Gay's the Word | Shoppg Bloomsbury, London

Contents:

•  GAY'S THE WORD 
• GAY'S THE WORD
• GAY'S THE WORD: LONDON'S LGBTQ+ BOOKSHOP THAT'S 'LIKE FAY'
• CELEBRATG 40 YEARS OF GAY’S THE WORD, LONDON’S GLOR LGBTQ BOOKSHOP
• GAY'S THE WORD: TRIBUT PAID TO PETER DOREY WHO OPENED FIRST LGBTQ+ BOOKSHOP
• LOCAL HEROES | GAY’S THE WORD
• LONDON’S BOOKSHOPS: GAY’S THE WORD
• GAY'S THE WORDLONDONMENUHOTELS · LUXURYHOTELS · MID-RANGEHOTELS · BUDGETGUTHO & B&BSHOSTELSON TODAYBARSDANCE CLUBSLBIAN BARSCISE CLUBSSNASGAY SOHOMASSAGETHEATRECABARETSSHOPSGYMSCAF & RTRANTSSERVICATTRACTNSCY GUITOURSGAY MAPUK EVENTSGAY WEDDGSGAY'S THE WORD
• GAY’S THE WORD: SI ENGLAND’S ONLY LGBTQ BOOKSHOP
• MY FAVOURE PENNT BOOKSHOP: GAY'S THE WORD, LONDON

 GAY'S THE WORD 

Fictn, Nonfictn, Young Adult Fictn, Classics, Poetry, Plays, Rare Books, Comg Out, pl Gay's The Word and LGSM merchandise. Gay's The WordWant an alternative to Amazon? RadPeter Dorey, Co-Founr of Gay's The Word Bookshop, Di Aged 73'It is clear that generatns of LGBT+ people owe Peter Dorey a bt of thanks' reports Will Strou for Attu Magaze, 16 Febary 2021.

GAY'S THE WORD

Bigoted Brish tiger that b off more than uld chewGraham McKerrow wr for talkg humani about Operatn Tiger, the Brish state’s attempt the 1980s to prohib the importatn of all queer books, newspapers and magaz, cludg a raid on Gay's The Word 1984. 'The importance of Gay's The Word...

Jonathan Cutbill Leav 'Phenomenal Collectn' of LGBTQ LeratureJonathan Cutbill, one of the founrs of Gay's The Word who passed away 2019, leav his LGBTQ Lerature llectn to Universy of London, wr Steve Brown for Attu Magaze, 24 January Bt LGBTQIA+ LeratureBrish Vogue asks 'ins of the LGBTQIA+ muny' to share what we queer wrg we should be readg, cludg Ernt Hole, founr of Gay's The Word bookshop, wrten by Liam Freeman, 21 June 's The Word Wants You To Notice ItThe Londonist profil the bookshop, askg about visibily and pri, wrten by Harry Rosehill, 11 June 2019. Celebratg 40 years of Gay's The Word, London's glor LGBTQ bookshopDazed Digal profil the bookshop for s 40th anniversary, wrten by Louis Stapl, 27 Febary England's [First] LGBT Bookshopi-D Magaze terviews Gay's The Word's  light of s 40th anniversary, wrten by Jake Hall, 18 January 2019.

GAY'S THE WORD: LONDON'S LGBTQ+ BOOKSHOP THAT'S 'LIKE FAY'

]Gay's The Word turns 40'How a small LGBT bookshop beme an unlikely battleground the fight for gay acceptance', wr Thomas Stichbury for Attu Magaze, 17 January 2019. Bookshop of the Month - Damian Barr's Lerary SalonGay's The Word is profiled for Damian Barr's Lerary Salon November 2018 wh a Q&A wh Uli Birth of Gay's The WordErnt Hole wr the history of the bookshop for the first time Polari Magaze, 17 January. Gay's The Word bookshop opened January 1979 and has been an important part of London's LGBTQ+ culture ever pri events were anised om there and many gay and lbian groups met year marks 40 years sce the shop opened and spe polil, social and technologil change, is still gog strong and attractg a new generatn of LGBTQ+ Londoners.

Celebratg 40 years of Gay’s The Word, London’s glor LGBTQ bookshop | Dazed⬅️ Left Arrow*️⃣ Asterisk␠StarOptn Slirs✉️ MailExCourty of Gay’s The Word‘If LGBT+ people don’t exist the world of fictn, we don’t exist the world’. “Lookg back, I thk I me to London to be gay, ” says 58-year-old Jim MacSweeney, who moved to London om ral Ireland 1982.

” Later this year, Jim will celebrate 30 years as manager of Gay’s the Word bookshop, England’s only LGBTQ+ bookshop. Ernt Hole found Gay’s the Word four s ago after visg The Osr Wil Memorial Bookshop the late 1960s, which was the first gay bookshop the US. Sat nocuoly between a phone repair shop and a fé London’s Kg’s Cross area, Gay’s The Word has outlived s US and Brish peers such as Edburgh’s Wt and Wil and Brighton’s Out.

CELEBRATG 40 YEARS OF GAY’S THE WORD, LONDON’S GLOR LGBTQ BOOKSHOP

Gay’s the Word has always been more than a shop. Jim first vised Gay’s the Word as a member of socialist LGBTQ+ group Gay Icebreakers, which the shop’s founr was also an active member of.

In 1984, Gay’s The Word beme home to Lbians and Gays Support the Mers (LGSM), a socialist llective aimg to fancially assist the mers’ strike efforts agast Margaret Thatcher’s ernment. The 2014 film Pri follows the story of the group, which was found by late gay rights in Mark Ashton. He says that the ia of shared activism has always been tegral to the Gay’s the Word ethos.

