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Review Quotes:
'This is a unique and important book.
A fascinating history - both expansive and intimate - told with the novelist's flair. I'm overwhelmed by the many stories of determined heroism and personal sacrifice A.J. uncovers.
This is a really brilliant work which any queer person (or ally) ought to read.' --Christopher Stephens, author of
The Light of Day
Review Quotes:
'This loving tribute to the trailblazers who fought for our right to buy queer books (and more)
illuminates a vital chapter of LGBTQ+ history. It made me cry.' --Layla McCay, author of
The Queer Bookshelf
Review Quotes:
'For so many of us, a bookshop is where we first glimpse just how fabulous our queer life might be.
This fact-filled history of our best-loved bookstores is a timely reminder of the bravery and brilliance of all the people who made those moments possible.' --Neil Bartlett, director and playwright
Review Quotes:
'
A gem of a book. It reads like a travel guide, a memoir, and a conversation by the fireside. It's
a celebration of the importance of books - and of the people who love them.' --Gareth Russell, author of
Queen James
Review Quotes:
'
A terrific read!
Widely researched and full of fascinating information and a goodly sprinkling of gossip (essential) it tells the stories of brave pioneer booksellers who created our health and information centres, our culture and our communities. Queer bookshops are places of refuge and resistance, groundbreaking then and necessary now - just as much. We must know our history and this is
a vital contribution told with passion and panache.' --Jane Cholmeley, author of
A Bookshop of One's Own
Review Quotes:
'
What a vital, life-affirming book this is.
A.J. West is the perfect guide to a history of the most important queer space of them all: the bookstore. Without self-knowledge and without community, we're screwed - and West shows just how vital queer bookshops have been to both.' --Will Tosh, author of
Straight Acting
Review Quotes:
'
A crucial history of love, struggle, solidarity and liberation, vividly brought to life and written from the heart.' --Jake Arnott, author of
The Long Firm
Biographical Note:
A.J. West is an award-winning former BBC journalist and broadcaster from Buckinghamshire. He is the author of
The
Sunday Times bestseller
The Betrayal of Thomas True and
The Spirit Engineer, which won HWA Debut Crown Award.
How Queer Bookshops Changed the World is his first work of non-fiction.
Review Quotes:
'
I
have savoured every chapter, practically every sentence... a testament to the small, unsung acts of love and perseverance that have allowed gay bookshops to flourish in different times and places, and to change lives.' --James Cahill, author of
Tiepolo Blue
Review Quotes:
'
A glorious celebration of queer bookshops and their place in our community.
Delightful.' --Jim McSweeney, bookseller at Gay's the Word since 1984
Review Quotes:
'
A beautiful browse through spines of rebellion and shelves of acceptance -
the vitality of the radicalism of the bookshop is perfectly captured and inspirational.' --Robin Ince, co-host of BBC Radio 4's
The Infinite Monkey Cage
Publisher Marketing:
The remarkable tale of how queer bookshops built communities, nourished minds, redefined literature - and changed the world
For over a century, LGBTQ+ bookshops have been the unsung heroes of queer liberation
Home not only to books but chaotic community noticeboards, vicious rescue cats and countless meet cutes, queer bookshops have always been more than
just bookshops, offering friendship, solidarity and sanctuary.
Travelling the world - Shakespeare and Company in Paris, Gay's the Word in London, the Oscar Wilde Bookshop in New York - A. J. West explores the remarkable history of these bookstores. Tracing their evolution from under-the-counter operations to beloved out-and-proud institutions, West reveals how the queer bookshop stood at the vanguard of LGBTQ+ rights, offering support and vital information through the AIDS crisis and bringing the fight to Section 28 and book bans.
A powerful testament not only to bookshops but to the courage of queer booksellers, from Sylvia Beach hiding books from the Nazis in laundry baskets to Craig Rodwell facing off against the police at the Stonewall riots, A. J. West celebrates the shops and booksellers that brought queer literature and lives into the mainstream.
Bookshops covered include: The Highlander & Dove, The Librarie Parisienne, Shakespeare and Company, City Lights Bookstore, The London Underground, Adonis Bookstore, The Oscar Wilde Memorial Bookshop, Glad Day, Lambda Rising, Giovanni's Room, A Different Light, Amazon Bookstore Cooperative, A Woman's Place Bookstore, Womanbooks, Sisterwrite, Modern Books, Housmans Bookshop, Prinz Eisenherz, Gay's The Word, Lavender Menace & West and Wilde, Vrolijk, Silver Moon, London, The Bookshop Darlinghurst, Paperxclips, Gay-on-Wye, Gayberystwyth Books.
Contributor Bio:West, A J
A. J. West is an award-winning journalist and was the first openly gay BBC television newsreader in Northern Ireland. He is a former director of a national UK queer charity. His last novel
The Betrayal of Thomas True was a No.2
Sunday Times bestseller. He has written extensively about queer issues for
Gay Times,
Attitude, the
Independent,
Daily Mail,
Sun,
Telegraph. He regularly appears on network television and radio as a panellist on current affairs programmes, often discussing queer topics.
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