Lavender Menace

Window(s) of Tolerance: Tools for Ideal Collaborations in an Un-Ideal World
2025-08-21 18:00 - 20:00 (Europe/London) | Scotland
Doors open at 6pm, workshop 6.30-8pmA workshop from Feminist Culture House, supported by Edinburgh Art Festival

Book here

Let’s pollinate the cultural field with intersectional feminist working practices! This 1.5hr workshop uses verbal, edible, and textual prompts to guide a conversation about identifying and distributing different skills and currencies within collaborative creative practices.

During the workshop, Katie will share excerpts from Feminist Culture House’s new online publication Windows of Tolerance: Tools for Ideal Collaborations in an Unideal (Art) World, as well as a foraged pine pollen and valerian root infusion from Finland—this might prompt lucid dreaming later that night.

Welcome if you’re interested in chatting about the practicalities of curatorial and collective practices, hanging out, and dreaming of how to create kind working conditions that feel nourishing for everyone involved

What to expect

an informal group gathering of maximum 15 people

an introduction round

friendly facilitation grounded in Safer Space principles and these ethical guidelines

to hear someone with an Australian accent read short textual excerpts

moments to reflect upon and share about your own experiences with collaborative practices, and how they were compensated, if you wish

a take-home pamphlet with space for notetaking, and a link to the Windows of Tolerance publication

time to reflect and write

a break for a drink and snack: alcoholic and non-alcoholic options available

time for informal socialising

About the FacilitatorKatie Lenanton (she/her) is a queer intersectional feminist curator, artistic researcher, writer, and editor who works collectively through mediums like exhibition-making, social practice, wildcrafting, conceptual cocktails, publishing, scent, and sustenance, amongst others. An important question in her work is “who is in the room, and under what conditions?”

In 2019, she co-founded Feminist Culture House, a Helsinki-based curatorial and editorial platform that produces exhibitions, publications, and tools for more equitable collaborations within the art field.

BookingWe only have capacity for a limited number of people in the archive, so please book in advance. If you are unable to attend, please let us know so we can offer your place to someone else.

Venue & AccessibilityThe event is located at the Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive in Edinburgh Palette. There is information on how to get to us on public transport and by car, along with access information, on our location and accessibility page.

Any other questionsPlease email us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk

Archiving Queer Futures: Eman Abdelhadi in conversation with Nat Raha (online)
2025-08-19 18:00 - 19:30 | Scotland
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Join Lavender Menace for an online discussion between two activist scholars on imagining and archiving queer futures.

Dr Eman Abdelhadi is an academic, activist and writer who thinks at the intersection of gender, sexuality, religion and politics. She is an assistant professor and sociologist at the University of Chicago, where she researches American Muslim communities. She is co-author of Everything for Everyone: An Oral History of the New York Commune, 2052 – 2072 (with M. E. O’Brien, 2022).

Dr Nat Raha is a poet and activist-scholar. Her current research focuses on transfeminism, practices and collectives of care and social reproduction, racial capitalism and decolonisation, across poetry, art, politics and hi(r)story. Nat is the co-author of Trans Femme Futures: Abolitionist Ethics for Transfeminist Worlds (with Mijke van der Drift, 2024), and co-edited ‘Imagining Queer Europe then and now’, Third Text special issue (2021). She is the author of four books of poetry, including apparitions (nines) (2024) and of sirens, body & faultlines (2018). Her critical writing has appeared in Social Text, South Atlantic Quarterly, TSQ and more.

Queer Community Programming Group with Filmhouse
2025-08-05 18:00 - 20:00 | Scotland
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Are you interested in queer films?Would you like to be involved in deciding which queer films are shown atFilmhouse?Come along to our new community programming group, a collaborationbetween Filmhouse, Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive, and Programmedwith Pride.Filmhouse is an independent cinema in the heart of Edinburgh, celebrating themagic of cinema in all its forms. Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive collectand conserve LGBTQ+ books, preserve queer history, and provide a space forthe community. Originally established in 2018, Programmed With Pride is avolunteer-run group of young film lovers based in Edinburgh who arepassionate about LGBTQ+ stories in cinema and bringing them to thecommunity through hosting and programming events.We will meet quarterly to discuss all things queer cinema and decide whichfilms we would like to show in the recently reopened Filmhouse on LothianRoad.BookingPlease complete the registration form to attend:https://forms.office.com/e/DSZCVVS10nWe welcome LGBTQ+ people over the age of 18 to join us on Tuesday 5thAugust, between 6pm to 8pm at Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive,Edinburgh Palette, 151 London Road.The group is free to attend.Booking in advance is essential as places are limited, and if you are unable toattend, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer your place tosomeone else.If you have any access needs it would be helpful for us to know about, or anyquestions, please get in touch at learning@filmhouse.org.ukVenue & AccessibilityThe event is located at the Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive in EdinburghPalette. There is information on how to get to us on public transport and by car,along with access information, on our location & accessibility page.

Social Sunday: Spike, Saturn & Friends of Storm
2025-07-27 14:15 - 16:00 | Scotland
On the 2nd and 4th Sunday of every month, the Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive is open 2pm–4pm for our informal Social Sundays.

On Sunday 27th July, we are running a special Social Sunday to remember our friend Lesley Storm. Lesley recently passed away and she is very much missed by the Edinburgh poetry community. In 2023, Lesley read her poetry at a Lavender Menace event “Spike, Saturn and Storm”. Spike and Saturn will return to share her work and remember her.

Please join us to read her work and your own, and learn more about her extraordinary life.

No need to book, just drop in.

