Sunday, March 11, 2007
Save the 'Gay's The Word' Bookshop
Gay's The Word is the only gay and lesbian bookshop in the whole country, It's currently under threat of closure.
Please read this letter from Jim and Uli, and do what you can...
Dear Friend of Gay’s The Word,
We’ve got some good news, and we’ve got some bad news. Some time ago we asked for your vote to nominate us for the Independent Bookshop of the Year 2007 Competition. Your wonderful response resulted in us getting longlisted, and we’re delighted to announce that we’ve now reached the Regional Shortlist. It’s a fantastic achievement and we’re really thrilled. A huge ‘thank you’ to everybody who voted for us.
It’s somewhat ironic that this news comes through as we are finding it an increasing struggle to cope financially. The bad news is that after 28 years of trading, we’re looking at possible closure in the next few months. Some of you may have seen the excellent recent article in The Times which highlighted the problem:
http://entertainmen t.timesonline. co.uk/tol/ arts_and_ entertainment/ books/article146 2206.ece
A combination of pressures including the Internet, rising rents, and the availability of some LGBT books in mainstream bookshops have all played their part. Fundamentally, it comes down to the fact that just not enough people are buying their books here anymore. Independent bookstores across the UK are having a difficult time but there isn’t a bookstore in the country that has our unique range of titles. We think it would be a real pity if Gay’s The Word, the oldest and only surviving independent gay and lesbian bookstore in the whole country, had to close.
We are, of course, much more than just a bookstore and also function as a community resource. Hundreds of people visit the shop every week to collect free papers, look at our notice board and pick up leaflets of interest. A number of discussion and support groups also have free use of the space for their meetings. We’re often the first point of contact for lesbians and gays new to London or coming to terms with their sexuality. It is perhaps this somewhat invisible aspect of what we do that we are saddest to see in jeopardy. We have tried to create a safe, non-threatening, non-judgemental space where people can come and browse, ask questions and get help and advice or just buy a book or card.
To survive in the 21st century we need to adapt and change. We have lots of ideas of how we might face these new challenges. These range from changing our structure so that we can access funding for some of our work, acquiring charity status, updating our computer systems so that we can establish a strong web presence to renovating the shop and developing our downstairs space as a resource for community events.
But to implement these longer-term ideas and initiatives we have to survive our present crisis. So how can you help?
Most important is that we get word out about our predicament. We ask you to forward this e-mail on to ten people, or anyone you know who you think should know (i.e. influential or well-heeled investors). It would be a tragedy if Gay’s The Word closed down due to the fact that people are simply unaware of our existence or the difficulties we are experiencing. So we ask you to spread the word: by e-mail, by phone, at the water-cooler, in the bars, clubs, cottages, saunas…wherever.
Support us! Five ways you can help support Gay’s The Word:
You can come into the shop and buy one (or two, or three) of our fabulous books.
You can pick one (or as many as you like) of one of our current top-ten titles, listed below, and order it.
You can send us a donation (cheques payable to GTW), or call up with your card details.
You can sponsor a shelf for £100. You will become an official ‘Friend of Gay’s The Word’ and your name will be officially listed as such in-store. We are calling this our ‘Cash For Honours’ promotion.
You can order a copy of the Gay’s The Word documentary film, which screened at last year’s London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival at the NFT, for £10.
We believe in our importance, relevance and future. We believe many people do. If you’re one of them, then lend us your support. Help save Gay’s The Word. Where there’s a will…there’s a way…
Our Current Top Ten Recommended Books:
Queer London by Matt Houlbrook – The award-winning social history of the gay metropolis, 1918-1957. £13
Bitter Eden by Tatamkhulu Afrika – An extraordinary novel set in a WWII prisoner-of- war camp that explores the themes of masculinity and desire. £11.99
My Undoing by Aiden Shaw – The hugely frank memoir about life and love in the thick of sex, drugs, pornography and prostitution. £8.99
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters – An astonishing novel set against the turbulent backdrop of wartime Britain from our favourite lesbian author. £7.99
Unspeakable Love by Brian Whitaker – A powerful and compelling insight into gay and lesbian life in today’s Middle East. £14.99
When Dreams Tremble by Radclyffe – Another gripping and seductive lesbian romance set in upstate New-York from the prolific and hugely popular award-winning author. £11.99
Swimming in the Monsoon Sea by Shyam Selvadurai – the tale of the first love of a 14 year-old boy, set in 1980’s Sri Lanka during the monsoon season. From the best-selling author of ‘Funny Boy’. £8.95
Skin Lane by Neil Bartlett – His first novel for a decade, Bartlett has devised ‘a fiendishly taut little psycho-shocker’ about a quiet man who is pushed over the edge. £10.99
Biceps of Death by David Stukas – A sexy, catty and downright hilarious gay detective novel. If you like Armistead Maupin, you'll love Stukas. £9.99
Drag King Dreams by Leslie Feinberg – The long-awaited novel about love and struggle in post-9/11 New York from the Trans activist and author of ‘Stone Butch Blues’. £10.99
Orders can be made by phone, post or e-mail. Contact details below.
