Gay's the Word

Gay's The Word is the only specifically lesbian and gay bookstore in the United Kingdom. It is located in Bloomsbury, London. Inspired by the emergence and growth of lesbian and gay bookstores in the States, a small group of people from Gay Icebreakers, a gay socialist group founded the store in 1979. Various locations were looked at including Covent Garden which was then being regenerated before they decided to open the store in Marchmont Street. Initial reluctance from Camden Council to grant a lease to the bookstore was overcome with help from Ken Livingstone, then a Camden councillor, later Mayor of London.
From the very beginning, the shop has been used as a community and information resource for lesbians and gay men. A large seating area at the back where friends could have tea or coffee or check out the free noticeboard detailing various gay organisations and forthcoming events was very popular. There was a piano that could be used for musical evenings and on the piano, sat the score for the musical which inspired their name — Gay's The Word by Ivor Novello. As well as a bookstore and a place to meet people, various community groups used the shop after hours for meetings. Organisations using the shop over the years include Icebreakers, the Lesbian Discussion Group Gay Black Group and the Gay Disabled Group. It's also the venue for the very popular monthly meetings of TransLondon. The piano has long gone as has the cafe but the free noticeboard is still in constant use and hundreds of people drop by every week to pick up the free gay papers.

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