What is it?
Established in 1979, Bloomsbury’s pioneering Gay's the Word is the oldest dedicated LGBTQ+ bookshop in the UK, and features in the superb gays-and-minders movie Pride. It’s also more than just a bookshop – it’s a space for the queer community to gather, socialise and share their experiences.
What does it sell?
Stock covers fiction, history and biography, as well as more specialist holdings in queer studies, sex and relationships, children, and parenting. You’ll also find plenty of books that will help with the coming out experience, children’s books that champion individuality, and parenting books tailored towards queer parents.
Opening times:
Monday-Saturday 11am-6pm; Sunday 1pm-6pm
Time Out tip:
In addition to regular author readings and book signings (think Adam Mars-Jones, Armistead Maupin, Neil Bartlett, Clare Summerskill), it hosts a range of different discussion groups where different sections of the queer community meet and chat about issues important to them. Some of these groups have even been running for decades.