Venue & Accessibility

Social Sunday takes place at the Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive in Edinburgh Palette. There is information on how to get to us on public transport and by car, along with access information, on our location & accessibility page.

Any other questions

Please email us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk

Mapping Your Library with OurStory Scotland
2025-05-31 14:00 - 16:00 | Scotland
Doors open 1.30pm. Workshop 2-4pm.

Join Lavender Menace for a creative oral history workshop with Dom Millar-Graham, chair of OurStory Scotland. In Mapping Your Library, participants are invited to narrate their lives through the books that have meant something to them. Tell your queer story through books. Where do you find yourself on the library or bookshop shelves?

Refreshments provided and no preparation needed.

Book tickets

BookingBooking in advance is essential as places are limited so, if you are unable to attend, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer your place to someone else.

Venue & AccessibilityThe event is located at the Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive in Edinburgh Palette. There is information on how to get to us on public transport and by car, along with access information, on our location & accessibility page.

Any other questionsPlease email us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk

Social Sunday: Trans & non-binary open mic
2025-05-25 14:00 - 16:00 | Scotland
Sunday 25 May, 2pm-4pm

A relaxed Social Sunday open mic with tea, coffee, and snacks.

Social Sundays are usually an informal, drop in session every 2nd and 4th Sunday. We decided to run a special open mic Social Sunday this month to celebrate trans and non-binary writing.

We invite you to bring along your favourite poem, extract, or piece by a trans or non-binary writer, or share your own work. It will be a relaxed, friendly space, with no pressure to “perform”.

Book a ticket

BookingWe only have capacity for a limited number of people in the archive, so please book in advance. If you are unable to attend, please let us know so we can offer your place to someone else.

Venue & AccessibilityThe event is located at the Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive in Edinburgh Palette. There is information on how to get to us on public transport and by car, along with access information, on our location and accessibility page.

Any other questionsPlease email us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk

Archive-inspired poetry: writing workshop with Éadaoín Lynch
2025-04-17 18:30 - 19:30 | Scotland
Doors at 6pm, Workshop 6.30-7.30pm

Join Typewronger’s writer-in-residence Éadaoín Lynch (they/them) for a practice-based poetry workshop in (and inspired by) the Lavender Menace archive!

You’ll have the chance to interact with unique archvial materials, plus built-in time and prompts to write with. No experience necessary, just bring a notepad or a laptop, whichever you prefer. There’s no expectation to share work aloud (unless you want to).

Supported by Scottish Book Trust’s Live Literature programme.

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About Éadaoín Lynch

Éadaoín Lynch is an Irish poet & researcher living and working in Edinburgh. Their debut pamphlet, Fierce Scrow, launched with Nine Pens Press in 2022. From December 2024-May 2025, they are a writer-in-residence with Typewronger Books, creating original poems in response to materials from the Lavender Menace Archive.

In 2024-5, they are also project mentor on the ACE-funded Eff-able Anthology, co-edited by JP Seabright and George Parker. Eff-able is a project in two parts – an anthology of poetry from the best contemporary poets identifying as queer and disabled, and a touring showcase of this work.

Find out more about Éadaoín on their website: eadaoinlynch.com

BookingBooking in advance is essential as places are limited so, if you are unable to attend, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer your place to someone else.

Venue & AccessibilityThe event is located at the Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive in Edinburgh Palette. There is information on how to get to us on public transport and by car, along with access information, on our location & accessibility page.

Any other questionsPlease email us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk

Eve by Jo Clifford
2025-02-20 18:30 - 20:00 | Gallery 2, Edinburgh Palette, St Margaret's House, 151 London Road, Edinburgh, EH7 6AE
At St Margaret’s House – on Floor 3 in Gallery 2

6pm doors open, event 6.30-8pm

Join us for a reading from Eve by Jo Clifford followed by a Q&A with the writer and performer.

Book tickets

Eve tells the story of a child raised as a boy, when she knew all along that was wrong. That child grew up to be one of the 10 Outstanding Women in Scotland in 2017. With trans rights again under threat, legendary playwright, performer, father and grandmother Jo Clifford tells a story both gentle and passionate, intimate and political, to remind us that the journey towards our real selves is one we all need to make.

Jo is a writer, performer, poet and teacher based in Edinburgh. She is the author of about 80 plays, many of which have been translated into various languages and performed all over the world. Her transition from John to Jo has enabled her to become an actor and performer. Performances include “God’s New Frock”, “Sex, Chips and the Holy Ghost”, “The Gospel According to Jesus Queen of Heaven”, “High Heels Aren’t Compulsory”.

Location and accessibility

The exhibition will be in Gallery 2, on the third floor of Edinburgh Palette at St Margaret’s House. You can find directions to Edinburgh Palette on our location and access page.

Gallery 2 is on the third floor of the building, which can be accessed via the staircase or the lifts.

Desire Paths: Reading Queer Edinburgh

This event is part of our Desire Paths programme, which includes an exhibition and accompanying events:

Desire Paths: Reading Queer Edinburgh is an exhibition which explores our city’s histories through a queer lens, drawing on books from the Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive collection and Edinburgh’s rich LGBT+ history. 19th-25th February 2025, 11am-4pm

Desire Paths: Opening Night – Join us for the opening night of the exhibition! There will be drinks and nibbles, and the chance to hear more about the stories featured in the exhibition. Tuesday 18th February, 6pm-8pm

Lyra Celtica: Harry Josephine Giles on Wilfion – An evening celebrating the work and legacy of genderweird Celtic Revival writer Fiona Macleod / William Sharp with Harry Josephine Giles and special guests. Wednesday 19th February, 6pm-7pm

This project is co-curated by a team of volunteers from Lavender Menace and funded by Edinburgh 900.

