Ray and Nic run The Bookish Type, a queer indie bookshop in Leeds. Back in 2019 they started out by running pop-up bookstalls, which then turned into setting up a website, and finally a brick and mortar shop in September 2020.
The Bookish Type is a community bookshop aiming to actively support and work with the local queer community.
Here are some incredible things they do:
Pay it forward scheme
Running queer history tours around Leeds
Second hand Sundays raising money for local grassroots LGBTIQA+ groups
Bookish stroll, an outside book group chatting about queer books and walking around the park
It was such a pleasure to chat with Ray for this Q&A!
Why did you both start The Bookish Type back in 2019?
We started The Bookish Type because we've always loved visiting queer and radical bookshops. We were directly inspired by places like Gay's The Word and Housmans in London and also Category Is Books in Glasgow. Leeds has a vibrant queer scene so we thought, why not open something similar here?
What was the journey like going from running pop-up book stalls to opening up the bookshop in September 2020? Especially in the midst of Covid!
Running pop-ups was really useful because it helped us build an audience and enabled us to find out the type of queer books that people were after. It was nerve wracking opening up the shop because it felt like such a big commitment and obviously it was scary taking a gamble on how Covid would affect us. I think we did open the shop at the right time, and we've had so much support from the local queer community (and beyond!) that it's felt worth it.
What are you currently reading? And are there any books you're excited to get your hands on this year?
I've just finished reading The Feminist Killjoy Handbook by Sara Ahmed which is an excellent intersectional feminist book. It's a call for us all to embrace our inner feminist killjoy and identify and challenge prejudice in everyday life. It's also excellent in referencing earlier feminist thought, particularly from women of colour, and drawing on their ideas and arguments.
I'm excited to read Never Was by H. Garth Gavin which is described as 'mind-bending' and 'dreamy'. It's about transmasculinity, class, grief and addiction and sounds weird and wonderful which is what I expect from a book published by Cipher Press.
Do you have a top piece of advice for running a bookshop?
Don't let it take over your life!
Check out The Bookish Type’s socials below: