Gay's The Word

"The fountainhead of queer literature in Britain." - Armistead Maupin 

"It’s not just a bookshop, but the hub and affirmation of a whole community.” – Sarah Waters 

“Gays the Word is not only a superb bookshop but also a cultural centre. No online bookshop or chain bookstore can provide all of the advantages Gay’s the Word offers its readers.” – Edmund White   

Gay's The Word is the UK's oldest LGBT+ bookshop. We were established by a group of gay socialists in January 1979 (a time when mainstream bookshops were resistant about the idea of stocking queer books) as a community space where all profits were funnelled back into the business. This ethos continues today with the bookshop stewarded by four core staff-members: Uli, Jim, Erica and Pao.  

Gay's the Word has a genuinely warm, welcoming atmosphere and the bookshop space has long been used for book and community events. We offer a wide range of fiction, poetry, history, biography, queer studies, graphic & young adult novels as well as badges, Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners t-shirts and and posters [check out the 2014 film, Pride].  Gay's the Word is often described by our customers as a touchstone and as a sanctuary. 

We are located at 66 Marchmont Street London, WC1N 1AB.  https://www.gaystheword.co.uk

We hope you enjoy our booklists!  ANY books you buy through our shopfront, LGBT or not, help support Gay's The Word.  If you have any imaginative suggestions about possible booklists we should think about creating in the future, drop us a message.