Enamel 3.5cm wide x 2cm tall with a metal clasp

Online bookstore in Aotearoa New Zealand selling books and products with positive LGBTQIA+ representation. Founded in 2021 by Chelsea, a queer-owned, women-led, family-run business based in Kāpiti, Wellington region. A portion of every purchase is donated to nonprofit groups supporting queer, trans, intersex, and Takatāpui communities. Chelsea reads every title stocked to ensure quality representation.

Alphabet Book Club

Wellington

Pin: They/Them Yellow

Enamel 3.5cm wide x 3.5cm tall with a metal clasp

Pin: He/Him Yellow

Enamel 2cm wide x 2.5cm tall with a metal clasp

Pin: Ace Flag

Enamel. 3cm wide x 2.5cm tall with a metal clasp

Pin: He/They

Enamel 2.5cm wide x 2.5cm tall with a metal clasp

Pin: She/Her Blue

Pin: He/Him Orange

Perfect for that sunshine reading time! One size fits most!

Alphabet Dad Cap!

Enamel 3cm wide x 2.5cm tall with a metal clasp

Pin: She/They

“I cannot fit in when my shadow stands out.” Inspired by the author's own little boy, 'Shadow's' main character likes princesses, fairies and things 'not for boys'... he soon learns (through the support of his dad) that everyone has a shadow that they sometimes feel they need to hide.This is an important book for a new generation of children (and adults alike) which exemplifies the concepts of unconditional love, respect and positive parenting. Alphabet Community Review Review by Max (age 5)I really like that the boy has a pink shadow and the shadow has a happy smile. I like that the school has asked the kids to dress up with their shadow. The boy wants his pink shadow to be accepted. But he is sad. I think the dad is cool for wearing a dress too. The boy is happy because his dad supports him. I like that the book finishes with the boy playing with his new friends very happy. My shadow is red because I like the colour red. Product Info Publisher: ‎ Larrikin HouseDate: April 1, 2020Language: ‎ EnglishHardcover: ‎ 32 pagesISBN-13: ‎ 978-0648728757Reading age: ‎ 5+ Full Description My Shadow is Pink is a beautifully written rhyming story that touches on the subjects of gender identity, self acceptance, equality and diversity.Inspired by the author's own little boy, 'Shadow's' main character likes princesses, fairies and things 'not for boys'... he soon learns (through the support of his dad) that everyone has a shadow that they sometimes feel they need to hide.This is an important book for a new generation of children (and adults alike) which exemplifies the concepts of unconditional love, respect and positive parenting.Creates opportunity for open discussion and learning.Highlights current themes of gender identity.

My Shadow is Pink

"...it’s a work of nonfiction and highlights the realness of an identity that is not gay, bisexual, lesbian or transgender, but isn’t cisgender and heterosexual either. It’s something else. It’s my story." Derek is a girl. He wasn't one of the boys as a kid; he admired, befriended, and socialized with the girls and always knew he was one of them, despite being male. That wasn't always accepted or understood, but he didn't care: he knew who he was.Now he's a teenager and boys and girls are flirting and dating and his identity has become a lot more complicated: he's attracted to the girls. The other girls. The female ones.This is Derek's story, the story of a different kind of male hero — a genderqueer person's tale. Product Info Publisher: ‎ Sunstone Press Date: February 25, 2020Language: ‎ EnglishHardcover: ‎ 216 pagesISBN-10: ‎ 1632933381ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1632933386 Full Description Derek is a girl. He wasn't one of the boys as a kid; he admired, befriended, and socialized with the girls and always knew he was one of them, despite being male. That wasn't always accepted or understood, but he didn't care: he knew who he was.Now he's a teenager and boys and girls are flirting and dating and his identity has become a lot more complicated: he's attracted to the girls. The other girls. The female ones.This is Derek's story, the story of a different kind of male hero — a genderqueer person's tale.The century's first decade saw many LGBT centers and services rebranding themselves as LGBTQ.The "Q" in LGBTQ is a new addition. It represents other forms of "queer" in an inclusive wave-of-the hand towards folks claiming to vary from conventional gender and orientation, such as genderqueer people. People who are affirmatively tolerant on gay, lesbian and transgender issues still ask "Why do we need to add another letter to the acronym? Isn't anyone who isn't mainstream already covered by 'gay' or 'lesbian' or 'bisexual' or 'trans'? I'm all in favor of people having the right to call themselves whatever they want, but seriously, do we need this term?"Derek's tale testifies to the real-life relevance of that "Q" - this is a genderqueer coming-of-age and coming-out story from an era long before genderqueer was trending.This story follows Derek from his debut as an 8th grader in Los Alamos NM until his unorthodox coming out at the age of 21 on University of New Mexico campus in Albuquerque.The author lived in New Mexico from 1973-1984 before emigrating to New York to become a gender activist. He received a degree in Women's Studies and graduate degrees in Sociology and Social Work and worked with psychiatric patients' rights groups and gender identity support groups before reaching an impasse with the graduate programs at SUNY / Stony Brook over their hostility towards radical feminist theory. He later worked as elder abuse case worker in the Bronx. His truncated academic career included publication of a short but groundbreaking theory piece, "Same Door Different Closet: A Heterosexual Sissy's Coming-Out Party" in a peer-reviewed journal, Feminism & Psychology.

