Queer Women / Queer Spaces: An evening with JUNE THOMAS & JANE CHOLMELEY

How do places shape us? How have feminist and queer cultures been formed and forged by the rooms we gather in, the places we own, love and learn in?

This Pride month we're doing a deep dive into feminist and lesbian history, to excavate our history and celebrate the women and places that laid the foundations of queer culture today!

We couldn't be more excited to do so as part of a double paperback launch for A Bookshop of One's Own and A Place of Our Own: Six Spaces that Shaped Queer Women's Culture, books authored by two icons and elders!

The Books:

A Place of Our Own: Six Spaces that Shaped Queer Women's Culture: For as long as queer women have existed, they've created gathering grounds where they can be themselves. From the intimate darkness of the lesbian bar to the sweaty camaraderie of the softball field, these spaces aren't a luxury - they're a necessity for queer women defining their identities. Blending memoir, archival research and interviews, journalist June Thomas invites readers into six iconic lesbian spaces over the course of the last sixty years, including the rural commune, the sex toy boutique, the holiday destination and the feminist bookstore.

A Bookshop of One's Own: The captivating true story of an underdog business - a feminist bookshop founded in Thatcher's Britain  - from a woman at the heart of the women's liberation movement. What was it like to start a feminist bookshop, in an industry dominated by men? How could a lesbian thrive in Thatcher's time, with the government legislating to restrict her rights? How do you run a business when your real aim is to change the world?Silver Moon was the dream of three women - a bookshop with the mission to promote the work of female writers and create a much-needed safe space for any woman. Founded in 1980s London against a backdrop of homophobia and misogyny, it was a testament to the power of community, growing into Europe's biggest women's bookshop and hosting a constellation of literary stars from Margaret Atwood and Maya Angelou to Angela Carter.

About the speakers:

June Thomas is a journalist and the cohost of Slate’s Working podcast. Thomas was formerly senior managing producer of Slate podcasts and was the founding editor of Outward, Slate’s LGBTQ section. Her work has appeared in outlets including Bloomberg Businessweek, Marie Claire, the New York Times’ T magazine, and the Advocate. After forty years in America, Thomas now lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Jane Cholmeley is a key figure in the history of British feminism. She co-founded Silver Moon Women's Bookshop, which became the largest of its kind in Europe and a vibrant centre of women's writing, hosting prestigious events with authors such as Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Jeanette Winterson and Margaret Atwood. Sandi Toksvig nominated Jane as a Gay Icon in the National Portrait Gallery's exhibition of that name in 2009.