Virago Press

Virago Press is a British publisher founded in 1973 to expand the visibility of women writers and feminist ideas within a publishing industry then widely perceived as male dominated. Established by Carmen Callil, the company emerged during the growth of the Women's Liberation Movement and initially operated under the name Spare Rib Books, sharing its name with the influential British feminist magazine. Its commercial orientation distinguished it from many feminist publishing projects that concentrated on political pamphlets, collective production, or explicitly anti-capitalist publishing. Virago instead sought to compete in the mainstream book market while making women's literary and intellectual production central to its list. From its beginning, Virago combined new writing with the republication of books that had disappeared from circulation. This recovery program became one of the imprint's most influential contributions to literary culture. In 1978, Virago introduced the Modern Classics series, beginning with Antonia White's Frost in May, first published in 1933. The series gave durable visibility to women authors whose work had been neglected by the commercial and critical systems of their time. It also established a recognizable editorial and design identity for the imprint. Virago's reprint program ranged across fiction, memoir, literary criticism, history, politics, and feminist theory, and it sometimes included feminist or women-centered works by male authors as well as books by women. The imprint's list has included internationally prominent writers such as Maya Angelou, Margaret Atwood, Angela Carter, Daphne du Maurier, Zora Neale Hurston, Kate Millett, Adrienne Rich, Naomi Wolf, and Sylvia Townsend Warner, alongside many less widely known authors whose work Virago helped bring back to readers. Its editorial work has therefore operated both as a publishing business and as a form of literary canon revision. Critics and scholars have credited Virago, together with other feminist presses, with challenging unequal gender dynamics in publishing and broadening the range of women’s writing available in Britain and beyond. Virago's ownership changed several times. In 1982 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chatto, Virago, Bodley Head, and Cape Group. In 1987, Carmen Callil, Lennie Goodings, Ursula Owen, Alexandra Pringle, and Harriet Spicer organized a management buyout from the group, then controlled by Random House in the United States. The transaction was financed by Rothschild Ventures and Robert Gavron; Random House UK retained a minority stake and continued to provide sales and distribution services. In 1993, Rothschild Ventures sold its shares to the directors and Gavron, who became the largest individual shareholder. A downturn in the book market later led to reduced activity, and the board sold Virago to Little, Brown in 1996. The transaction generated debate about whether a feminist publishing identity could survive inside a large commercial group. Virago subsequently became part of Hachette Livre's wider publishing structure when Little, Brown joined that group in 2006. Lennie Goodings has remained closely associated with the imprint as editor and publisher. Today, Virago operates as an imprint of Little, Brown Book Group within Hachette UK, continuing to publish contemporary women's writing, feminist nonfiction, and influential literary reissues.

Virago Press was established in Britain in 1973 by Carmen Callil, during the expansion of the Women's Liberation Movement and the growth of feminist cultural institutions. Its original name, Spare Rib Books, referred to the feminist magazine Spare Rib, although the publishing venture developed into a distinct commercial enterprise. The company was created primarily to publish women writers and to challenge the limited opportunities available to them in established publishing houses. Virago developed two complementary publishing programs. It commissioned and published new writing by women, while also locating older books by women that had fallen out of print or had received insufficient critical attention. This second activity became especially important with the creation of Virago Modern Classics in 1978. The inaugural title was Antonia White's Frost in May, a novel originally published in 1933. Through the series, Virago restored access to fiction, memoir, and other writing that had been marginalized by the literary market. The imprint's recovery work contributed to a reassessment of twentieth-century women's literature and influenced debates about the formation of literary canons. Unlike some feminist presses associated with collectives, socialist politics, or explicitly anti-capitalist publishing, Virago presented itself as a commercial alternative capable of competing with mainstream houses. This strategy gave its books access to established distribution and retail networks while preserving an editorial identity centered on women's writing and feminist subjects. The list included fiction, literary criticism, cultural history, political writing, biography, and memoir. It also published works with feminist relevance by some male authors, demonstrating that its editorial remit was thematic and critical as well as based on author gender. In 1982, Virago became wholly owned by the Chatto, Virago, Bodley Head, and Cape Group. Five years later, Callil, Lennie Goodings, Ursula Owen, Alexandra Pringle, and Harriet Spicer led a management buyout from the group, which was then owned by Random House in the United States. Rothschild Ventures and Robert Gavron provided financing. Random House UK retained a ten percent interest and continued to manage sales and distribution. In 1993, Rothschild Ventures disposed of its stake to the directors and Gavron, making Gavron the largest single shareholder. Changing market conditions subsequently reduced the scale of Virago's activity. In 1996 the board agreed to sell the company to Little, Brown. The sale attracted criticism and concern because it placed a prominent feminist publisher inside a much larger corporate structure, raising questions about editorial independence and the durability of feminist publishing institutions. Virago continued as an identifiable imprint, however, with Lennie Goodings serving as publisher and Sally Abbey as senior editor at the time of the transaction. Little, Brown later became part of Hachette Livre in 2006, and Virago is now associated with Little, Brown Book Group and Hachette UK. The imprint's cultural legacy includes the publication or republication of works by writers including Maya Angelou, Margaret Atwood, Angela Carter, Daphne du Maurier, Zora Neale Hurston, Kate Millett, Adrienne Rich, and Sylvia Townsend Warner. The British Library's 2008 acquisition of the Virago archive preserved the company's institutional records and editorial history. In 2016, BBC Four broadcast Virago: Changing the World One Page at a Time, a documentary devoted to the imprint's development and influence. Virago remains an active publisher of women's writing, feminist nonfiction, and literary reissues.