GenderQueer: A Story from a Different Closet

"There are infinite ways to be trans, and they are all equally valid." In What's the T? Stonewall ambassador and bestselling author Juno Dawson is back again, this time with everything you've wanted to know about labels and identities and offering uncensored advice on coming out, sex, and relationships with her trademark humor and lightness of touch. It is informative, helpful, optimistic, and funny but with a good dose of reality and some of the things that can downright suck too.The companion title to the groundbreaking This Book Is Gay, What's the T? tackles the complex realities of growing up trans with honesty and humor and is joyfully illustrated by gender non-conforming artist Soofiya.This book is for: Anyone with questions Parents of trans and/or non-binary kids Educators looking for advice about the transgender community Product Info Publisher: ‎ Sourcebooks Fire Date: June 7, 2022Language : ‎ EnglishPaperback: ‎ 336 pagesISBN-13: ‎ 978-1728254036Reading age : ‎ 14+ Full Description Discover what it means to be a young transgender and/or non-binary person in the twenty-first century in this candid and funny guide for teens from the bestselling author of This Book is Gay.In What's the T? Stonewall ambassador and bestselling author Juno Dawson is back again, this time with everything you've wanted to know about labels and identities and offering uncensored advice on coming out, sex, and relationships with her trademark humor and lightness of touch. It is informative, helpful, optimistic, and funny but with a good dose of reality and some of the things that can downright suck too.The companion title to the groundbreaking This Book Is Gay, What's the T? tackles the complex realities of growing up trans with honesty and humor and is joyfully illustrated by gender non-conforming artist Soofiya.This book is for:Anyone with questionsParents of trans and/or non-binary kidsEducators looking for advice about the transgender community Content Warnings HomophobiaPTSDTransphobiaViolenceAnxietyOutingSexual Content Medical content Dysphoria

What's the T?

“I’d rather go and make my own way than have it decided for me.”Gene's life resembles a debutante's dream. Yet she hides a secret that would see her shunned by the nobility. Gene is both male and female. Then she displays unwanted magical abilities - last seen in mysterious beings from an almost-forgotten age. Matters escalate further when her parents plan a devastating betrayal, so she flees home, dressed as a boy.The city beyond contains glowing glass relics from a lost civilization. They call to her, but she wants freedom not mysteries. So, reinvented as 'Micah Grey', Gene joins the circus. As an aerialist, she discovers the joy of flight - but the circus has a dark side. She's also plagued by visions foretelling danger. A storm is howling in from the past, but will she heed its roar? Product Info Publisher: ‎ Pan BooksDate: February 1, 2017Language: ‎ EnglishPaperback: ‎ 400 pagesISBN-13: ‎ 978-1509807772Reading age: ‎ 14+ Content Warnings Bullying TransphobiaDeath Domestic abuse Sexual assault