Find out more on the Lavender Menace website: lavendermenace.org.uk/events

Lyra Celtica: Harry Josephine Giles on Wilfion
2025-02-19 18:00 - 19:00 | Scotland
Doors 5:30pm, event 6pm-7pm

Join us for an evening of readings exploring the work and legacy of genderweird Celtic Revival writer Fiona Macleod / William Sharp with Harry Josephine Giles and special guests.

Book tickets

Fiona Macleod was a well-known Scottish author in the Celtic Twilight, a correspondent to W. B. Yeats, and possibly the originator and probably the populariser of the name Fiona. After the death of William Sharp, a less popular writer in the same circles, it was revealed that Fiona was also the 12-year “second self”, “feminine self” or “dream self” of William Sharp. The combination of William and Fiona were known as Wilfion by their wife.

Wilfion is featured in our Desire Paths exhbition which explores Edinburgh’s queer history. Harry Josephine Giles will join us in the gallery space to discuss Wilfion’s life and writing.

About Harry Josephine Giles

Harry Josephine Giles is a writer and performer from Orkney, living in Leith. Her latest book is the poetry collection Them! (Picador 2024). Her verse novel Deep Wheel Orcadia (Picador 2021) won the 2022 Arthur C. Clarke Award for science fiction book of the year. Her poetry collections The Games (Out-Spoken Press, 2018) and Tonguit (Freight Books 2015) were between them shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection, the Saltire Prize and the Edwin Morgan Poetry Award. Her stage show of her poetry sequence Drone toured internationally in 2019, and the performance of Deep Wheel Orcadia will tour in 2025. She has a PhD in Creative Writing from the University of Stirling. www.harryjosephine.com

Location and accessibility

The exhibition will be in Gallery 2, on the third floor of Edinburgh Palette at St Margaret’s House. You can find directions to Edinburgh Palette on our location and access page.

Gallery 2 is on the third floor of the building, which can be accessed via the staircase or the lifts.

Desire Paths: Reading Queer Edinburgh

This event is part of our Desire Paths programme, which includes an exhibition and accompanying events:

Desire Paths: Reading Queer Edinburgh is an exhibition which explores our city’s histories through a queer lens, drawing on books from the Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive collection and Edinburgh’s rich LGBT+ history. 19th-25th February 2025, 11am-4pm

Desire Paths: Opening Night – Join us for the opening night of the exhibition! There will be drinks and nibbles, and the chance to hear more about the stories featured in the exhibition. Tuesday 18th February, 6pm-8pm

Eve by Jo Clifford – A special reading from Eve by Jo Clifford followed by a Q&A with the writer and performer. Eve tells tells a story that is both gentle and passionate, intimate and political, about the journey towards our real selves. Thursday 20th February, 6.30-8pm

This project is co-curated by a team of volunteers from Lavender Menace and funded by Edinburgh 900.

Find out more on the Lavender Menace website: lavendermenace.org.uk/events

Desire Paths: Reading Queer Edinburgh
2025-02-19 11:00 - 2025-02-25 16:00 | Scotland
Desire Paths: Reading Queer Edinburgh is an exhibition which explores our city’s histories through a queer lens. Drawing on books from our collection and Edinburgh’s rich LGBT+ history, this exhibition maps Edinburgh through queer literature and places. The exhibition encourages visitors to reexamine the Edinburgh spaces they encounter in their everyday lives and to add their own experiences to Lavender Menace’s archive.

Dates: 19th-25th February 2025

Times: 11am-4pm (12noon-4pm on Sunday)

Location: Gallery 2 (third floor), St Margaret’s House, Edinburgh Palette, 151 London Road, Edinburgh, EH7 6AE

Cost: Free, drop in (no need to book)

Lavender Menace is a community archive with roots in Scotland’s first LGBT+ bookshop. We have a mission to bring together the queer community in Edinburgh and beyond, celebrate LGBT+ authors and their works, and collect and preserve LGBT+ books.

This project is co-curated by a team of volunteers from Lavender Menace and funded by Edinburgh 900.

Location and accessibility

The Desire Paths exhibition will be in Gallery 2, on the third floor of Edinburgh Palette at St Margaret’s House. You can find directions to Edinburgh Palette on our location and access page.

Gallery 2 is on the third floor of the building, which can be accessed via the staircase or the lifts.

Other Desire Paths events

We will have programme of Desire Paths events running alongside the exhibition. Book your free tickets below!

Desire Paths: Opening Night – Join us for the opening night of the exhibition! There will be drinks and nibbles, and the chance to hear more about the stories featured in the exhibition. Tuesday 18th February, 6pm-8pm

Lyra Celtica: Harry Josephine Giles on Wilfion – An evening celebrating the work and legacy of genderweird Celtic Revival writer Fiona Macleod / William Sharp with Harry Josephine Giles and special guests. Wednesday 19th February, 6pm-7pm

Eve by Jo Clifford – A special reading from Eve by Jo Clifford followed by a Q&A with the writer and performer. Eve tells tells a story that is both gentle and passionate, intimate and political, about the journey towards our real selves. Thursday 20th February, 6.30-8pm

Desire Paths: Opening night
2025-02-18 18:00 - 20:00 | Gallery 2, Edinburgh Palette, St Margaret's House, 151 London Road, Edinburgh, EH7 6AE
Join us for an informal party to celebrate the opening of our new co-curated exhibition! There’ll be drinks and nibbles, and the chance to hear more about the stories featured in the exhibition.

