Women's Press
The Women's Press was a London feminist publisher founded in 1977 by Stephanie Dowrick and Naim Attallah, known for UK editions of Alice Walker and Tsitsi Dangarembga, absorbed into Quartet Books around 2003.
- Editions tracked
- 37
- First editions
- 6
- Books
- 37
- Years
- 1979 to 2001
Women's Press is a publisher based in London, founded in 1977. We track 37 editions it published between 1979 and 2001, 6 of them first editions across 37 books. Each book lists its first edition and the points that identify it.
About Women's Press
The Women's Press was a London feminist publishing house founded in 1977 by Stephanie Dowrick with financial backing from Naim Attallah, and it is known for bringing Alice Walker's The Color Purple and Tsitsi Dangarembga's Nervous Conditions to British readers.
Dowrick, a New Zealander who had been editorial manager at Triad Paperbacks, started the press in her home in Bow, East London. Attallah, who had taken over Quartet Books in 1976, guaranteed the overdraft and held 53% of the shares to Dowrick's 47%. The first books appeared in February 1978, including a reissue of Sylvia Townsend Warner's Lolly Willowes, and the office moved to Shoreditch in 1979. The Canadian artist Donna Muir designed its logo, a domestic iron, with striped spines suggesting the flex.
The list ranged from fiction to feminist theory: Andrea Dworkin, Shulamith Firestone, Angela Davis and Octavia Butler all appeared, and a crime list carried Val McDermid. The Color Purple came out in Britain in 1983 and sold strongly, and Nervous Conditions followed in 1988. A book club was added in 1980, and Livewire was among its imprints.
Ros de Lanerolle was managing director from 1982 until a period of losses around 1990 and 1991; Kathy Gale, who joined in 1991, and Mary Hemming then restored its finances. Dowrick and Attallah owned it until 2002, and by 2003 it had largely become an imprint of Quartet Books.
We have not yet written the guide to Women's Press's first-edition conventions. Until we do, check each book's own page: we list its points where we know them. Know how Women's Press marked its firsts? Tell us.
Authors
Published by Women's Press
Frequently asked questions
How many Women's Press books does MyVolumes track?
We track 37 editions published by Women's Press, 6 of them first editions, across 37 books.
Where these facts come from
- The Women's Press, Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
- Celebrating The Women's Press, Stephanie Dowrick (stephaniedowrick.com)
- Naim Attallah, Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org)
Every fact on this page was checked against the sources listed. Checked 18 October 2026. Reviewed by Harriet Ellis; read how we check facts.