PRIDE PANEL: Layla McCay and Sacha Coward in conversation

House of Books & Friends is excited to welcome Layla Mccay and Sacha Coward to the store on Tuesday 18th August at 6pm to discuss their books, ‘The Queer Bookshelf’ and ‘Queer as Folklore’. As well as a discussion on their books, there will also be a Q&A, plus the chance to get your books signed by Layla and Sacha.

Tickets

Click here to buy your ticket for £5. You can add on Layla Mccay’s title for an additional £15 (£20 total), Sacha Coward £5.99 (£10.99 in total), or we are offering a bundle for both books and a ticket at £29. These will be available for collection on the night.

About the books

The Queer Bookshelf

We are in the middle of a vibrant renaissance of queer writing. But LGBTQ+ writers, characters and readers have been here since the beginning — quietly, defiantly, and persistently telling their stories — if you know where to look.

The Queer Bookshelf is your guide to this essential queer history, and to its contemporary flourishing. Drawing on the author’s own journey as a queer reader and book club host, and packed with recommendations from authors, booksellers, and book lovers around the world, The Queer Bookshelf is a celebration of the books that have helped generations of LGBTQ+ people find themselves on the page.

From literary fiction to memoir, to crime, fantasy, and young adult, and even cowboy romance, The Queer Bookshelf is a warm, entertaining companion for anyone beginning or deepening their own queer reading adventure.

Queer as Folklore

A celebration of queer history like you’ve never seen it before.

Queer as folklore travels across centuries and continents to reveal the unsung heroes and villains of storytelling, magic and fantasy. Featuring images from archives, galleries and museums around the world, each chapter investigates the queer history of different mythic and folkloric characters, both old and new.

Leaving no headstone unturned, Sacha Coward takes you on a wild ride through the night from ancient Greece to the main stage of RuPaul’s Drag Race, visiting cross-dressing pirates, radical fairies and the graves of the ‘queerly departed’ along the way. Queer communities have often sought refuge in the shadows and created safe spaces in underworlds. But these forgotten narratives tell stories of resilience that deserve to be heard.

Join any Pride march and you will see a glorious display of papier-mâché unicorn heads, drag queens in mermaid tails and more fairy wings than you can shake a trident at. These are not just accessories: they are queer symbols with historic roots. To truly understand who queer people are today, we must confront the twisted tales of the past.