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August 2013

ACORN Yoko Ono

It’s nearly 50 years ago that my book of conceptual instructions Grapefruit was first published. In these pages I’m picking up where I left off. After each day of sharing the instructions you should feel free to question, discuss and/or report what your mind tells you. I’m just planting the seeds. Have fun. —Yoko Ono, from the introduction to Acorn

In Acorn, renowned artist and political activist Yoko Ono offers intriguing, enchanting exercises to open our eyes on better ways of relating to ourselves, each other, and the planet we co-habit. Throughout the book are drawings by Yoko, many never before seen. World rights; rights sold Denmark, Sweden, Brazil, Germany, Spain, Japan, China/Taiwan, Italy, France, US/UK. Illustrated. PDF, finished book available now. (OR Books)

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CYPHERPUNKS Freedom and the Future of the Internet Julian Assange with Jacob Appelbaum, Andy Müller-Maguhn and Jérémie Zimmermann

"Cypherpunks: Freedom and the Future of the Internet is an important wake-up call about a possible dystopian future, which is a technological reality now… While messengers of dangerous outcomes are always met at first with hostility and even mockery, history shows that we disregard such warnings as these at our peril." —Naomi Wolf

"Obligatory reading for everyone interested in the reality of our freedoms." —Slavoj Žižek

In the fuss over the man, the ideas that underlie his world-shaking actions have too often been ignored. Now, for the first time, and with the active cooperation of Assange himself, a number of discussions between Assange and a German, American, and French rights activist form the basis for wide-ranging discussions covering the Internet, freedom of speech, and the nature of government. Includes transcripts of the interviews as well as original commentary by Assange, never before published. World rights; rights sold Germany, France, Italy, Japan, Korea, India, Brazil, Turkey, Poland, Spain, Mexico, Russia, Serbia, Bulgaria, and Finland. Audio sold. (OR Books)

AUTOPILOT The Art & Science of Doing Nothing Andrew J. Smart

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There are so many things we should get done, but for no good reason . . . we don't do them. Now steps forward Andy Smart, specialist in cognitive science and neurotechnologist, and one of the clearest, best science writers to appear on the scene since Oliver Sacks, to tell us not to worry: "This book is about being idle. I am going to convince you that being idle is one of the most important activities in life. This is despite the fact that all over the world our working hours are increasing and every time- management book on the market claims that you can, and should get even more done. The message of this book is the opposite. You should get less done; in fact you should be idle. I am going to use neuroscientific evidence to argue that your brain needs to rest, right now." World rights. Rights licensed: Germany, Italy, Russia, Turkey. (OR Books)

BEAUTIFUL TROUBLE A Toolbox for Revolution (pocket edition) Assembled by Andrew Boyd and Dave Oswald Mitchell

"A crash course in the emerging field of carnivalesque realpolitik, both elegant and incendiary." — Naomi Klein Banksy, the Yes Men, Gandhi, Starhawk: the accumulated wisdom of decades of creative protest is now in the hands of the next generation of change-makers, thanks to Beautiful Trouble. Sophisticated enough for veteran activists, accessible enough for newbies, this compact pocket edition of the bestselling Beautiful Trouble is a book that’s both handy and inexpensive. Showcasing the synergies between artistic imagination and shrewd political strategy, this generously illustrated volume can easily be slipped into your pocket as you head out to the streets. This is for everyone who longs for a more beautiful, more just, more livable world – and wants to know how to get there. Includes a new introduction by the editors. Note: editors will design a "module" specifically for the parent country of

3 translated editions. 140 pages. World rights. Rights licensed: Brazil, Spain, Turkey. (OR Books)

NEW! DRUG-MEX The War on Drugs in Mexico Carmen Boullosa Translated by Samantha Schnee " This is not the reportage of a journalist, or the assessment of an academic, or the analysis of a military historian. Nor does it offer a diagnosis, or prescribe a solution. Rather, it’s the testimony of a Mexican novelist." Fifty thousand dead: lawlessness and chaos in one of the world's most populous countries (117 million population). What does it actually mean to be a Mexican today? The US- imposed "war on drugs" benefits the narcotrafficantes, the gun industry, and certain politicians--but what does it mean for citizens interested only in going about their lives? Carmen Boullosa, perhaps Mexico's most celebrated living woman writer, whose luminous prose has long been celebrated on both sides of the border, offers a brief meditation on the devastation wrought on her country. World rights. Rights licensed: Mexico/Spain. (OR Books)