Pantomime

“Being queer is hard enough. Don’t lock yourself out of all of this just because you’re scared you won’t fit in the keyhole, without even trying.” Ophelia Rojas knows what she likes: her best friends, Cuban food, rose-gardening, and boys – way too many boys. Her friends and parents make fun of her endless stream of crushes, but Ophelia is a romantic at heart. She couldn’t change, even if she wanted to.So when she finds herself thinking more about cute, quiet Talia Sanchez than the loss of a perfect prom with her ex-boyfriend, seeds of doubt take root in Ophelia’s firm image of herself. Add to that the impending end of high school and the fracturing of her once-solid friend group, and things are spiraling a little out of control. But the course of love―and sexuality―never did run smooth. As her secrets begin to unravel, Ophelia must make a choice between clinging to the fantasy version of herself she’s always imagined or upending everyone’s expectations to rediscover who she really is, after all. Product Info Publisher: ‎ Feiwel & FriendsDate: February 8, 2022Language: ‎ EnglishHardcover: ‎ 352 pagesISBN-13: ‎ 978-1250797308Reading age: ‎ 14+ Full Description A teen girl navigates friendship drama, the end of high school, and discovering her queerness in Ophelia After All, a hilarious and heartfelt contemporary YA debut by author Racquel Marie.Ophelia Rojas knows what she likes: her best friends, Cuban food, rose-gardening, and boys – way too many boys. Her friends and parents make fun of her endless stream of crushes, but Ophelia is a romantic at heart. She couldn’t change, even if she wanted to.So when she finds herself thinking more about cute, quiet Talia Sanchez than the loss of a perfect prom with her ex-boyfriend, seeds of doubt take root in Ophelia’s firm image of herself. Add to that the impending end of high school and the fracturing of her once-solid friend group, and things are spiraling a little out of control. But the course of love―and sexuality―never did run smooth. As her secrets begin to unravel, Ophelia must make a choice between clinging to the fantasy version of herself she’s always imagined or upending everyone’s expectations to rediscover who she really is, after all."Ophelia Rojas is the type of character that leaps off the page and directly into your heart―Ophelia After All is a queer delight through and through." ―Leah Johnson, bestselling author of You Should See Me in a Crown Content Warnings HomophobiaLesbophobia Racism Biphobia CursingReligious bigotry Misogyny Islamophobia Drug use Sexism Sexual content Acephobia/Arophobia Outing Toxic friendship

Ophelia After All

It’s easy to be complacent when you think history is on your side. Welcome to England, where the Protectorate enforces the Public Good. Here, there are rules for everything - what to eat, what to wear, what to do, what to say, what to read, what to think, who to obey, who to hate, who to love. Your safety is assured, so long as you follow the rules.Gabriel is a natural born rule-breaker. And his biggest crime of all? Being gay.Gabriel knows his sexuality must be kept secret from all but his closest friends, not only to protect himself, but to protect his boyfriend. Because Eric isn't just the boy who has stolen Gabriel's heart. He's the son of the chief inspector at Degenerate Investigations ­­­- the man who poses the single biggest threat to Gabriel's life.And the Protectorate are experts at exposing secrets. Product Info Publisher: ‎ Usborne Publishing LtdDate: May 13, 2021Language: ‎ EnglishISBN-13: ‎ 978-1474966184Reading age: ‎ 14+ Full Description "You know, when you live in a time of progress, it seems that progress is the only possible way. The idea that everything we'd gained, all of those hard-won rights, could be taken away from us, and that open minds could be closed again? But then the Outrage happened."Welcome to England, where the Protectorate enforces the Public Good. Here, there are rules for everything - what to eat, what to wear, what to do, what to say, what to read, what to think, who to obey, who to hate, who to love. Your safety is assured, so long as you follow the rules.Gabriel is a natural born rule-breaker. And his biggest crime of all? Being gay.Gabriel knows his sexuality must be kept secret from all but his closest friends, not only to protect himself, but to protect his boyfriend. Because Eric isn't just the boy who has stolen Gabriel's heart. He's the son of the chief inspector at Degenerate Investigations ­­­- the man who poses the single biggest threat to Gabriel's life.And the Protectorate are experts at exposing secrets. Content Warnings HomophobiaViolence Transphobia Self harm Police brutality Hate crime Bullying Blood Injury/Injury detail Alcoholism Animal cruelty Deadnaming Physical abuse Suicidal thoughts Gun violence Panic attacks/disorders Sexual content SuicideDeath of parent