GAY'S THE WORD: TRIBUT PAID TO PETER DOREY WHO OPENED FIRST LGBTQ+ BOOKSHOP

Courty of Gay's The Word. Like so many queer spac, Gay’s the Word has also faced fancial difficulti.

As gentrifitn has ed mographics to shift and vulture-like velopers to circle, many have been forced to close their doors, cludg the NYC shop that spired Gay’s the Word.

“This was a really important space the 80s – was where you me to get gay books. In the 90s beme more difficult and Soho started as a gay area so you didn’t have to e here anymore, ” Jim explas. There were lots of queer spac and ed to be a real hub of gay activy.

LOCAL HEROES | GAY’S THE WORD

Though after emails requtg that supporters sponsor shelv were picked up by newspapers, chequ began to flow and people realised the affectn they had for Gay’s the Word. Rikki Beadle-Blair, a Brish actor, director, playwright, and sger who is a leadg figure London’s queer cultural scene, performed at Gay’s the Word’s one month openg party 1979. I grew up lovg words and was lovely to have those thgs e together at Gay’s the Word.

Jt as Gay’s the Word now sells books explorg the tersectns of race, age, class and relign wh queer inti, the shop has has always strived to be trans-clive. Dawson and Beadle-Blair recently celebrated Gay’s the Word’s 40th anniversary at the Brish Library, at an event hosted by thor Damian Barr.

LONDON’S BOOKSHOPS: GAY’S THE WORD

“I first vised Gay’s the Word on a trip to London when I was a stunt, ” Barr rells.

I uldn’t believe that Gay’s the Word had all the books that I’d asked for at the library. Courty of Gay’s The Word.

“Gay’s The Word hasn’t jt been a passive mirror of our culture, ’s helped change our culture and liberate mds. Jim partly attribut Gay’s The Word ntued succs to Pri, but also to embracg the chang LGBTQ+ culture, such as social media, while adaptg to their dience. Jim has been at Gay’s The Word through the Aids crisis and Sectn 28.

GAY'S THE WORDLONDONMENUHOTELS · LUXURYHOTELS · MID-RANGEHOTELS · BUDGETGUTHO & B&BSHOSTELSON TODAYBARSDANCE CLUBSLBIAN BARSCISE CLUBSSNASGAY SOHOMASSAGETHEATRECABARETSSHOPSGYMSCAF & RTRANTSSERVICATTRACTNSCY GUITOURSGAY MAPUK EVENTSGAY WEDDGSGAY'S THE WORD

While there have been signifint advanc the UK sce then, the shop is still vised by LGBTQ+ people om untri where beg gay n be dangero.

Image source, Gay's the Word/ InstagarmImage ptn, Gay's the Word -founrs Peter Dorey (left) and Ernt Hole outsi the store London the day opened 1979A pneerg shop owner who opened the UK's first gay book store has died at the age of 73.

GAY’S THE WORD: SI ENGLAND’S ONLY LGBTQ BOOKSHOP

Peter Dorey, who was among a small group of gay activists, opened Gay's The Word Bloomsbury central London shop acted as a "safe place" for LGBTQ+ muni durg a perd of opprsn and discrimatn. "Gay's The Word has been an important part of the LGBTQ+ muny for many years and we get visors om all over the world, " store manager Jim MacSweeney said.

"Media ptn, London's LGBTQ+ bookshop that's 'like fay'Gay's The Word quickly tablished self as a val muny hub durg the 1980s, offerg rmatn and rourc to members of London's LGBTQ+ muny.

MY FAVOURE PENNT BOOKSHOP: GAY'S THE WORD, LONDON

"The groups that met at the store clud a lbian discsn group, a black group, Irish gay people London and, for a perd 1984, a lbians and gays support the mers source, Gay's The WorldImage ptn, Ntled on Marchmont Street Bloomsbury, the bookstore provid LGBTQ+ muni a "safe place" to meetMr Dorey and -owner Ernt Hole were also part of a group named Gay Icebreakers - a gay socialist group that ran a helple and held regular discsn groups at the store, Mr MacSweeney 1984, the store was raid by HM Ctoms and Excise who seized thoands of pounds worth of stock.

Charg were brought agast the staff and directors for importg "cent" se gathered a great al of media verage and qutns were raised the Hoe of Commons before the charg were fally dropped, Mr MacSweeney source, Gay's The Word/ InstagramImage ptn, Jim MacSweeney hop to ntue the legacy of Gay's The Word"Both Peter and Ernt attend our 40th anniversary celebratns at the Brish Library 2019, " he add. Gay’s The Word, the olst survivg LGBT+ bookshop the UK, is next up our Lol Hero seri, where we big up the people, small bs and neighbourhood spots that make London great.

The bookshop was found 1979 by a group of left-wg gay socialists, cludg Ernt Hole, who’d been spired by the work of Craig Rodwell and the Osr Wil Memorial Bookshop  Manhattan (which was found two years before the Stonewall rts and was the olst LGBT+ bookshop the world before closed 2009) and wanted to open somethg siar across the Gay’s The Word Deputy Manager Uli Lenart explas, “the bookshop founrs chose the name ‘Gay’s The Word’ as a liberate bold proclamatn: as a visibly queer name; was an articulatn of our prence a climate of erasure. Up until that pot, some mastream bookshops had been ristant about stockg gay-themed books or materials…. ”Gay’s The Word was signed to be a muny space and meetg place as well as a place to fd books.