Book tickets

Desire Paths: Reading Queer Edinburgh is an exhibition which explores our city’s histories through a queer lens. Drawing on books from our collection and Edinburgh’s rich LGBT+ history, this exhibition maps Edinburgh through queer literature and places. The exhibition encourages visitors to reexamine the Edinburgh spaces they encounter in their everyday lives and to add their own experiences to Lavender Menace’s archive.

Location and accessibility

The exhibition will be in Gallery 2, on the third floor of Edinburgh Palette at St Margaret’s House. You can find directions to Edinburgh Palette on our location and access page.

Gallery 2 is on the third floor of the building, which can be accessed via the staircase or the lifts.

Other Desire Paths events

This event is part of our Desire Paths programme, which includes the exhibition and accompanying events:

Desire Paths: Reading Queer Edinburgh is an exhibition which explores our city’s histories through a queer lens, drawing on books from the Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive collection and Edinburgh’s rich LGBT+ history. 19th-25th February 2025, 11am-4pm

Lyra Celtica: Harry Josephine Giles on Wilfion – Join us for an evening celebrating the work and legacy of genderweird Celtic Revival writer Fiona Macleod / William Sharp with Harry Josephine Giles and special guests. Wednesday 19th February, 6pm-7pm

Eve by Jo Clifford – Join us for a reading from Eve by Jo Clifford followed by a Q&A with the writer and performer. Eve tells tells a story that is both gentle and passionate, intimate and political, to remind us that the journey towards our real selves is one we all need to make. Thursday 20th February, 6.30-8pm

This project is co-curated by a team of volunteers from Lavender Menace and funded by Edinburgh 900.

Find out more on the Lavender Menace website: lavendermenace.org.uk/events

'Coming Out': National Library of Scotland in conversation with Lavender Menace
2025-02-05 18:00 - 19:00 | Kelvin Hall, 1445 Argyle Street, Glasgow, G3 8AW
Join the National Library of Scotland for a screening of the 1983 documentary ‘Coming Out’ followed by an exploration of the Lavender Menace archive.

Join the Lavender Menace bookshop co-founder Sigrid Nielsen and other members of the community group, for a showing of this documentary. It includes footage of the Lavender Menace bookshop which opened in 1982.

The film screening will be followed by an opportunity to see a live- streamed display of selected manuscripts from Bob Orr’s archive about the setting up of the Lavender Menace bookshop. The archive is held at the National Library of Scotland in Edinburgh. These manuscripts will prompt a discussion with Sigrid and the other members of the group about the establishment of the bookshop in the 1980s and the work that continues today.

The event is organised by the National Library of Scotland. Book your tickets through NLS:

Book tickets

Location and accessiblity

This event will be at Kelvin Hall, 1445 Argyle Street, Glasgow, G3 8AW.

Access information for Kelvin Hall is available on the National Library of Scotland website.

If you have any questions about this event, contact the NLS team: nlsevents@nls.uk

Comics for Connection with Candice Purwin
2025-01-11 14:00 - 16:00 | Scotland
Lavender Menace and illustrator Candice Purwin welcome you to Comics for Connection, an afternoon workshop in our archive where you will learn how to make your own art and zines on the topic of connection. Whatever your connection to queerness, to spaces and places, to self and others here and afar, the workshop aims to show you how to create a meaningful bridge through art and storytelling.

No experience of art, drawing, collage or zine-making is required to attend – just your enthusiasm! We will have basic art supplies but you are welcome to bring along your favourites. Candice Purwin is an illustrator, graphic novelist and animator living and working in Edinburgh.

Her work is feminist, political, poetic and fierce. Her ability to communicate powerful and emotionally complex ideas through images has led to her co-creating work with a wide range of artists, academic bodies and collectives. While she is able to adapt her traditional hand drawn craft across many disciplines, panelled storytelling remains her first and best language.

Book a ticket

BookingBooking in advance is essential as places are limited so, if you are unable to attend, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer your place to someone else.

Venue & AccessibilityThe event is located at the Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive in Edinburgh Palette. There is information on how to get to us on public transport and by car, along with access information, on our location & accessibility page.

Any other questionsPlease email us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk

Queer Gothic writing workshop with Heather Parry
2024-12-07 15:00 - 17:00 | Scotland
Join Lavender Menace in our friendly queer book archive for a hands-on writing workshop with Heather Parry exploring the craft of the queer gothic story. Materials and refreshments provided.

Heather Parry is a Glasgow-based writer of fiction and nonfiction. Her debut novel, Orpheus Builds a Girl, was shortlisted for the Saltire Fiction Book of the Year award and longlisted for the Polari First Book Prize. She is the editorial director of Extra Teeth magazine and co-created the Illustrated Freelancer’s Guide with artist Maria Stoian. She writes the substack General Observations on Eggs and her next novel, Carrion Crow, will be released in Feb 2025 with Doubleday.

Book a ticket

BookingBooking in advance is essential as places are limited so, if you are unable to attend, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer your place to someone else.

Venue & AccessibilityThe event is located at the Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive in Edinburgh Palette. There is information on how to get to us on public transport and by car, along with access information, on our location & accessibility page.

Any other questionsPlease email us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk

Transfixions with Shola von Reinhold and Skye Arundhati Thomas
2024-11-21 19:00 - 20:00 | Scotland
Doors: 6.30pmEvent: 7-8pm

Join Lavender Menace for an evening with writer and editor Skye Arundhati Thomas in conversation with artist and writer Shola von Reinhold. Von Reinhold’s celebrated novel, Lote, weaves narratives of queer archival disruption, academic alienation, and obscured histories through the narrative of Mathilda’s fixation with archival figures. We ask her about the historical figures that haunt her work and the potential for queer histories to transfix artists and researchers.

