You can now find, on Wednesdays and Saturdays at the market, a queer bookstore in Lancaster.
Bent Spines specialises in new works by LGBT+ authors, which feature queer characters and tell queer stories, and which are culturally queer. With around 100 titles on display, the shop aims to cover as diverse a range of authors and genres of writing as possible. It is Tom, the owner’s, goal to see the stall grow towards a brick-and-mortar premises one day, and to do what a small indie business can when it comes to supporting the queer community.
This includes representation of our lives and stories through books, art work and other stuff in stock at the shop that are not otherwise available at major chains, and by supporting local queer artists and makers by stocking and commissioning their work as Bent Spines grows. As well, we endeavour to support local queer groups in their efforts where we can.
If you want to get in touch with the shop, simply pop down on a Wednesday or Saturday to browse and chat, or check out the shop’s website and socials. All of those can be found here: https://linktr.ee/bentspineslinks.
About Tom
Tom (he/they), the Owner, is new to the bookselling world, but comes to it with a passion and deep knowledge of queer literature, media and culture that was developed across his BA, MA and PhD.
Growing up on a farm in the Staffordshire Moorlands, books often acted as portals into other worlds, filled with experiences, characters and spaces otherwise inaccessible to him. Now living in a rural city with a larger-than-expected queer population, Tom hopes to draw on his knowledge of books and passion for books to help cultivate a daytime queer space in Lancaster.
Bent Spines has grown from questioning where all the daytime queer spaces are, a need for Tom to be his own boss and work on larger projects, and a twin set of desires to provide that daytime queer space and bring to the local area another option to satisfy readers’ cravings.
