by A. J. West
Oneworld Publications
6/9/2026, hardcover
SKU: 9781836431695
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.
Reviews:
"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
"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
"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
About the Author:
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.