Many thanks
Jim & Uli
Gay's The Word
Lesbian & Gay Bookshop
66 Marchmont Street
London WC1N 1AB
Russell Square Underground
Tel; +44-020-7278 7654
email; sales@gaystheword. co.uk www.gaystheword. co.uk
Open: Mon - Sat 10am - 6.30pm
Sun 2pm - 6pm
We send Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans and Queer books all over the world
We accept most major credit cards, cheques and postal orders.
Postage & Packing UK 15 %. Europe 20% Rest of the World 25%
The effects of book-buying online and the rise of the bookstore chains have also put the shop in peril, said manager Jim MacSweeney. Gay’s The Word needs to raise £20,000 within two months to stay in business and is looking for well-heeled donors or investors - and new customers.
The shop, which was founded by bookseller Ernest Hole, sells a range of gay-themed fiction and non-fiction from around the world, and is one of the most enduring symbols of gay life in London. But it has suffered from not being located in the gay centre of the capital, Soho.
In 1984, Customs officials raided the shop during the infamous Operation Tiger. Among the books seized were works by Gore Vidal, Allen Ginsberg, Christopher Isherwood and Tennessee Williams. “Customs thought gay bookshop meant sex shop, dirty macs,” says MacSweeney. “Not what we were about.”
Charges relating to the importation of indecent and obscene material were dropped after a high-profile campaign by civil liberties groups and questions in the House of Commons.
Store managers are considering whether to turn the bookshop into a charity or community interest company — part private company, part charity. Should it be saved, it may relocate to Soho. “At the moment, lots of gay men, especially younger ones, simply don’t know we’re here,” said MacSweeney.
Please do all you can
Please read this letter from Jim and Uli, and do what you can...
Dear Friend of Gay’s The Word,
We’ve got some good news, and we’ve got some bad news. Some time ago we asked for your vote to nominate us for the Independent Bookshop of the Year 2007 Competition. Your wonderful response resulted in us getting longlisted, and we’re delighted to announce that we’ve now reached the Regional Shortlist. It’s a fantastic achievement and we’re really thrilled. A huge ‘thank you’ to everybody who voted for us.
It’s somewhat ironic that this news comes through as we are finding it an increasing struggle to cope financially. The bad news is that after 28 years of trading, we’re looking at possible closure in the next few months. Some of you may have seen the excellent recent article in The Times which highlighted the problem:
http://entertainmen t.timesonline. co.uk/tol/ arts_and_ entertainment/ books/article146 2206.ece
A combination of pressures including the Internet, rising rents, and the availability of some LGBT books in mainstream bookshops have all played their part. Fundamentally, it comes down to the fact that just not enough people are buying their books here anymore. Independent bookstores across the UK are having a difficult time but there isn’t a bookstore in the country that has our unique range of titles. We think it would be a real pity if Gay’s The Word, the oldest and only surviving independent gay and lesbian bookstore in the whole country, had to close.
We are, of course, much more than just a bookstore and also function as a community resource. Hundreds of people visit the shop every week to collect free papers, look at our notice board and pick up leaflets of interest. A number of discussion and support groups also have free use of the space for their meetings. We’re often the first point of contact for lesbians and gays new to London or coming to terms with their sexuality. It is perhaps this somewhat invisible aspect of what we do that we are saddest to see in jeopardy. We have tried to create a safe, non-threatening, non-judgemental space where people can come and browse, ask questions and get help and advice or just buy a book or card.
To survive in the 21st century we need to adapt and change. We have lots of ideas of how we might face these new challenges. These range from changing our structure so that we can access funding for some of our work, acquiring charity status, updating our computer systems so that we can establish a strong web presence to renovating the shop and developing our downstairs space as a resource for community events.
But to implement these longer-term ideas and initiatives we have to survive our present crisis. So how can you help?
Most important is that we get word out about our predicament. We ask you to forward this e-mail on to ten people, or anyone you know who you think should know (i.e. influential or well-heeled investors). It would be a tragedy if Gay’s The Word closed down due to the fact that people are simply unaware of our existence or the difficulties we are experiencing. So we ask you to spread the word: by e-mail, by phone, at the water-cooler, in the bars, clubs, cottages, saunas…wherever.
Support us! Five ways you can help support Gay’s The Word:
You can come into the shop and buy one (or two, or three) of our fabulous books.
You can pick one (or as many as you like) of one of our current top-ten titles, listed below, and order it.
You can send us a donation (cheques payable to GTW), or call up with your card details.
You can sponsor a shelf for £100. You will become an official ‘Friend of Gay’s The Word’ and your name will be officially listed as such in-store. We are calling this our ‘Cash For Honours’ promotion.
You can order a copy of the Gay’s The Word documentary film, which screened at last year’s London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival at the NFT, for £10.
We believe in our importance, relevance and future. We believe many people do. If you’re one of them, then lend us your support. Help save Gay’s The Word. Where there’s a will…there’s a way…
Our Current Top Ten Recommended Books:
Queer London by Matt Houlbrook – The award-winning social history of the gay metropolis, 1918-1957. £13
Bitter Eden by Tatamkhulu Afrika – An extraordinary novel set in a WWII prisoner-of- war camp that explores the themes of masculinity and desire. £11.99
My Undoing by Aiden Shaw – The hugely frank memoir about life and love in the thick of sex, drugs, pornography and prostitution. £8.99
The Night Watch by Sarah Waters – An astonishing novel set against the turbulent backdrop of wartime Britain from our favourite lesbian author. £7.99
Unspeakable Love by Brian Whitaker – A powerful and compelling insight into gay and lesbian life in today’s Middle East. £14.99
When Dreams Tremble by Radclyffe – Another gripping and seductive lesbian romance set in upstate New-York from the prolific and hugely popular award-winning author. £11.99
Swimming in the Monsoon Sea by Shyam Selvadurai – the tale of the first love of a 14 year-old boy, set in 1980’s Sri Lanka during the monsoon season. From the best-selling author of ‘Funny Boy’. £8.95
Skin Lane by Neil Bartlett – His first novel for a decade, Bartlett has devised ‘a fiendishly taut little psycho-shocker’ about a quiet man who is pushed over the edge. £10.99
Biceps of Death by David Stukas – A sexy, catty and downright hilarious gay detective novel. If you like Armistead Maupin, you'll love Stukas. £9.99
Drag King Dreams by Leslie Feinberg – The long-awaited novel about love and struggle in post-9/11 New York from the Trans activist and author of ‘Stone Butch Blues’. £10.99
Orders can be made by phone, post or e-mail. Contact details below.
Many thanks
Jim & Uli
Gay's The Word
Lesbian & Gay Bookshop
66 Marchmont Street
London WC1N 1AB
Russell Square Underground
Tel; +44-020-7278 7654
email; sales@gaystheword. co.uk www.gaystheword. co.uk
Open: Mon - Sat 10am - 6.30pm
Sun 2pm - 6pm
We send Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans and Queer books all over the world
We accept most major credit cards, cheques and postal orders.
Postage & Packing UK 15 %. Europe 20% Rest of the World 25%
The effects of book-buying online and the rise of the bookstore chains have also put the shop in peril, said manager Jim MacSweeney. Gay’s The Word needs to raise £20,000 within two months to stay in business and is looking for well-heeled donors or investors - and new customers.
The shop, which was founded by bookseller Ernest Hole, sells a range of gay-themed fiction and non-fiction from around the world, and is one of the most enduring symbols of gay life in London. But it has suffered from not being located in the gay centre of the capital, Soho.
In 1984, Customs officials raided the shop during the infamous Operation Tiger. Among the books seized were works by Gore Vidal, Allen Ginsberg, Christopher Isherwood and Tennessee Williams. “Customs thought gay bookshop meant sex shop, dirty macs,” says MacSweeney. “Not what we were about.”
Charges relating to the importation of indecent and obscene material were dropped after a high-profile campaign by civil liberties groups and questions in the House of Commons.
Store managers are considering whether to turn the bookshop into a charity or community interest company — part private company, part charity. Should it be saved, it may relocate to Soho. “At the moment, lots of gay men, especially younger ones, simply don’t know we’re here,” said MacSweeney.
Please do all you can
Labels: Gay Actions
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