Kim Kelly

The revelatory history of the American labor movement, from independent journalist and Teen Vogue labor columnist Kim Kelly, now adapted for young readers. The history of American labor is full of incredible leaders, organizers, and workers, but not all of them have gotten the recognition they deserve. People like... Rosina Tucker, a Black woman who helped railroad workers organize the first Black-led labor union in America, Maria Moreno, an Indigenous and Mexican woman who fought for farmworkers in the fields of California, Ah Quon McElrath, a Chinese Hawaiian woman who united the laborers of the vast sugarcane plantations, Ben Fletcher, a Black dockworker who organized a strong, interracial union that ran the ports of Philadelphia, Judy Heumann, a disabled Jewish schoolteacher who became the mother of the Disability Rights Movement...and many more. With blood, sweat, and tears, they fought to win the rights we hold so dear today. Their voices reveal the true history of American labor.

This revelatory and inclusive book “unearths the stories of the people—farm laborers, domestic workers, factory employees—behind some of the labor movement’s biggest successes” (The New York Times) from independent journalist and Teen Vogue labor columnist Kim Kelly. Freed Black women organizing for protection in the Reconstruction-era South. Jewish immigrant garment workers braving deadly conditions for a sliver of independence. Asian American fieldworkers rejecting government-sanctioned indentured servitude across the Pacific. Incarcerated workers advocating for basic human rights and fair wages. The queer Black labor leader who helped orchestrate America’s civil rights movement. These are only some of the heroes who propelled American labor’s relentless push for fairness and equal protection under the law. The names and faces of countless silenced, misrepresented, or forgotten leaders have been erased by time as a privileged few decide which stories get cut from the final copy: those of women, people of color, LGBTQIA people, disabled people, sex workers, prisoners, and the poor. In this definitive and assiduously researched “thought-provoking must-read” (Liz Shuler, AFL-CIO president), Teen Vogue columnist and independent labor reporter Kim Kelly excavates that untold history and shows how the rights the American worker has today—the forty-hour workweek, workplace-safety standards, restrictions on child labor, protection from harassment and discrimination on the job—were earned with literal blood, sweat, and tears. Fight Like Hell comes at a time of economic reckoning in America. From Amazon’s warehouses to Starbucks cafes, Appalachian coal mines to the sex workers of Portland’s Stripper Strike, interest in organized labor is at a fever pitch not seen since the early 1960s. Inspirational, intersectional, and full of crucial lessons from the past, Fight Like Hell is “essential reading for anyone who believes that workers should control their fate” (Shane Burley, author of Why We Fight).

Broke and hopeless in 1929, Yo O'Keenan flees the violence of his home in Chippendale, and by some miracle charms his way into a job on the Harbour Bridge, a new start for himself and his little sister, Agnes. Meanwhile, on the north side of Sydney, in her cluttered cottage at Lavender Bay, a young and ambitious costumier, Olivia Greene, works on her latest millinery creations, dreaming of taking her colours to Paris, London, New York. A random encounter in the Botanic Gardens sparks a powerful attraction, even as the gulf between this pair seems wider than the blue mile of harbour that divides the city. By mid-1932, the construction of the Bridge is complete, but Sydney is in chaos, on the brink of civil war, as the Great Depression begins to bite - hard. And then Yo disappears. Against the glittering backdrop of Sydney Harbour, The Blue Mile tells of the cruelties of poverty, the wild gamble a city took to build a wonder of the world, and the risks the truly brave will take for a chance at life.

