No, we aren't currently hiring or accepting resumes. Staff turnover has always been very low; we love what we do.

With limited staff to supervise volunteers, we are not able to make arrangements for volunteers or work placements.

Yes! We have a small selection of the thousands of books we stock on our new online shop. If you don't find the book you are looking for, send us an email using the Contact Form above with the book(s) you would like to order in the subject line and it is very possible we will be able to order that for you (as long as it's still in print!).

If you are looking for a non-LGBT-related book, we can also order that for you (lots of people do!), but in those instances, we will ask for payment in advance as we won't be able to re-sell the book, if you change your mind. 

Maybe! In order to decide, we will need to know details about the book's LGBT-related content (it needs to be majority!) and as much publishing information as possible (ISBN, publisher, distribution, price, image of book cover, blurb from the back cover, and information about retailer discount). If the book is self-published or small press and doesn't have a distributor, please clarify how distribution (including any costs) and returns will work as well as what the terms (consignment, etc.) are. If you send us a review copy of your book, please put all this information in with the book when you send it, plus a stamped self-addressed envelope if you would like us to return it to you. Similarly, if you email us about a book we kindly request that you put all relevant, requested information in one email. For clear, salient advice about how to best approach a bookshop on these matters please see this helpful guide from the Booksellers Association. Please be aware that we are a very small bookshop and are restricted by space. During certain peak times of the retailing year - such as the weeks leading up to Christmas - we, (fingers-crossed) tend to be full-on busy, so we'd encourage you to avoid approaching us then. Stock decisions are at the discretion of our booksellers.

The best way to approach us is by email!

The ‘least-best-way’ is coming by in-person on a busy Saturday or Sunday when the bookshop is full of customers as we won’t have the time or capacity to engage with you properly about stocking your work. 

Please do put all the info we need about stocking your publication into one, clear email. Please bear in mind we can be approached up to ten times in a single day by creators who want us to stock their work and we are only able to take a fraction of these because the bookshop is small. This means the answer to your request may well be a no. It is never easy for us to say no, but we physically can only accommodate a certain amount of stock. Due to the volume of enquires we receive it also means it may take us some time to get back to you!

In your email please tell us about your zine and yourselves in whatever way you wish to but please keep this reasonably short and clarify the queer rep the publication contains (trans, non-binary, lesbian, etc). Please note our stock curation is publications with substantive, majority queer narrative / visual content. 

Please let us know the RRP of your zine; the trade discount %, and how you would be expected to be paid if we agreed to stock your work. Please also clarify if you are happy for us to stock your work on a consignment basis [we pay you for the number of copies sold after an agreed period of time, usually six weeks. If we sell out before then, we’ll let you know, pay you at this point and let you know if we want to order any more]. Also tell us if you have minimum order quantity expectations (please do share this with us from the start). If you are not hand-delivering stock or happy to hand-collect any returns please inform us ahead of suppling your zine of any postage and/or returns costs. For publications that are part of a planned series (bi-annual / quarterly) it would be useful to know in advance (as far as you can predict) how many forthcoming issues are in the works. If applicable do also let us know where else stocks your publication in London. Please note decisions about what stock items we have listed for sales on our website (which is curated sample of our in-store range) are made at the discretion of our booksellers. 

We have agreed to stock your zine! What's next? What we need from you...

Firstly, congratulations! 

For direct supply consignment stock we'd need a printed delivery note included in the delivery box / envelope or a plain, black and white delivery note emailed over ahead of stock arrival. 

On this document please include your full contact information, bank or PayPal details, specify the RRP of the individual zine or zines supplied, the cost price of an individual zine (if in a series specific by Issue 1, Issue 2, etc), the trade discount percentage and cost for the total quantity of items you are supplying to us in that delivery, and any agreed delivery costs. 

We will then stock your publication for a trial period of six weeks. Please set a reminder to contact us by email six weeks after expected delivery date putting the name of your zine in the subject-header along with the words ‘...sales check-in’ and Oisin or Lucy will get back to you to let you know how sales are going and will then put the wheels in motion to get you paid. 

As it stands, we are having to be very selective about hosting book events in the shop. Recently we have leant more towards author signings and events in outside venues. To ask about a possible event, please send us an email using the Contact Form above with information regarding the book-related event you are enquiring about, the preferred dates and times, and contact information of the lead organiser. Please be aware that we are a small team so there may be a delay in our reply. Note that during certain peak times of the retailing year - such as the weeks leading up to Christmas - we tend to be full-on busy, so we'd encourage you to avoid approaching us then.

Maybe! The answer depends on the requirements of the event or shoot, the bookshop, and the urgency of the request. Please use the Contact Form above to make that enquiry or call the bookshop 0207 278 7654 to discuss.

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Yes! We ship order worldwide using Royal Mail. Currently, we are able to ship across the UK and to most countries in Europe through our online shop. If you would like to place an international order outside of those regions, use the contact form above to place your order and we will reply with an estimate of the shipping cost. You can also read our Shipping & Returns for more details about regions, parcel weight, costs, and more. 

The bookshop is a very small space which can get extremely busy. We want everyone visiting the bookshop to have a relaxed and enjoyable experience, be they a lone browser enjoying a precious day off, or a social / student group excited to see the store for the first time. It is essential that anyone planning a group or school visit to Gay’s the Word bookshop notifies and liaises with us well - at least three weeks - in advance. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays can get especially busy here and visits on these days should be avoided; groups turning up without a pre-arrangement, especially on these days, may regretfully be turned away. Groups of 10 people or more may need to segment into smaller groups staggered across a period of time and be overseen by a pre-arranged person. Please use the contact form on our website to enquire about your intended group visit. It may be possible to arrange a private morning visit for a group before we open to the public at 11am. The earlier that you engage with us ahead of your intended visit the higher the likelihood we’ll be able to accommodate you. These measures are in place to ensure everyone visiting Gay’s the Word has an enjoyable time. Many thanks. 

Yes on all accounts! We we have Gay's The Word gift vouchers and sell and accept National Book Tokens. Gift vouchers and book tokens can be made out to any denomination and then posted out or reserved for collection. 

We do (very gratefully) accept secondhand LGBT+ books as a donation, but we do not buy secondhand books. Sadly we do not accept books in a lengthy series. If you only have a couple of books or so to donate feel free to just bring them in or send them to us. If your donation consists of a box worth or more of books, please call us on 0207 278 7654 first so we can coordinate your donation. Thank you! 

Before Leslie Feinberg's death in 2014, zie/she decided to make Stone Butch Blues free for all through hir website. This means that you can download a free PDF copy of the book from hir website or purchase an at-cost print-on-demand copy of Stone Butch Blues. With hir final wishes in mind, we do not stock copies of the book in the shop.