Book a ticket

Booking informationBooking in advance is essential. Places are free and limited so, if you are unable to attend, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer your place to someone else.

Venue & AccessibilityThe event is located at the Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive in Edinburgh Palette. There is information on how to get to us on public transport and by car, along with access information, on our location & accessibility page.

Any other questionsPlease email our us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk

Skye Arundhati Thomas is a writer and editor from India. Their first book Remember the Details, on viral images, courtrooms, and a brief history of a protest movement, is out with Floating Opera Press, and their second, Pleasure Gardens (co-written with Izabella Scott) on constitutional law, military occupation and communications blackouts is out now with Mack Books, as is their third, on the painter Lalitha Lajmi, with Sternberg Press. From 2021-24 they were co-editor of The White Review. They are currently international curator-in-residence at the Fondation Pernod Ricard in Paris. Photograph of Skye by Emma Riviera.

This event is funded by Book Week Scotland, Scottish Book Trust’s annual celebration of books and reading that takes place across the country.

Emma's Big World Aids Day Quiz For Waverley Care
2024-11-18 18:30 - 21:30 | Leith Depot, 138-142 Leith Walk, Edinburgh, EH6 5DT
Organised by Speak Out Studio in partnership with Lavender Menace

Time: 7pm – 9:30pm (doors at 6:30pm)Location: Leith Depot, 138-142 Leith Walk, Edinburgh, EH6 5DT

Book a ticket

Join us for an evening of knowledge testing and fundraising for World AIDS Day 2024, with 100% of the proceeds going to Waverley Care, Scotland’s leading HIV and Hepatitis C charity.

Doors open at 6:30pm for a 7pm start. The event will end around 9:30pm but feel free to stick around after to chat and relax as the space is open till midnight. Maximum team number of 6, but PLEASE NOTE every individual team member must book their own ticket!

This quiz is ran by Speak Out Studio, in partnership with Lavender Menace Queer Book Archive, whose mission is to collect and conserve LGBTQ+ books, and preserve queer history.

The quiz is free to enter but please consider donating to play, we’re taking donations on the night with both card and cash option availble, there will also be resources and information availble from Waverley Care and Lavender Menace.

Accessible unisex toilet in the venue, moveable ramp available for the main entrance and venue door. Please get in touch with any access requirements or questions that we can help with – speakoutstudiocic@gmail.com

More information on Waverley Care: https://www.waverleycare.org

More information on Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive: https://lavendermenace.org.uk

Contact for Speak Out Studio: speakoutstudiocic@gmail.com

Meet the Poets: In/Visible with JJ Fadaka
2024-10-25 19:00 - 20:30 | LGBT Health and Wellbeing, 4 Duncan Place, Edinburgh, EH6 8HW
Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive and LGBT Health and Wellbeing come together once again to celebrate the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2024 alongside Black History Month for another showcase of poetry and spoken word spotlighting LGBTQ+ black and writers of colour. This year hosted by queer poet and writer JJ Fadaka, you can expect feature performances alongside emerging writers as we create a warm and affirming space for creativity, compassion and connection.

Guest poets performing and in conversation include:

Hosted by Queer writer, Lover, Radical – JJ Fadaka and featuring emerging writers and a guest poet – details to be confirmed.

This event is for anyone wishing to celebrate the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival alongside Black History Month with our special guests, with a special welcome to queer, trans, intersex black, people of colour (QTIBPOC).

Book a ticket

This event is hosted by LGBT Health and Wellbeing in partnership with Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive.

With thanks to SMHAF and Mental Health Foundation for your support to include us in the Scottish Mental Health Arts Festival 2024 programme!

We will ask about BSL requirements at booking.

Who we welcome

We welcome the entire diversity of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community living in or visiting Edinburgh, including Non-binary, Queer, Intersex, Asexual people and all identities under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella. This also includes those who are questioning or exploring their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Registration

Book a ticket

Advanced registration is required to access the event. The capacity is around 40 people seated.

As this is a seated event, bookings are for 1 person. Even if you and a friend or partner share an email address you must make one booking per person.

If something changes and you can no longer attend the event, please let us know as soon as you can so your booking becomes available for someone else.

We are happy to complete the booking on your behalf, please feel welcome to email Jules at jules@lgbthealth.org.uk or leave a message on our admin phone 0131 564 3970 and someone will call you back.

Last minute tickets

Please note that we will release a small number of tickets a few days before the event, to make it easier for neurodivergent people and those who struggle to book in advance, to access the event. Please visit this eventbrite link from 9am on Monday 21st October for additional tickets on a first come first serve basis.

COVID-19

We know that not everyone feels totally comfortable at in-person events yet and that COVID-19 precautions still feel relevant to many in our community. At this event, we will have:

masks available and support anyone wishing to use them

hand sanitiser available at all times

windows open for ventilation

The venue

We will meet at LGBT Health and Wellbeing’s Edinburgh base at Duncan Place Community Hub.

More information about venue access after registration.

Access

The venue at Duncan Place and our event features the following:

♿️ Wheelchair access 🅿️ Disabled parking spaces x 2

⚧ Accessible and gender neutral toilets 🤫 Quiet space

If there is anything more you need to talk to us in advance to help you access the event, please contact Jules at jules@lgbthealth.org.uk or leave a message for Jules on the admin phone at 0131 564 3970.

