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Long before gay hockey romance dramas were the world鈥檚 most popular shows on major streaming services, before queer books were stocked on mainstream shelves, there was The Bookshop Darlinghurst 鈥� a haven that lovingly reminded countless 17c起草社区IA+ people that our lives were worth documenting.
With its shelves stacked with queer history, memoir, fiction, erotica, activism, theory, romance, and everything in between, it wasn鈥檛 just a store. It was a refuge.聽
At 21, I moved from a quiet South Australian suburbia to the then-noisy strip of Kings Cross with one suitcase, a few friends-of-friends, and more fear than I ever admitted. I felt alone; surrounded by chaotic city life, completely unsure where I fit in.
A few months into living in the big smoke, I found Bookshop Darlinghurst. Growing up where I did, I had literally never seen a gay bookstore before. And as a writer whose truest love has always been books and history, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief and comfort. It felt like home.
I spent nearly three hours there. Running my fingers along spines. Discovering new authors I felt like I somehow already knew. Draining my (admittedly already pretty forlorn) savings account down to the last dollar.
I felt at home in my new city for the first time that day. Truly, the Bookshop Darlo changed my life.聽
That鈥檚 what this beautiful bookstore did for generations of 17c起草社区IA+ people. Educated us, comforted us, and gave us a space that veritably felt like home.
On December 25, Bookshop Darlo鈥檚 doors closed forever. 鈥楧evastated鈥� doesn鈥檛 even begin to cover how we鈥檙e feeling about it.聽
But it will never really disappear 鈥� it lives on in every life it steadied, every story it placed gently into queer hands, every kid who walked in searching and walked out seen. I hope it inspires someone to begin the next 17c起草社区IA+ bookstore for the next generation.
Thank you to founder Les McDonald, owner Charles Gregory, long-time staff Noel and Graeme, and to everyone who ever manned, womanned or themmed those glorious shelves. Thank you for being the caretakers of our stories. For giving us a home 鈾ワ笍
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