Southampton Stonewall Lecture 2026 Event
- Time:
- 18:00
- Date:
- 2026-02-26 18:00:00
- Venue:
- Avenue Campus, Southampton, and online on Teams
Event details
Join us for a lively panel discussion about LGBTQ readerships and the queer bookstores of modern Britain since the 1980s.
The University of Southampton's School of Humanities is pleased to invite you to the annual Southampton Stonewall Lecture, which will take place on Thursday 26 February at 18:00 on the University’s Avenue Campus and online.
“Radical Bookshops in Queer Lives, 1980–2025”
The Stonewall Lecture this year is a lively panel discussion about LGBTQ readerships and the queer bookstores of modern Britain. Over the past 40 years there has been a vibrant alternative bookstore movement in the UK, challenging conventional reading habits and providing a focus for social and political activism. The bookstores have overcome many obstacles: not least the Conservative government’s homophobic Section 28 (1988) and the seizure of queer literature by British customs officials. But while facing abuse, they have also been prominent in fostering queer community. That community has gradually evolved: changes to publishing and bookselling have been dramatic in the 1980s. Our bookstores may have reflected those changes while fostering social cohesion and a healthy curiosity in all forms of sexual and gender diversity.
This panel will discuss the past and present situation of alternative bookshops in the UK. What have been the highs and lows? How have readerships changed since the 1980s? What have bookshops played in challenging prejudice and aiding social cohesion? What is their future in the current hostile world?
Our three panellists are Jim MacSweeney (the current London bookshop Gay’s the Word ), Gay Jones (the Plymouth bookshop In Other Words , 1982–97) and Jane Cholmeley (the feminist bookshop Silver Moon , 1984–2001). The panel will be chaired by Matt Cook, the Jonathan Cooper Professor of the History of Sexuality, University of Oxford.
Speaker information
Born in Cork, Jim MacSweeney emigrated to London in the early 80s. London in the 80s was a heady time as he came out and accepted his sexuality, became politicised, immersed himself in gay politics, went on a lot of demos and got involved in fringe theatre. After working at Minority Rights Group, he joined Gay’s the Word in 1989. He has worked there for over 25 years. He recently stepped back as manager but continues to work there as a bookseller.
Jane Cholmeley is a key figure in the history of British feminism. She co-founded Silver Moon Women’s Bookshop, which became the largest of its kind in Europe and a vibrant centre of women’s writing, hosting prestigious events with authors such as Toni Morrison, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, Jeanette Winterson and Margaret Atwood. Sandi Toksvig nominated Jane Cholmeley as a Gay Icon in the National Portrait Gallery’s exhibition of that name in 2009 and Jacqueline Wilson named Jane her feminist icon in Stylist , 2018. A Bookshop of One’s Own was shortlisted for the Indie Book Awards, Christopher Bland Prize and The People’s Book Prize and was a Waterstones Best Memoir of 2024.
Gay Jones started working in the book trade in 1976, at Grass Roots Books, Manchester's radical bookshop. She met her partner, Prudence de Villiers, who was then rep for The Women's Press, and together they moved to Plymouth in 1982 and opened In Other Words Bookshop later that year. Although a broadly alternative or radical bookshop, it always featured a broad range of LGBT+ books and supported the lesbian and gay community in the local area. We also started a small side business called PG Europe which sold rainbow and Pride accessories in the UK and other parts of Europe. The bookshop closed physically in 2007, but – although Prudence died in 2011 – continues to trade online as In Other Words Books.
Stonewall Lecture
Since 2012 the annual Southampton Stonewall Lecture has explored the rich heritage that is lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) history. The lecture has been given by a range of prestigious international speakers including Professors George Chauncey, Laura Doan, Dagmar Herzog, Matt Cook, and Howard Chiang. Each lecture has offered an academic approach but one also geared to a broader public audience. A key purpose is to educate contemporary audiences, academic and public, about the past while also promoting the University of Southampton’s commitment to the principles of equality, diversity and inclusion. Through a greater understanding of discrimination and tolerance through the centuries, we can help to promote tolerance and inclusivity in contemporary British society.
Event information
The event takes place in person at Avenue Campus, University of Southampton, on campus. Please select your ticket type when registering.
We encourage guests who wish to join in person to register at your earliest opportunity as spaces are strictly limited.
If you have any questions about this event please contact fah-events@soton.ac.uk .