Truth is not a destination - it's a magical ride. Addy Loest is harbouring a secret - several, in fact. Dedicated overthinker, frockaholic and hard-partyer, she's been doing all she can to avoid the truth for quite some time. A working-class girl raised between the Port Kembla Steelworks and the surf of the Illawarra coast, Addy is a fish out of water at the prestigious University of Sydney. She's also the child of German immigrants, and her broken-hearted widower dad won't tell her anything about her family's tragic past. But it's 1985, a time of all kinds of excess, from big hair to big misogyny, and distractions are easy. Distractions, indeed, are Addy's best skill - until one hangover too many leads her to meet a particular frock and a particular man, each of whom will bring all her truths hurtling home. Told with Kim Kelly's incomparable warmth and wit, The Truth & Addy Loest is a magical trip through shabby-chic inner-city Sydney, a tale of music and moonlight, literature and love - and of discovering the only story that really matters is the one you write for yourself. Praise for Kim Kelly 'Consummate storytelling.' - Tracy Sorensen, The Lucky Galah 'alive, full-hearted and shimmering with hope' - Belinda Castles, Bluebottle 'an author who writes with such a striking sense of atmosphere and sublime instinct' - Theresa Smith Writes 'It is uplifting to know that there are people who can write like this, with clarity, a bit of devilment and a hint of a smile.' - Canberra Times 'marvellous depth and authenticity based on some impressive research, and her characters, plot and fluid prose draw the reader into this world' - Daily Telegraph 'colourful, evocative and energetic' - Sydney Morning Herald 'told with wit, warmth and courage' - Kylie Mason, The Newtown Review of Books 'Kim writes like no one else, with a depth of skill few authors achieve.' - Kelly Rimmer, The Things We Cannot Say 'a literary page-turner ... Kim Kelly is a talented and courageous story-teller' - Cassie Hamer, The End of Cuthbert Close

Originally published in 1861 in the Atlantic Monthly, "Life in the Iron Mills" remains a classic of proletarian literature that paints a bleak and incisive portrait of nineteenth-century industrial America. Rebecca Harding Davis was one of the first writers to depict a working class that was exploited and exhausted as capitalism's mills and factories destroyed both the natural environment and the human spirit. Davis's work was first recovered in the 1970s by the Feminist Press and writer Tillie Olsen, and then expanded in the 1980s to be the most comprehensive collection of her work to date. This reissued edition includes an updated critical introduction, and shares a uniquely prescient capitalist critique with a new generation.

A murder. A missing manuscript. An undying love. Thisbe Chisholm wants to be a writer. It's 2007, a time of digital revolution and skyrocketing property prices, but she's an old-fashioned girl. She doesn't even own a mobile phone. She has no stars-in-her-eyes desire for fame, to see her name on the cover of a book, either. She longs only to tell of the stories written on her heart. While her best friends, Penny and Jane, and her darling boyfriend, John, seem set for stellar careers in their chosen fields, Thisbe works nights as a hostess at a glitzy harbourside Sydney club - a job she despises but it's paid the rent for the last three years since university graduation. Just as she completes her novel, though, she is brutally killed at the end of John's street. Who murdered Thisbe? What will become of her novel? From the gritty glamour of Bondi Beach to the cold streets of London, here is a tale of tragedy and literary betrayal, of a publishing industry grappling with change and a great love drowning in guilt-wracked grief. Haunting, whimsical and sharply observed, Her Last Words lays bare the truth that, while some crimes might go unpunished among the privileged, words themselves have a way of enduring - and exacting a justice all their own. Praise for Kim Kelly'deeply moving...alive, full-hearted and shimmering with hope' - Belinda Castles, Bluebottle'Kelly is a masterful creator of character and voice.' - Julian Leatherdale, Palace of Tears'history that makes you think as well as feel' - Wendy James, The Golden Child'an author who writes with such a striking sense of atmosphere and sublime instinct' - Theresa Smith Writes'storytelling is clearly encoded in her DNA' - Writerful Books'It is uplifting to know that there are people who can write like this, with clarity, a bit of devilment and a hint of a smile.' Canberra Times'marvellous depth and authenticity based on some impressive research, and her characters, plot and fluid prose draw the reader into this world' - Daily Telegraph'colourful, evocative and energetic' - Sydney Morning Herald'storytelling that breaks the rules so beautifully' - Jenn J McLeod, A Place to Remember'Kim Kelly's writing is magnificent' - With Love for Books'told with wit, warmth and courage' - Kylie Mason, The Newtown Review of Books'vivid and enthralling' - Lisa Walker, The Girl with the Gold Bikini'simply superb' - Karen Brooks, The Darkest Shore