The Outrage

“Haven’t you ever wondered what it would be like to have nothing keeping you attached to the ground?” Seventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the feeling took root—that desire to look, to move closer, to touch. Whenever it started growing, it definitely bloomed the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. Suddenly everything seemed possible. But America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day. Product Info Publisher: ‎ Dutton Books for Young Readers Date: December 28, 2021Language: ‎ EnglishPaperback: ‎ 432 pagesISBN-13: ‎ 978-0525555278Reading age: ‎ 14+ Full Description Winner of the National Book AwardA New York Times Bestseller"The queer romance we’ve been waiting for.”—Ms. MagazineSeventeen-year-old Lily Hu can't remember exactly when the feeling took root—that desire to look, to move closer, to touch. Whenever it started growing, it definitely bloomed the moment she and Kathleen Miller walked under the flashing neon sign of a lesbian bar called the Telegraph Club. Suddenly everything seemed possible. But America in 1954 is not a safe place for two girls to fall in love, especially not in Chinatown. Red-Scare paranoia threatens everyone, including Chinese Americans like Lily. With deportation looming over her father—despite his hard-won citizenship—Lily and Kath risk everything to let their love see the light of day. Content Warnings Publisher: ‎ Dutton Books for Young Readers Date: December 28, 2021Language: ‎ EnglishPaperback: ‎ 432 pagesISBN-13: ‎ 978-0525555278Reading age: ‎ 14+

Last Night at the Telegraph Club

“This is what he does. He paints you into a picture. He turns you into a puppet.”The summer is winding down in San Diego. Veronica is bored, caustically charismatic, and uninspired in her photography. Nico is insatiable, subversive, and obsessed with chaotic performance art. They’re artists first, best friends second. But that was before Mick. Delicate, lonely, magnetic Mick: the perfect subject, and Veronica’s dream girl. The days are long and hot―full of adventure―and soon they are falling in love. Falling so hard, they never imagine what comes next. One fire. Two murders. Three drowning bodies. One suspect . . . one stalker. This is a summer they won’t survive. Product Info Publisher: ‎Square Fish Date: March 29, 2022Language: ‎ EnglishPaperback: ‎ 336 pagesISBN-13: ‎ 978-1250821263Reading age: ‎ 14+ Full Description An electric romance set against a rebel art scene sparks lethal danger for two girls in She's Too Pretty to Burn, an expertly plotted YA thriller by Wendy Heard.The summer is winding down in San Diego. Veronica is bored, caustically charismatic, and uninspired in her photography. Nico is insatiable, subversive, and obsessed with chaotic performance art. They’re artists first, best friends second. But that was before Mick. Delicate, lonely, magnetic Mick: the perfect subject, and Veronica’s dream girl. The days are long and hot―full of adventure―and soon they are falling in love. Falling so hard, they never imagine what comes next. One fire. Two murders. Three drowning bodies. One suspect . . . one stalker. This is a summer they won’t survive.Inspired by The Picture of Dorian Gray, this sexy psychological thriller explores the intersections of love, art, danger, and power. Content Warnings Death Murder Violence Kidnapping Fire/Fire injury Child Death Toxic Friendship Abandonment Emotional abuse Blood StalkingAnimal death

She's Too Pretty To Burn

Tim Te Maro Tea Towel

Stickers for Jay!

Wellington’s queer culture is vibrant and creative, intertwined with its arts and political activism. The city’s Pride Festival and inclusive spaces reflect New Zealand’s commitment to equality and its laid-back, welcoming atmosphere.

Shop Queer-Owned in Wellington