Once Upon A Gay in Edinburgh (Portobello Book Festival)
2024-10-04 17:30 - 18:30 | Portobello Library, 14 Rosefield Ave, Portobello, Edinburgh, EH15 1AU
Portobello Book Festival will take place at the Portobello Library 4th-6th October. We are delighted that Bob and Sigrid will be featured at this event:

A chance to find out about Edinburgh’s Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive with founders Sigrid Nielsen and Bob Orr. The archive aims to collect, conserve and celebrate queer books published before 2000 which are in danger of being lost. Sigrid and Bob are in conversation with local author Cameron Wyllie (Is There a Pigeon in My Room? My Life in Schools) whose forthcoming book is about growing up gay in 70s Edinburgh.

Booking information

The event is free. Tickets are available from Portobello Library.

Find out more

Plotting on the Body with Jj Fadaka
2024-09-17 17:30 - 19:30 | Scotland
Free workshop for for queer, trans, intersex and non binary people of colour

Doors 5pm, event 5:30pm-7:30pm

Book a ticket

Plotting on the Body is a reflective writing and collage workshop for QTPOC feeling the weight of expectations on the way they present gender and queerness in their bodies.

We will collage with maps to discuss the way beauty, work and pain manifest in our bodies, how we want to present vs the expectations of a heteronormative racialised society. Join the group to create in a supportive, brave environment for people who self-identify as queer, non-binary, trans people categorised by colour.

We will discuss what is means to ‘queer’ our understanding of the body and take example from shifting non-conforming bodies elsewhere in the natural world.

You can expect:

Writing prompts

Collaging with maps

Group discussion and listening

Food and hot drinks

In group exercises, we will imagine and share the resources we need to take us to a non-conforming world with collaboration, solidarity and mutual understanding.

About Jj Fadaka

Jj Fadaka is a writer, facilitator and radical based in Edinburgh. Their writing explores the possibility abolition, feminism, and love give us to create change. In workshops, Jj draws on afro-futuristic radical traditions to create space for exploring desire in a world without barriers. Jj organises events for political education and finding belonging with music, visual arts and performance.

Booking information

Booking in advance is essential. Places are free and limited so, if you are unable to attend, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer your place to someone else.

Venue & Accessibility

The event is located at the archive in Edinburgh Palette. There is information on how to get to us on public transport and by car, along with access information, on our location & accessibility page.

Any other questions

Please email us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk.

Archive After Hours: Lavender Menace 42nd birthday party
2024-08-22 17:00 - 19:00 | Scotland
Join us at Archive After Hours for the 42nd anniversary of the original Lavender Menace bookshop, which first opened its doors in August 1982.

42 years on, the archive will be open late for a wee party to celebrate. Expect cake, snacks, fizz, and a good blether!

This is a drop in event, so you don’t need to register.

Venue & AccessibilityThe sessions are located at the archive in Edinburgh Palette. There is information on how to get to us on public transport and by car, along with access information, on our location & accessibility page.

Any other questionsPlease email us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk.

Through A Lavender Lens
2024-08-19 10:00 - 2024-08-25 17:00 | French Institute of Scotland, West Parliament Square, Edinburgh, EH1 1RN
Dates: Mon 19 Aug — Sun 25 Aug

Opening hours: 10am — 5pm

Location: French Institute of Scotland West Parliament Square, EH1 1RN

This exhibition is presented by Edinburgh Art Festival as part of their Civic Programme.

Through A Lavender Lens: Celebrating the Legacy of Scotland’s First LGBTQ+ Book Shop

Forty-two years have passed since Sigrid Nielsen and Bob Orr opened Scotland’s first lesbian and gay book shop, Lavender Menace. This book shop was more than a shop; it was a sanctuary where queer individuals could find literature that reflected their lives and struggles, yet like many independent LGBTQ+ book shops, Lavender Menace by then known as West & Wilde closed in 1997. 20 years later, it reopened as The Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive, preserving the rich history of queer literature and activism in Scotland.

The rebirth of Lavender Menace highlights the ongoing need to protect the legacy of queer history and celebrate it. While Sigrid and Bob are still involved with Lavender Menace, the archive’s heart and soul continues through its many staff and volunteers – and those to come. Join us in celebrating the legacy of Lavender Menace and the individuals who have made its revival possible.

Join us for a preview of the exhibition (and free drinks) with Lavender Menace at the French Institute on 19 August, 6pm—9pm. Register for your free ticket on the EAF website.

Edinburgh Zine Library will also host a pop-up on 21 August, where guests can read their curated pick of zines on all things queer and literary.

This exhibition has been curated by Ellis Clay as part of EAF24’s Civic Programme. Lavender Menace photographed by Jules Lacave-Fontourcy and Zoe Robertson, with a film by Mitchell Morton. With many thanks to Lavender Menace staff and volunteers for their support and involvement within this project.

Accessibility

The exhibition space has level access with four available seats to view the publication, photography, and film. If you have any questions about access or specific access requests, please contact EAF.

Social Sunday at the Botanics
2024-08-18 14:00 - 15:00 | The Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, EH3 5NZ
Queer liberation and the natural world are two themes that aren’t often thought of as related or connected. We’re going to read and respond to some works that explore these themes. You are welcome to come along and listen or to bring an extract of your own to read out.A short list of questions to spark ideas:

Is liberation natural/unnatural?

Is feminism dependent on technological advancement?

How does climate activism intersect with gender activism?

Where is nature around you? Where are you touching nature in your life?