Involving nationwide general strikes, the seizure of vast industrial establishments, nonviolent direct action on a massive scale, and armed battles with artillery and tanks, this exciting hidden history is told from the point of view of the rank-and-file workers who lived it. This fiftieth anniversary edition brings the story up to date with chapters covering the "mini-revolts of the 21st century," including Occupy Wall Street and the Fight for Fifteen, and concludes by examining a wide range of current struggles, ranging from #BlackLivesMatter to the global "Student Strike for Climate" that may be harbingers of mass strikes to come.

Involving nationwide general strikes, the seizure of vast industrial establishments, nonviolent direct action on a massive scale, and armed battles with artillery and tanks, this exciting hidden history is told from the point of view of the rank-and-file workers who lived it. Encompassing the repeated repression of workers' rebellions by company-sponsored violence, local police, state militias, and the U. S. Army and National Guard, it reveals a dimension of American history rarely found in the usual high school or college history course. Since its original publication in 1972, no book has done as much as Strike to bring U. S. labor history to a wide audience. Now this fiftieth anniversary edition brings the story up-to-date with chapters covering the mini-revolts of the 21st century, including Occupy Wall Street and the Fight for Fifteen. The new edition contains over a hundred pages of new materials and concludes by examining a wide range of current struggles, ranging from #BlackLivesMatter, to the great wave of teachers strikes for the soul of public education, to the global Student Strike for Climate, that may be harbingers of mass strikes to come.

A novel of love, war and kindness, inspired by a true story of medical genius and betrayal. Sydney, 1948. Brilliant German surgeon, Hugo Winter, is dead, and his prot g , Lucy Brynne, is tasked with sorting his papers. Among them, Lucy finds glimpses of Hugo's past that paint a disturbing picture of war and prejudice - a portrait of Australia she can barely recognise. Days later, an intriguing patient comes into her care on the orthopaedic ward at Sydney Hospital: one Mr Jim Cleary. Lucy's experience as an army physiotherapist, as well as her own very personal knowledge of pain, tell her there's more to this man's fractured leg than meets the eye. As she pieces together who Jim Cleary really is and the truth behind his injury, she not only falls for his laconic charm, but discovers the rival surgeon who relentlessly persecuted Hugo - the same man who has every intention of shattering Jim's life completely now. Inspired by a true story of medical genius and betrayal, Walking is a crisply told tale of bigotry and obsession, love and devastation, and one that charts the transformative power of kindness above all. 'colourful, evocative and energetic' Sydney Morning Herald deeply moving...alive, full-hearted and shimmering with hope' - Belinda Castles, Bluebottle 'Kelly is a masterful creator of character and voice.' - Julian Leatherdale, Palace of Tears 'history that makes you think as well as feel' - Wendy James, The Golden Child 'an author who writes with such a striking sense of atmosphere and sublime instinct' - Theresa Smith Writes 'storytelling is clearly encoded in her DNA' - Writerful Books 'It is uplifting to know that there are people who can write like this, with clarity, a bit of devilment and a hint of a smile.' Canberra Times 'marvellous depth and authenticity based on some impressive research, and her characters, plot and fluid prose draw the reader into this world' - Daily Telegraph 'colourful, evocative and energetic' - Sydney Morning Herald 'storytelling that breaks the rules so beautifully' - Jenn J McLeod, A Place to Remember 'Kim Kelly's writing is magnificent' - With Love for Books 'told with wit, warmth and courage' - Kylie Mason, The Newtown Review of Books