DRONE WARFARE Killing by Remote Control Medea Benjamin

“In this remarkably cogent and carefully researched book, Medea Benjamin makes it clear that drones are not just another high-tech military trinket. Drone Warfare sketches out the nightmare possibilities posed by this insane proliferation.” —Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed A comprehensive look at the growing menace of robotic warfare, with an extensive analysis of who is producing the drones, where they are being used, who “pilots” these unmanned planes, who are the victims and what are the legal and moral implications. In vivid, readable style, the book also looks at what activists, lawyers and scientists are doing to ground the drones, and ways to move forward. World rights. Illustrated. Rights licensed: audio, Germany, India, U.K. (OR Books)

NEW! CITIZENS RISING Independent Journalism and the Spread of Democracy David Hoffman

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"David Hoffman has written a stirring book. He shows how digital technology grants a voice to citizens, threatens the most brutal dictators, and, however unevenly, promises a better tomorrow." – Ken Auletta, Columnist, The New Yorker

Media play a decisive role in political affairs across the globe – driving the revolutionary changes shaping today’s new world. This is the first book presenting a comprehensive look at the emergence of media as a primary actor, and not merely an observer, of global affairs. As the founder and CEO of Internews, the world’s largest non-governmental media development organization, David Hoffman has had a backstage pass to many of the seminal world political upheavals in recent years. In these pages we see how media have been used for good and bad – to trigger genocide, but also to effectively prevent conflict, facilitate free elections, expose corruption, promote nation-building, provide critical information amid natural disasters, and bring about massive social change such as free education and women’s rights. With the rise of digital technology, the power of media to intervene in global affairs is in the hands of everyone – including you. World rights. (OR Books/CUNY Journalism Press)

I TOLD YOU SO Gore Vidal Talks Politics Interviews with Jon Wiener “The four most beautiful words in our common language: ‘I told you so.’ ” ––Gore Vidal

Dick Cavett once described the pundit, wit and consummate American writer Gore Vidal (1925-2012), as “the best talker since Oscar Wilde.” I Told You So comprises four otherwise unavailable interviews, unstintingly incisive and occasionally very funny, conducted with Vidal’s long-time interlocutor, the professor, writer and radio host Jon Wiener. In these pages the brilliant novelist, essayist (for which he won the National Book Award), screenwriter (among his credits is “Ben-Hur” [1959]) and dramatist grapples with matters evidently close to his heart: the history of the American Empire, the rise of the National Security State, and his own life in politics, both as a commentator and candidate. World rights; US/UK trade paperback sold; audio sold. (OR Books)

GANGSTERISMO The United States, Cuba, and the Mafia: 1933 to 1966 Jack Colhoun

The result of twenty years of research at national archives in Maryland, Texas, and Massachusetts: the complete and as-yet-untold story of the making and unmaking of a gangster state in Cuba. In the early 1930s, mobster Meyer Lansky sowed the seeds of gangsterismo when he won Cuban strongman Fulgencio Batista’s support for a mutually profitable arrangement: the mobsters would share the

5 profits from a gambling colony in Cuba with Batista and senior Cuban army and police officers. In return, Cuban authorities promised not to interfere with the operations of the “protected” casinos, hotels, and nightclubs. All was going swimmingly until a handful of revolutionaries upended the neat arrangement: and the CIA, Cuban counterrevolutionaries, and the mafia joined forces to topple Castro. World rights. Illustrated. Rights licensed: audio. (OR Books)

HEMINGWAY FOR TODAY Clancy Sigal

Now supposedly out of fashion, the work of the archetypal writer in fact speaks to us more than ever. Hemingway’s brilliant short stories and crystalline prose retain their ability to engage readers as does the work of no other writer of his generation. In this brief, elegant appreciation of “Papa,” Clancy Sigal, author of the widely-acclaimed Going Home, tells the dramatic story of the great, politically-engaged writer’s life and sets out the reasons why his work is as vibrant and relevant today as it ever was. With black and white illustrations throughout. 160 pages. World rights. Illustrated. PDF, finished book available now; Taiwan/China, audio sold. (OR Books)