Concepts considered in preliminary research include but are not limited to

Foraging

Plant blindness

Commodity fetishism

Isolationism/connectedness

This event is activated in collaboration with Mas Arte Mas Accion, a Colombian artists collective. Other activations include talks on transecologies, reading circles, chocolate tastings, and a conversation with the Colombian ambassador to the United Kingdom. The final outcome of multiple Around the Tree installations (including this one) will travel to the UN’s COP16 Biodiversity Conference in Colombia (Cali, 2024) and COP30 Climate Change Conference in Brazil, 2025.

BookingNo need to book – entry is free and the event is open to the public.

Venue & AccessibilityThis event is held at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH3 5NZ. The Royal Botanic Garden website has directions and access information.

Any other questionsPlease email us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk

The A Team: discussion group
2024-08-17 11:00 - 13:00 | Scotland
Following our first meeting of The A Team with Eris Young on 30th June, the Lavender Menace volunteers will lead an informal discussion group for three initial meetings on Saturday 13th July, 27th July and 17th August.

Join our small group for tea, books, and discussion to share ace and aro media in a welcoming space. All ace, aro and questioning people are very welcome!

Book your ticket

Health and safety information

In order to make the event safe for our immunocompromised attendees, we ask that all attendees take a lateral flow test on the day of the workshop and wear a FFP2 or FFP3 mask unless disability prevents this. Lateral flow tests and masks can be provided upon request. The workshop space will be cleaned before the workshop begins, hand sanitiser will be provided, windows will be opened and there will be an air purifier on for the duration of the workshop.

Booking informationBooking in advance is essential. Places are free and limited so, if you are unable to attend, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer your place to someone else.

Venue & AccessibilityThe sessions are located at the archive in Edinburgh Palette. There is information on how to get to us on public transport and by car, along with access information, on our location & accessibility page.

Any other questionsPlease email us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk.

Queer Traces: open evening
2024-08-08 17:00 - 20:00 | Scotland
Join us for an open evening to celebrate our exhibition Queer Traces by curator and volunteer archivist Alex Lednicky!

Note: This event was originally planned for 1st August but has been moved to 8th August due to circumstances outside of our control.

Book a free ticket

The exhibition traces queer history through the books and ephemera at the Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive. The collection includes selected books and collaged objects which revitalise the archive, offering new ways to engage with the texts.

Find out more about Queer Traces

Booking informationBooking in advance is essential. Places are free and limited so, if you are unable to attend, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer your place to someone else.

Venue & AccessibilityThe sessions are located at the archive in Edinburgh Palette. There is information on how to get to us on public transport and by car, along with access information, on our location & accessibility page.

Any other questionsPlease email us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk.

Queer Traces exhibition
2024-08-01 11:00 - 2024-09-29 16:00 | Scotland
Queer Traces: Tracing queer history through books at Lavender Menace by Alex Lednicky

When: August & September 2024 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, alternate Sundays – see below for opening times

Note: The exhibition has been extended to Sunday 29 September due to popular demand!

Curator and volunteer archivist Alex Lednicky has been tracing queer history through the books and ephemera at the Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive.

During August, Alex presents Queer Traces, an exhibition which aims to revitalize the collection, find new ways to engage with the texts, and trace the individual stories of the books on the archive shelves.

Queer Traces contains three elements:

Archiving absurdity: Curated selections of books based on absurd categories. The Lavender Menace volunteer’s twist on the traditional “staff picks” format.

Ephemeral connections: Collaged objects and notes found in donated books, providing insight into the books’ own travels.

Searching for Wilde Lavender: A collection tracing the history of the archive. This is the story of Lavender Menace and West & Wilde.

Opening times

The exhibition will be open during the regular archive opening hours:

Tuesdays and Thursdays (11am-4pm)

Social Sundays (8th and 22nd September, 2pm-4pm).

It is free to attend and you don’t need to book.

Venue & AccessibilityThe exhibition is located at the archive in Edinburgh Palette. There is information on how to get to us on public transport and by car, along with access information, on our location & accessibility page.

Any other questionsPlease email us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk.

The A Team: discussion group
2024-07-27 11:00 - 13:00 | Scotland
Following our first meeting of The A Team with Eris Young on 30th June, the Lavender Menace volunteers will lead an informal discussion group for three initial meetings on Saturday 13th July, 27th July and 17th August.

Join our small group for tea, books, and discussion to share ace and aro media in a welcoming space. All ace, aro and questioning people are very welcome!

On 27th July, we’re discussing relationship anarchy.

Casey Tanner defines relationship anarchy as “an approach to relationships that invites us to challenge the notion that love is valid only if it occurs between two people in a monogamous, committed relationship. […] Rather than applying a relationship style to your connection because you think you should, RA emphasizes custom-tailoring each relationship based on the needs of those involved.”

Book your ticket

Health and safety information

In order to make the event safe for our immunocompromised attendees, we ask that all attendees take a lateral flow test on the day of the workshop and wear a FFP2 or FFP3 mask unless disability prevents this. Lateral flow tests and masks can be provided upon request. The workshop space will be cleaned before the workshop begins, hand sanitiser will be provided, windows will be opened and there will be an air purifier on for the duration of the workshop.

Booking informationBooking in advance is essential. Places are free and limited so, if you are unable to attend, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer your place to someone else.

Venue & AccessibilityThe sessions are located at the archive in Edinburgh Palette. There is information on how to get to us on public transport and by car, along with access information, on our location & accessibility page.

Any other questionsPlease email us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk.

Queer Memory with Andrés N. Ordorica
2024-07-25 18:30 - 20:00 | Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive, Edinburgh Palette, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH7 6AE
Doors: 6.30pmEvent: 7-8pm

Join Lavender Menace for an in-person conversation with the wonderful Andrés N. Ordorica. We are excited to discuss his poetry and much-anticipated debut novel How We Named the Stars while exploring themes of in-betweenness in queer history, memory, and the archive.

