May 2012

All Practical Action Publishing titles can be ordered with 10% discount when you order online from our Development Bookshop

April 2012

• Practical Action Publishing are delighted to be displaying at the annual London Book Fair (stand N404) in Earls Court,  on the 16-18 April.
• Practical Action' Publishing's international journal of water, sanitation and waste, Waterlines is a double issue for January/April, published in April on the theme of ‘Water, sanitation and hygiene in humanitarian situations’. Read Waterlines 31:1/2 online.
• Practical Action Publishing are pleased to announce the publication of Professor Robert Chambers' Provocations for Development,  an entertaining and unsettling collection of writings that questions concepts, conventions and practices in development. It is made up of short and accessible writings. Priced at just £9.95, find out at the Development Bookshop why this book is 'An intoxicating cocktail of thought and practice, people and things, Chambers pokes and provokes us to reflect on the hubris and hypocrisy with which the “development profession” is stuffed. I shall mine this book – like a rich, nutty fruit cake – to help me understand the messy, iterative world of which we’re part.’ Camilla Toulmin, Director, International Institute for Environment and Development, London.
• Also published this month, Communicating Financial Management with Non-finance People by John Cammack. ‘Years of practical experience working with non-profits speak from these pages.’ Alan Fowler, Emeritus professor, Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, and it can be found at the Development Bookshop for £15.95.
• Professor A Peter Castro, Associate Professor of Anthropology, Dan Taylor, the Director of the British NGO Find Your Feet, and Professor David W. Brokensha, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology and Environmental Studies are the editors of Practical Action Publishing's other April publication, Climate Change and Threatened Communities. ‘This unique and significant book has global importance.’ Thayer Scudder, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, California Institute of Technology, and can be viewed at the Development Bookshop, priced £24.95.

March 2012

• This month sees the publication of Gender, Roads and Mobility in Asia, which explores the inter-relations between gender, poverty, and mobility, especially in the context of transportation development. It brings together stories in a nuanced picture of how people’s own positions and capabilities – gender, age, ethnicity, literacy, and education – influence their lives. Edited by Professor Kyoto Kusakabe of the Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand, this book can be found at Practical Action Publishing's online Development Bookshop for £17.95. ‘Finally, a book that does not compromise the complexity of mobility in a transport context. Drawing on mobility as capability, Gender, Roads, and Mobility in Asia brings a variety of much-needed Asian voices to the growing discourse of mobility and social justice, underscoring how the free movement of some is often guaranteed by the immobility of others..’ David O. Kronlid, Docent of Ethics and Senior Lecturer in Curriculum Studies at Uppsala University, Sweden.
• Sustainable Cities: Local solutions in the Global South is also published this month; edited by Dr Mélanie Robertson, Senior Program Officer at the International Development Research Council, Ottawa, Canada, this title outlines concrete strategies for sustainable urban living and design, developed in partnership with low income city dwellers. Priced at £15.95, Sustainable Cities can also be found at the Development Bookshop. ‘This book presents an original look at one of the biggest challenges of the coming decades.’ Alain Olivier, Professor of International Development, Université Laval, Canada.
• The March issue of Practical Action Publishing's journal EDM (Enterprise, Development & Microfinance) focuses on the theme of  ‘Finance and enterprise development assistance for vulnerable and marginalized people’. Read EDM 23:1 online

January 2012

• Practical Action Publishing with Practical Action are pleased to announce that Poor People’s Energy Outlook 2012: Energy for earning a living report (PPEO 2012) a catalyst for a movement for change on energy access, and a source of information to support it, was published in January 2012. The PPEO was launched at an event held at the UK's Department for International Development Headquarters, London on 23 January 2012. View video of Practical Action's CEO Simon Trace at the event and read more about the PPEO
• Practical Action Publishing's director also attended the Independent Publishers Group Digital Quarterly meeting in London on 12 January 2012

November 2011

• Practical Action Publishing staff visited the Online Show at Olympia on 30 November 2011
• A successful meeting to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Waterlines was held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on 7 November where a panel of four speakers including Practical Action's CEO Simon Trace discussed a number of key issues in the water and sanitation sector with a full lecture theatre of over 90 guests including many past, present and future water and sanitation development practitioners. A podcast of the event is available from the Waterlines web pages.
• Practical Action Publishing announced the publication of Decentralized Energy Access and the Millennium Development Goals (with UNDP) by Gwénaëlle Legros, Kamal Rijal, and Bahareh Seyedi was published in November 2011. Read more about this publication at the Development Bookshop. 

October 2011

• Practical Action staff attended the Frankfurt Book Fair from 12-15 October. As in previous years Publishing shared a stand with Oxfam and IDRC and a full schedule of meetings was held with agents, distributors, potential co-publishers and service providers. A remembrance meal was also held to commemorate the death of ex-IT Publications Sales and Marketing Manager Guy Bentham, who died at the book fair last year.

September 2011

• Uncertain Futures  (by Practical Action researcher Jon Ensor) was published in September and launched at the DSA Conference, York where Jon participated in two conference panels. Read more about this title at the Development Bookshop.
• Small Farmers, Big Change: Scaling up impact in smallholder agriculture  by David Wilson, Kirsty Wilson and Claire Harvey with Oxfam, was published in September. Read more about this book's examples of achieving wider change in smallholder agriculture, through influencing policy decisions, with an emphasis on promoting equitable livelihoods and developing rural women’s economic leader at the Development Bookshop.
• Gender, Faith and Development (also with Oxfam) was published. As part of the 'Working in Gender and Development Series', this book by Dr Emma Tomalin,  presents articles from the journal Gender and Development and explores the relationships between religion, gender, and development, and points towards future research for positive outcomes for women and gender equality. Read more at the Development Bookshop.
• Practical Action Publishing had a display stand at the European Association of Development Institutions/Development Studies Association Conference at the University of York from 19-22 September. This was the largest ever gathering of development studies academics ever held in the UK and numerous past and future authors were present. It also offered an opportunity to participate in a panel discussion on development journal publishing.
• Practical Action Publishing's Director attended the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers (ALPSP) Annual Conference at Heythrop Park, Oxfordshire from 14-16 September. 
• Practical Action Publishing also ran a stall at the ‘Small is .. Festival’ at Bourton Hall on 2-4 September 2011.

August 2011

• Practical Action Publishing were pleased to announce the publication of a French edition of Emergency Market Mapping and Analysis Toolkit  (by Mike Albu with the International Rescue Committee, USA). Visit the EMMA Toolkit web pages or read more at the Development Bookshop. ‘The IFRC has been proud to support the development of the EMMA toolkit and recognizes the value it brings to improving post-disaster needs assessment.’ Simon Eccleshall, Head, Disaster Services Department, IFRC
• Candlemaking for Profit by ex-Practical Action staff member Rob Aley was also published in August. This is a simple and clear practical guide for those who are looking for a business start-up or who want to convert their candlemaking hobby into a profitable small business, whether living in an economically rich or developing country. To read more visit the Development Bookshop

July 2011

• The annual Editorial Committee meeting for Practical Action Publishing's journal Waterlines was held on 26 July at WaterAid in London and plans are underway for an event to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Waterlines to be held at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on 7 November with a panel of four speakers including Practical Action's CEO Simon Trace.
• Practical Action Publishing also exhibited at the WEDC Conference 2011 at Loughborough University from 6-8 July.

June 2011

• Supporting Rural Water Supply: Moving towards a Service Delivery Approach by Harold Lockwood and Stef Smits was published in June in association with IRC, Netherlands. The book considers issues of moving to scale and ensuring sustainability with numerous case studies. Authors of this book were also present at the WEDC Conference in July and promoted the book at the event. Read more at the Development Bookshop.
• The Sphere Project’s Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards for Emergency Response non-English language editions were published on 23 June with Spanish, French, Russian, and Arabic copies printed and launch events in Paris, Dakar, Buenos Aires, Panama City, Tegucigalpa, Dubai and many other locations. 
• Practical Action Publishing had a stall at the Ashden Awards Conference 2011 at the Royal Geographical Society, London on 15 June. Five authors were met by Publishing staff on the day and support given to Practical Action colleagues speaking and in attendance at the event.
• Practical Action Publishing's Managing Editor attended the Microfinance Club of London event on 21 June where author Stuart Rutherford, OBE was speaking on the subject of his book, ‘The Poor and Their Money: Microfinance from a twenty-first century consumer's perspective’

May 2011

• The inaugural issue of Practical Action Publishing's journal Food Chain was launched in May 2011. Practical Action Publishing produced the magazine Food Chain from 1990 to 2003 and then launched a new international peer-reviewed journal also called Food Chain to share information among researchers, practitioners and policy-makers. Food Chain is an international journal for all those involved in developing the supply of high-quality foods from ‘farm gate to plate’ and those who use food processing to alleviate poverty and hunger. By bridging the gap between research and practice, we encourage papers written by researchers for the benefit of people who put ideas into practice in the field, and those written by practitioners to inform the need for further research.

   

April 2011

• The long anticipated Designing and Building Micro and Mini Hydro Power Schemes by Practical Action staff member Teodoro Sanchez and Luis Rodriguez was published in April. To find out more about this title visit the Development Bookshop. 
• The new edition of the Sphere Project's highly acclaimed Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards for Emergency Response was published by Practical Action Publishing in April. In addition, French,  Spanish, Russian, and Arabic editions are also underway. Practical Action Publishing supported the global launch of this new (third) 2011 edition of the Sphere Project Handbook on 14 April, when launch events were held in London, New York, Washington, Geneva, Brussels, Dublin, Johannesburg, Canberra, Port au Prince, Nairobi, Delhi and other cities (20 in all) worldwide. This involved despatching thousands of copies to a tight deadline all around the world, the preparation of flyers, and arranging for representatives of Practical Action Publishing to attend four of the launches.
• Practical Action Publishing staff once again had a stall at the annual London Book Fair at Earls Court from April 11-13. 
• Practical Action Publishing's Managing Editor attended the launch of Shit Matters: The Potential of Community-Led Sanitation  edited by Lyla Mehta and Synne Movik,  at IDS (Institute of Development Studies) where a one day conference was held on the subject of community-led total sanitation. A short video film has been made about the project and conference by BMJ video and is available for view here

March 2011

• Strengthening Rural Livelihoods: The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies in Asia edited by Practical Action staff member David Grimshaw and IDRC South Asia office staff member Shalini Kala, and supported by Practical Action’s South Asia office, was published by Practical Action Publishing in March together with IDRC. To read more about this book visit the Development Bookshop.

December 2010

• In December 2010 Sharing the Load: A guide to improving the welfare of working animals through collective action, by Lisa van Dijk, Joy Pritchard, S.K. Pradan and Kimberly Wells was published by Practical Action Publishing in association with The Brooke. 
• From Vulnerability to Resilience: A framework for analysis and action to build community resilience, written by former Practical Action IPA 1 staff member Kath Pasteur, and Shit Matters: The potential of community-led total sanitation, edited by Lyla Mehta and Synne Movik, (published in association with the Institute of Development Studies with a launch planned for a March STEPS symposium) were also published in December.
• Gender and the Economic Crisis, edited by Ruth Pearson and Caroline Sweetman, is published in association with Oxfam. Then book comprises articles from Oxfam’s gender and development journal and is the latest in the Working in Gender and Development (WIGAD) series.