Sue Butterworth
Born10 September 1950
Llandudno, Wales, UK
Died26 July 2004 (aged 53)
Bank, Hampshire, UK
Occupation(s)Bookseller, businesswoman, editor, activist

Susan Ann "Sue" Butterworth (10 September 1950 – 26 July 2004) was a British bookseller and activist, co-founder of Silver Moon Bookshop in 1984, and editor of the store's newsletter, Silver Moon Quarterly.

Early life

Butterworth was born in Llandudno in north Wales, the daughter of F. Buttersworth and Doris Buttersworth. Her father had a furniture store. She attended Penrhos College until age 16.[1][2] In 1973 she and a friend made a driving tour of South Africa.[3]

Career

Butterworth began working in publishing as a secretary, then as an editorial assistant at Book Club Associates from 1977 to 1981. She was a member of Women in Publishing from its launch in 1979.[4][5] In 1982, she and Jane Cholmeley began creating Silver Moon Bookshop, which opened in 1984 in Charing Cross Road, and Silver Moon Books, a publishing company.[6] They only stocked books by women;[7] they worked with publisher Barbara Grier of Naiad Press to bring more American lesbian-themed works to the British audience.[8][9] The shop was a community hub for feminists in London,[10] and her newsletter, the Silver Moon Quarterly, had over 10,000 subscribers worldwide.[11]

After Silver Moon closed in 2001 due to rent increases,[12][13] Butterworth taught, chaired the Society of Bookmen from 2002 to 2003, and was vice-chair of the Book Trade Benevolent Society. She and Corinne Gotch founded Meerkat Books, a not-for-profit marketing network to promote independent British booksellers and publishers.[14]

Butterworth and Cholmeley won the Pandora Award from Women in Publishing in 1989, and the Mike Rhodes Trust Award in 2001.[1] In 1996 she served as a judge for the NCR Non-Fiction Prize, on a panel with Nick Hornby, Jeremy Paxman, Cristina Odone, and Andrew Roberts.[15]

Personal life

Butterworth died at Bank, Hampshire in 2004, aged 53 years, from cancer; she was survived by her partner Irene Roele.[1][2] The British Book Industry Awards include a Sue Butterworth Award for Young Bookseller of the Year, named in her memory and sponsored by HarperCollins.[16][17]

References

  1. ^ a b c Cholmeley, Jane (2004-08-14). "Obituary: Sue Butterworth". the Guardian. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  2. ^ a b Budge, Belinda (2004-08-03). "Sue Butterworth". The Independent. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  3. ^ "People and Places". The North Wales Weekly News. 1973-04-26. p. 14. Retrieved 2022-05-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Marsden, Harriet (2018-04-09). "These women have been fighting for gender equality in publishing for 30 years". The Independent. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  5. ^ "Women in Publishing: An Oral History | Interviews with women in the book business since 1979". Women in Publishing: An Oral History. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  6. ^ Evans, Sarah Jane (1992-04-23). "The Women's Rooms". The Guardian. p. 21. Retrieved 2022-05-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Goodings, Lennie (2020-02-27). A Bite of the Apple: A Life with Books, Writers and Virago. Oxford University Press. p. 139. ISBN 978-0-19-256390-3.
  8. ^ Evans, Sarah Jane (1990-07-04). "Lesbians Like Pulp, too". The Guardian. p. 17. Retrieved 2022-05-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Passet, Joanne (2016-11-01). Indomitable: The Life of Barbara Grier. Bella Books. ISBN 978-1-59493-664-7.
  10. ^ Anderson, Shelley. "Traveler's Guide: Silver Moon Women's Bookshop, London" The Lesbian Review of Books (April 30, 1996): 26. via ProQuest
  11. ^ "Sue Butterworth: Book trade activist and co-founder of Silver Moon". The Daily Telegraph. 2004-08-04. p. 23. Retrieved 2022-05-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Entertainment: The last chapter for Charing Cross booksellers?". BBC News. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  13. ^ Paton, Maureen (2001-10-23). "Eclipse of Silver Moon". The Guardian. p. 41. Retrieved 2022-05-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Kean, Danuta. "Uniquely Independent" Bookseller (27 June 2003). via Business Source Complete.
  15. ^ "All present and correct". Evening Standard. 1996-05-23. p. 225. Retrieved 2022-05-30 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Nawotka, Edward (2010-05-18). "Hachette Dominates UK's Bookseller Industry Awards". Publishing Perspectives. Retrieved 2022-05-30.
  17. ^ "HC to launch Sue Butterworth prize." The Bookseller, February 25, 2005, 6. Gale Academic OneFile (accessed May 29, 2022).

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