Andrés N. Ordorica is a queer Latinx writer based in Edinburgh. Drawing on his family’s immigrant history and third culture upbringing, his writing maps the journey of diaspora and unpacks what it means to be from ni de aquí, ni de allá (neither here, nor there). He is the author of the poetry collection At Least This I Know and novel How We Named the Stars. He has been shortlisted for the Morley Lit Prize, the Mo Siewcharran Prize and the Saltire Society’s Poetry Book of The Year. In 2024, he was selected as one of The Observer’s 10 Best Debut Novelists.

Dr Alejandro Escalante an ethnographer interested in the performances of gender and race, and their co-imbrications. His work draws from Black studies, Caribbean theory and philosophy, and queer theory to trace the various ways we make, re-make, and can unmake ourselves. Aspects of this research have been published in Transgender Studies Quarterly, the Journal of Africana Religions, and a forthcoming chapter, “Playful Masculinity” in Religion in the Americas: Transcultural and Trans-hemispheric Approaches (University of New Mexico Press).

Booking informationBooking in advance is essential. Places are free and limited so, if you are unable to attend, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer your place to someone else.

Venue & AccessibilityThe sessions are located at the archive in Edinburgh Palette. There is information on how to get to us on public transport and by car, along with access information, on our location & accessibility page.

Any other questionsPlease email us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk

Book your free ticket

The A Team: discussion group
2024-07-13 11:00 - 13:00 | Scotland
Following our first meeting of The A Team with Eris Young on 30th June, the Lavender Menace volunteers will lead an informal discussion group for three initial meetings on Saturday 13th July, 27th July and 10th August.

Join our small group for tea, books, and discussion to share ace and aro media in a welcoming space. All ace, aro and questioning people are very welcome!

Book your ticket

Health and safety information

In order to make the event safe for our immunocompromised attendees, we ask that all attendees take a lateral flow test on the day of the workshop and wear a FFP2 or FFP3 mask unless disability prevents this. Lateral flow tests and masks can be provided upon request. The workshop space will be cleaned before the workshop begins, hand sanitiser will be provided, windows will be opened and there will be an air purifier on for the duration of the workshop.

Booking informationBooking in advance is essential. Places are free and limited so, if you are unable to attend, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer your place to someone else.

Venue & AccessibilityThe sessions are located at the archive in Edinburgh Palette. There is information on how to get to us on public transport and by car, along with access information, on our location & accessibility page.

Any other questionsPlease email us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk.

LGBT Youth Scotland Storytelling Cafe
2024-07-11 17:00 - 19:00 | Scotland
Come and join LGBT Youth Scotland and add your voice to the (Un)seen, (Un)heard archive – a first of it’s kind collection that aims to capture the lived experience of young (and formerly young) LGBTQ+ people in Scotland today.

5pm – 6pm: We will run an informal drop in session between 5-6pm, where you can write, draw or record your own experiences using prompts aimed to explore your own personal experiences.

6pm – 7pm: From 6-7pm we will run a longer storytelling/ oral history workshop where you can share your experiences as a group. All stories will be collected and preserved as part of the (Un)seen, (Un)heard collection at the National Library of Scotland.

Book your free ticket

Booking informationBooking in advance is essential. Places are free and limited so, if you are unable to attend, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer your place to someone else.

Venue & AccessibilityThe sessions are located at the Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive in Edinburgh Palette. There is information on how to get to us on public transport and by car, along with access information, on our location & accessibility page.

Any other questionsPlease email our us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk

Book your free ticket

Abolition and Liberation Study Group
2024-07-02 18:00 - 20:00 | Scotland
Weekly 6-8pm on Tuesdays: 11th, 18th, 25th June & 2nd July

‘Abolition’ describes an outlook towards the world that works to dismantle systems of oppression that maintain and perpetrate forms of injustice. Contemporary abolitionists argue that prisons and the police (among other institutions) are key mechanisms of anti-black, racist, classist, ableist, trans- and queerphobic oppression. Abolitionists claim that dismantling these systems an essential component of liberation struggles; and propose alternative ways of organising the world and living our lives to address the issues that these systems claim to solve. We draw from long histories of resistance to oppression to ground our ideas.

This reading group will read and discuss a mix of essays and books on these subjects. We will look at recent texts addressing these issues from feminist, queer and trans perspectives. We will focus on thinking about the intersections of gender, sexuality and race with carceral systems, along with ‘deviant’, wayward, and collective approaches to resistance and to supporting people affected by such systems.

This material requires being open to learning. All are welcome, no matter your knowledge or experience of abolition.

About Nat

Nat Raha is a poet and activist-scholar. She’s organised with a number of queer and trans collectives, including Edinburgh Action for Trans Health and MATE (Mutual Aid Trans Edinburgh). She co-edits Radical Transfeminism zine with Mijke van der Drift, who together are co-authors of Trans Femme Futures: Abolitionist Ethics for Transfeminist Worlds (Pluto Press, forthcoming 2024).

Booking information

Book your free ticket

Booking in advance is essential. Your booking covers all four sessions to allow the group to get to know each other. Places are limited so, if you are unable to attend, please let us know as soon as possible so we can offer your place to someone else.

Preparation

This material requires being open to learning. All are welcome, no matter your knowledge or experience of abolition. We will send

Venue & Accessibility

The sessions are located at the archive in Edinburgh Palette. Visit our accessibility page for information on how to get to us on public transport and by car, along with access information.

Any other questions

Please email us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk
