A little gay bookstore in Vancouver that made a big impact on Canadian censorship is going up for sale.
After more than 23 years of fighting back against homophobia of all kinds–from the anti-gay violence of censorship laws to bombs lobbed into their building–the owners of Little Sister’s Book & Art Emporium, Jim Deva and Bruce Smyth, are looking for new owners to continue the shop.
Fighting the good fight
Little Sister’s has been fighting the good fight for civil liberties against Canada Customs for longer than I can remember. I hope they find someone passionate enough to take over and carry on.
Thank you for bringing this story to our attention.
Cheers,
Connie
Bite your Lip & Shop Local
I think the tide is turning for independent bookstores, a little bit anyway.
Think before you shop. Pause before you buy that shelfload of books at Amazon. Is there a local store than can order them for you? Chances are they’d be more than happy to do that. They’ll organize a reading group and offer other enticing services to the community maybe including partnering with your library on activities for booklovers.
Check out Booksense. Yeah, it’s tempting to always go for cheapest, but remember that cheapest has a steep cost to our communities and our society.
Why I agree with the
Why I agree with the immediate economic benefits of shopping locally, I think it is important to draw a distinction between local and virtuous. All too often, we are goaded into supporting local business owners who, in reality, operate with same agenda as the Small Business and Manufacturers Association. Or to think of it another way: where is someone more likely to get a benefits with the $8/hr bookstore job? In almost all cases, it will be a large chain and not and Ye Olde Book Shoppe at the town square. Please do not confuse independence with integrity.