The true story of a luxury steamship lost in 1912, and its haunting curse, inspire a tale of fatal desire, theft and greed. Praise for Jewel Sea: 'Kelly conveys the rich history of the colourful pearling trade in north-western Australia with gusto and charm.... The myth of the cursed jewel has recurred for centuries in storytelling, but Kelly may be the first to have this beautiful and powerful object speak for itself.' - Sydney Morning Herald 'The narrative is breathtaking and the characters are well drawn. I read this book in just two sittings, which is testament to my unwillingness to put the book down.' - Mrs B's Book Reviews 'a many layered, little gem of Australian historical fiction. I could feel, hear and smell the isolated, underpopulated coastal towns of the early 1900's and the cruise liner Koombana in which it is set.' - DM Cameron, acclaimed author of Beneath the Mother Tree. The whole of the harbour was touched with gold - the tops of the quiet waves, warehouse roofs, the bulging folds of sails at rest, the tips of seagull wings - giving him one sweeping glimpse of beauty just as he was leaving, a vision of things as they ought always to be just as they were not... March, 1912. A sultry Indian summer hangs over the west coast of Australia and aboard the luxury steamship SS Koombana, three tales entwine. Irene Everley longs to leave her first-class fishbowl existence, secretly penning a gossip column as her life spirals out of control into soulless liaisons and alcohol, the long shadow of a tragedy clouding her view. James Sinclair, an investor on his way to Broome is not the man he says he is but can he be trusted? Abraham Davis, a wealthy dealer whose scandalous divorce is being dragged through the press, prepares to take the gamble of his life: to purchase an infamous, stolen pearl along the journey north. Perfectly round, perfectly pink, this pearl comes with a curse and with a warning - destroying all who keep it from returning to the sea.

From Ireland to Australia, an immigrant's tale of love, war, and the unbreakable bonds of family. Praise for Wild Chicory: 'It is uplifting to know that there are people who can write like this, with clarity, a bit of devilment and a hint of a smile. The story is a simple one, but told in a way that keeps you reading as much for the elegance of the telling as for the action it describes. Here is prose with a light, sunny breeze blowing through it... Why can't more people write like this? A little gem.' - The Age 'colourful, evocative and energetic' - Sydney Morning Herald 'Kim Kelly's Wild Chicory is told with wit, warmth and courage. It's an ode to the splendour to be found in a simple life and the hope for something better, even if you must risk everything to achieve it.' - Newtown Review of Books Wild Chicory is a novella that takes the reader on an immigrant journey from Ireland to Australia in the early 1900s, along threads of love, family, war and peace. It's a slice of ordinary life rich in history, folklore and fairy tale, and a portrait of the precious relationship between a granddaughter, Brigid, and her grandmother, Nell. From the windswept, emerald coast of County Kerry, to the slums of Sydney's Surry Hills; and from the bitter sectarian violence of Ulster, to tranquillity of rural New South Wales, Brigid weaves her grandmother's tales into a small but beautiful epic of romance and tragedy, of laughter and the cold reality of loss. It's Nell's tales, tall and true, that spur Brigid to write her own, too. Ultimately, it's a story of finding your feet in a new land - be that a new country, or a new emotional space - and the wonderful trove of narrative we carry with us wherever we might go.

No conviction, no reward. It's 1868 and the gold rush is spreading across the wild west of New South Wales, bringing with it a new breed of colonial rogue - bushrangers. A world far removed from hardworking farm girl, Annie Bird, and her sleepy village on the outskirts of Sydney. But when a cruel stroke of fortune sees Annie orphaned and outcast, she is forced to head for the goldfields in search of her grandfather, a legendary tracker. Determined and dangerously naive, she sets off with little but a swag full of hope - and is promptly robbed of it on the road. Her cries for help attract another sort of rogue: Jem Fox, the waster son of a wealthy silversmith, who's already in trouble with the law - up to his neatly trimmed eyebrows in gambling debts. And now he does something much worse. He 'borrows' a horse and rides after the thieves, throwing Annie over the saddle as he goes. What follows is a breakneck gallop through the Australian bush, a tale of mistaken identity and blind bigotry, of two headstrong opposites tossed together by fate, their lives entwined by a quest to get back home - and the irresistible forces of love. 'Kim Kelly seems to understand the sounds and scents of the country' - The West Australian 'colourful, evocative and energetic' - Sydney Morning Herald 'impressive research' - Daily Telegraph 'Why can't more people write like this' - The Age