Gay's the Word (bookshop)
Lesbian and gay bookstore in London / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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51.525361°N 0.125379°W / 51.525361; -0.125379
 Gay's the Word bookshop, January 2018 | |
| Industry | Bookshop |
|---|---|
| Founded | 17 January 1979 (1979-01-17) |
| Founder | Gay Icebreakers members |
| Headquarters | London, WC1 United Kingdom |
Number of locations | 1 |
| Website | gaystheword |
Gay's the Word is an independent bookshop in central London, and the oldest LGBT bookshop in the United Kingdom. Inspired by the emergence and growth of lesbian and gay bookstores in the United States, a small group of people from Gay Icebreakers,[1][2] a gay socialist group, founded the store in 1979. These included Peter Dorey, Ernest Hole and Jonathan Cutbill.[3] Various locations were looked at, including Covent Garden, which was then being regenerated, before they decided to open the store in Marchmont Street in Bloomsbury, an area of the capital with rich academic and literary associations. Initial reluctance from Camden Council to grant a lease was overcome with help from Ken Livingstone, then a local councillor, later Mayor of London. For a period of time, it was the only LGBT bookshop in England.[4]