HITLER’S GIRLS Emma Tennant and Hilary Bailey

A collaboration between two of the U.K.'s most fêted novelists and editors, both known for their dual interests in feminism and fantasy––begins with the murder of a middle aged social worker in North London and the subsequent disappearance of one of her assailants, who also happens to be her granddaughter. The redoubtable Jean Hastie investigates and, in a switchback of a story that would do John Buchan proud, uncovers an unlikely connection between the crime and a secret liaison that occurred in Nazi Germany prior to the Second World War. "Hitler's Girls" are his British mistress, his illegitimate, middle-class daughter who does not know her own sinister origins, and his great- granddaughter, a drug-addict and murderer, determined to bring home the sins of her ancestors. A story of four generations of women, bonded by one catastrophic secret, and the twisted path that

6 blood may take. 240 pages. World rights. (OR Books)

DISTANT WITNESS Social Media, the Arab Spring and a Revolution in Journalism Andy Carvin

The series of Arab uprisings collectively known as the Arab Spring is a flashpoint in history – perhaps the biggest seen since the collapse of the Soviet bloc. Here, NPR social media chief Andy Carvin offers a unique first-person recap of the Arab Spring. Part memoir, part history, the book includes intimate stories of the revolutionaries who fought for freedom on the streets and across the Internet – stories that would have never been recorded before the days of social media. From the early weeks of the Tunisian revolution through the fall of the Libyan regime, Carvin became known for unflinching, real- time depiction of conflict. His work is reinventing how people experience the news. No longer merely consuming it, they participate in it, interacting with the very people on the ground engaged in the uprisings. Controversial, visceral and timely, this book distills the Arab Spring’s most important moments with these portraits of bravery. World rights. Rights licensed: audio, China/Taiwan. (OR Books/CUNY Journalism Press)

MUSIC WARS: 1937 – 1945 Patrick Bade Music played an unprecedented role in World War II. Whether live or through the recently developed mechanical media of radio, film and gramophone records, it was used by all sides for propaganda and morale-boosting. The Bayreuth Festival opened its doors to war-wounded and munitions workers. In Paris on one day alone, 16 January 1944, a choice of eleven major musical events was offered to occupiers and occupied. Everywhere classical music flourished and reached new audiences. The mightiest musical weapon of the war was Swing, an irresistible force that even the Nazis attempted to harness. Ultimately the music that most potently evokes the emotions and experiences of the war is that of the sentimental songs of loss and separation—Vera Lynn singing “We’ll meet again,” Zarah Leander singing “Ich weiss es wird einmal ein Wunder geschehen” and of course, the song that changed sides: “Lili Marleen.” Author Patrick Bade is a senior lecturer at Christies Education where he has worked since 1981. He also teaches regularly at the London Jewish Cultural Centre. He has published extensively on visual arts and music. World rights x UK. Rights licensed: Germany. (OR Books/East-West Publishing)

THREADS OF IDENTITY Preserving Palestinian Costume and Heritage Widad Kamel Kawar “It is an absolute fabulous book with a treasury of information, depth of human feelings and an excellent reference book.” — Margarita Skinner

A record of the 50 years Widad Kamel Kawar has spent researching, collecting and preserving part of the heritage of Palestine. This endeavor evolved into the Widad Kawar Collection, the largest to date of Palestinian traditional dress and accessories, comprising more than 3,000 items. Kawar presents the story of how the collection evolved and introduces the life stories of the women who produced the beautiful costumes it contains. For her, each item calls to mind an individual or a place: a wife, a mother, a daughter, a family, a house, a village, a town, a field, a market. Much of Widad Kawar’s knowledge stems from the personal narratives of these women whose embroidery and dress-making skills she so admires. Threads of Identity is a history of Palestinian women told through aspects of popular heritage, focusing on traditional dresses but also including textiles and rug weaving, rural and urban customs, jewelry, cuisine, and festivities. While most writing about the Middle East concentrates on politics, her book focuses on the dignity of ordinary people, and women in

7 particular, bridging the gap between the major events of history and everyday life. World rights: finished book and files available (OR Books/Rimal Publications)

HISTORIC NICOSIA Edited by D. Michaelides

Historic Nicosia is the first comprehensive and scholarly history of the capital of Cyprus - from the earliest times until the island's independence in 1960. Leading historians and academics guide the reader through the major epochs, drawing on classic sources as well as the latest scholarship emanating from the study of ancient documents and archaeological discoveries. Each chapter contains a rich section of color and black-and-white photographs, maps and illustrations, some published here for the first time. Historic Nicosia, in short, is the definitive history of the Cypriot capital. World rights: Manuscript available now (OR Books/Rimal Publications)

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