• 2016

  BBC Four documentary

  [1]Virago Pressen.wikipedia.org

  A documentary about Virago's history and cultural impact is broadcast on BBC Four.

• 2008

  Virago archive enters the British Library

  [1]Virago Pressen.wikipedia.org

  The British Library acquires organizational and editorial records documenting the imprint's work.

• 2006

  Little, Brown joins Hachette Livre

  [1]Virago Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Virago's parent company becomes part of Hachette Livre's publishing structure.

• 1996

  Sale to Little, Brown

  [1]Virago Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Virago is sold to Little, Brown after a period of weaker market conditions and reduced activity.

• 1987

  Management buyout

  [1]Virago Pressen.wikipedia.org

  A management team led by Carmen Callil and Lennie Goodings buys Virago from the Random House-owned group with outside financing.

• 1982

  Becomes part of the CVBC group

  [1]Virago Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Virago becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of the Chatto, Virago, Bodley Head, and Cape Group.

• 1978

  Virago Modern Classics launches

  [1]Virago Pressen.wikipedia.org

  The Modern Classics series begins with Antonia White's Frost in May, establishing a long-running program to recover neglected works by women.

• 1973

  Virago is founded

  [1]Virago Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Carmen Callil establishes the publisher in Britain to publish women's writing and feminist books; the venture initially uses the name Spare Rib Books.

A commercially oriented feminist publisher combining contemporary women's writing with the recovery and reissue of overlooked literary works.

• Classic reissues · 1978

  Virago Modern Classics

  Virago's Modern Classics program reissues important works that have been neglected, forgotten, or allowed to disappear from the mainstream literary market. It is particularly associated with recovering fiction and other writing by women from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The series began in 1978 with Antonia White's Frost in May and became a defining part of the imprint's identity and contribution to literary rediscovery.

• Literary fiction · 1973

  Contemporary women's writing

  Virago publishes new fiction and other literary work by women authors. The list has included internationally recognized writers as well as authors whose work has benefited from the imprint's editorial advocacy. This program places literary quality, women's experience, and feminist or socially engaged perspectives within a mainstream commercial publishing framework.

• Nonfiction · 1973

  Feminist nonfiction

  The imprint's nonfiction list covers feminist theory, politics, cultural criticism, memoir, biography, and social history. These books extend Virago's mission beyond literary fiction by publishing arguments and testimony concerning women's lives, representation, and gender relations.

• 1996

  Sale to Little, BrownM&A

  Background

  A downturn in the publishing market had led to a reduction in Virago's activity, prompting the board to consider a sale.

  Action taken

  Virago was sold to Little, Brown and continued as a recognizable imprint within the larger publishing company.

  Aftermath

  The sale attracted negative publicity and debate about whether feminist publishing could retain its purpose and independence within a large commercial group.

  Source

• 1987

  Management buyout from the CVBC groupM&A

  Background

  Virago's directors sought to regain control after the imprint had become part of the Chatto, Virago, Bodley Head, and Cape Group and that group had come under Random House ownership.

  Action taken

  Carmen Callil, Lennie Goodings, Ursula Owen, Alexandra Pringle, and Harriet Spicer completed a management buyout financed by Rothschild Ventures and Robert Gavron. Random House UK retained a minority stake and continued sales and distribution.

  Aftermath

  The transaction restored director control for a period and maintained Virago's distinct feminist publishing identity, although ownership later changed again.

  Source

• 2016

  Virago: Changing the World One Page at a Time broadcasts on BBC Four[1]Virago Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  BBC Four broadcast an hour-long documentary examining Virago's history, feminist publishing mission, and cultural influence.

• 2008

  British Library acquires the Virago Press archive[1]Virago Pressen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The British Library acquired Virago's organizational papers, author and editor files, publicity material, and photographs, preserving documentation of the imprint's publishing history.

1. 1Virago Pressen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Virago Press Archivebl.uk
3. 3Virago: Changing the World One Page at a Timebbc.co.uk