One of the UK’s most important queer book archives could be forced to shut

When ancient Greek poet Sappho was writing of ‘a scarlet stain upon the earth’ and ‘words more naked than flesh’, she probably didn’t know that, centuries later, she’d be an early contributor to a long line of LGBTQ+ literary icons. But the archaic Greek lyric poet, hailing from the island of Lesbos, is part of a queer writing tradition that goes back aeons.

Now, one of the organisations which is keeping that tradition alive in 2026 is under threat. Lavender Menace, Scotland’s only queer book archive, is at risk of closure due to a shortfall in funding. 

The archive collects rare and out-of-print books published between 1970 and 2000, making it central to Edinburgh’s LGBTQ+ community and an important resource for researchers, educators and historians of queer history.

The archive has announced an appeal for support to continue preserving LGBTQ+ literature. Lavender Menace needs to raise at least £5,000 in the short term to remain open, which its founders say will provide a ‘short-term lifeline’ for the archive. An initial cash injection will help keep the lights on while the team comes up with a longer-term strategy to raise the £45,000 it will take to firmly secure its future. 

Sigrid Nielsen and Bob Orr co-founded the original Lavender Menace Bookshop in 1982. By the early noughties, they had started collecting and preserving queer books, many of which were out of print and becoming increasingly rare, and decided to turn their collection into an official archive. Today, The Lavender Menace archive hosts free events, reading groups, exhibitions and community gatherings for Edinburgh’s local queer community. 

The archive invites people to become a ‘Menace’ with a monthly donation of £5, £10, or £20 to help cover book preservation, event costs, staffing, and volunteer management. It has also launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise money for its future security.

‘Our archive, events and community have grown rapidly, answering the increasing demand from the queer community, researchers and organisational partners - in Scotland, the UK, and beyond. But with competition for funds becoming ever more fierce, and rising costs across the board, we’re at a critical juncture,’ Lavender Menace’s Crowdfunder page reads. ‘Help us ensure decades of queer lives, voices, stories are not lost, forever.’

You can check out the crowdfunding page for Lavender Menace here.

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