s fair, we invite you to spend some time talking about the really big questions in the company of a panel dedicated to tackling them.

Join journalist Adam Ramsay, human rights lawyer and grassroots organsier Jen Ang, and Q Manivannan MSP as they discuss how our most ambitious and radical dreams - from complete government overhaul to tax justice and energy transition - are connected, and how we can build a sense of public belonging and collective agency within these vast notions, at a time when we urgently need to put them into practice.

Come down to hear about the big changes already brewing, and what you can do to make them a reality.

Our speakers:

Adam Ramsay is a former editor, UK editor, and special correspondent of openDemocracy. He now writes the Abolish Westminster newsletter, and his book of the same name will be published by Faber on 5 November.

Jen Ang is a human rights lawyer and Founding Director of Lawmanity, working with people-led movements to make the law more equal, for everyone. Jen is also Professor in Practice at the University of Glasgow School of Law’s GO Justice Centre, building clinical legal opportunities for students in social justice spaces. She is a legal expert in the areas of migrant justice, women’s rights, children’s rights and the rights of survivors of torture and trafficking, qualified to practice in Scotland, England and Wales, and New York State.

Jen believes in making the law – and legal education – open and accessible to all.

Dr Q Manivannan MSP is a Scottish Green MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East. Q serves as the Scottish Greens’ culture spokesperson. Q is also one of the first two openly transgender people elected to Holyrood.

Q knows what it means to stand up for justice and make change happen, having experience as a community organiser, teacher, and policy expert. They also hold a PhD from the University of St Andrews in international peace studies. With their extensive experience, Q is committed to being the voice for their constituents across Edinburgh and Lothians East, speaking up for local communities and fighting for the change they want and need.

*Events are £5 or free -we completely understand paying for one or two events and then getting free spots for others. The Radical Book Fair is entirely bookshop run and ticket sales are vital to keeping the fair sustainable and paying all our speakers so all support is heartily welcome!

*If you'd like to help make the book fair accessible to more folks, please consider adding to our pay-it-forward fund HERE.