Lavender Menace

The Lavender Drawing Board
2026-06-03 13:00 - 16:00 (Europe/London)
The Lavender Drawing Board: Co-working for queer creatives

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Researching, writing and creative freelancing can be a lonely road. The Lavender Menace Drawing Board offers a calm, supportive atmosphere for studying, reading and library-reasonable creative work in the company of fellow queer bees.

Because of the nature of the building, we can’t guarantee silence but we will hold the quietest space we can within the room. There are nooks to break out into if you need to discuss, plan or scheme and adaptable floor-room for bigger (potentially messier) projects.

The final half hour of every session will be a bookable spot for anyone looking for feedback, help or advice on their latest endeavour. Do you need to read through a scene? Test the flow of a piece of writing? Assistance on a funding application? This will be your moment!

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

Queer History Quiz
2026-06-04 19:00 - 22:00 | Argonaut Books, 15-17 Leith Walk, Edinburgh, Midlothian, EH6 4SQ, United Kingdom
From the legends behind A Queer Was Here and Auld Edinburgh, comes the Lavender Menace Queer History Quiz! Join us at Argonaut Books for a fun and informative evening.

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Think pub quiz, but all about Scottish queer stories and culture – and where your creative skills count as much as your knowledge. Written answers? Sure, but you’ll just as easily be asked to perform a dramatic reading, or get hands-on with simple crafts inspired by historical figures or movements – weaving your own lived experience into queer history (all materials provided).

Bring your teams (max of 5 people, each person needs a ticket), catch up with your community, and celebrate our queer past – and present! – in a fitting finale to the Lavender Menace crowdfunder (we’ll also have a bucket to rattle, should you have any spare change you want rid of). Finally, as the icing on top of this queer joy cake, Argonaut will be donating all profits from book sales made during the evening, to Lavender Menace!

Timings:

7:00pm – Doors open

7:30 to 9:30pm – Queer History Quiz excitement!

9:30 to 10pm – Chat and browse beautiful books

Refreshments:

Argonaut’s cafe will remain open, for hot and cold drinks throughout – or you are welcome to BYOB (no corkage fee).

Venue & Accessibility:

Argonauts is at ground level and fully accessible to all mobility needs. They have gender-neutral toilets and the shop is well-served by public transport. There is no dedicated changing table in the toilets, however. They are always open to feedback and are keen to accommodate individual needs wherever possible, so let us know if you have any questions.

About your hosts:

We are A Queer Was Here and Auld Edinburgh — two queer pals in our thirties working in museums and public history in Edinburgh. Alongside our day jobs, we run creative side hustles producing engaging content for social media and heritage organisations, shining a light on Edinburgh and Scotland’s rich (and often overlooked) queer histories. We also support museums and cultural organisations to share LGBTQ+ stories from their collections and design inclusive public events that platform Scotland’s queer past.

Any other questions:

Please email save@lavendermenace.org.uk

Social Sunday
2026-06-14 14:00 - 16:00, 2026-06-28 14:00 - 16:00
On the 2nd and 4th Sunday of every month, the Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive is open 2pm–4pm for our informal Social Sundays. Join us for tea, cake and lots of queer book discussion!

There is no need to sign up in advance, you can just turn up.

Social Sundays are a great way to learn more about the archive and chat about your favourite LGBTQ+ books. You can come with friends or on your own – our volunteers will make you feel welcome.

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

Future Drop Outs: co-working group
2026-06-15 13:00 - 16:00 | Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive, Edinburgh Palette, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH7 6AE
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Future Drop Outs is a co-working group for queer students, researchers, and writers. Join us for a calm, supportive studying session, 1-4pm on the third Monday of the month. What to expect

A relaxed and relatively quiet space to work on your own project in the company of others. Because of the nature of the building, we can’t guarantee silence but we will hold the quietest space we can within the room. We will have basic refreshments (tea, coffee, biscuits) out.

The final half hour of every session will be an informal conversation and people are welcome to share their work if they would like to.

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

Queer Gothic Words
2026-06-28 12:15 - 14:00
A monthly book club focusing on queer gothic writing. Every month we choose a book (or selection of shorter texts) by LGBTQ+ authors, or featuring queer characters/themes to read and discuss together. We alternate between classic and contemporary texts.

June’s book is Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen.

Book ticket

Booking

Please book in advance. 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

Connective Threads: A Trans Archive Writing Workshop
2026-06-30 18:00 - 20:00 | Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive, Edinburgh Palette, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH7 6AE
What does it mean to find flashes of recognition in the archive? How might moments from the trans past open up avenues to imagine new ways of being, writing and thinking trans futures?

Join writer and researcher Sasha de Buyl (they/them) for a creative writing workshop, working with materials in the Lavender Menace archive! Attendees will interact with materials from the archive, and be guided through a series of creative prompts to respond to what they find. No preparation is necessary, all you need is yourself and your favourite writing implements (notepad, laptop, quill?).

This workshop is open to all, but will be focused around trans and gender non-conforming sources.

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About the facilitator

Sasha de Buyl is an Irish writer and programmer living in Edinburgh. Their writing has been published in Gutter, Belfield Literary Review and The Stinging Fly, as well as The Irish Times, RTÉ Culture and Poetry Ireland Review. In 2023, they were awarded an Arts Council Bursary for Literature. They are currently undertaking a DFA in Writing at the University of Glasgow looking at trans pasts and trans futures.

What to expect

An informal creative writing workshop in a small-group setting. The workshop lasts for 2 hours with a break in the middle. No experience necessary and no advance preparation needed.

Booking

Tickets are pay-what-you-can. Booking 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 & Accessibility

The 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 questions

Please email us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk

Researching Scotland's Trans History with Sam Rutherford
2026-07-09 18:00 - 20:00 | Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive, Edinburgh Palette, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH7 6AE
For every Ewan Forbes, there were dozens more people in nineteenth- and twentieth-century Scotland who lived lives that moved away from the gender to which they were assigned at birth. How can we find them, and what can (and can’t) we learn about them? In this workshop, we’ll discuss what historical sources can tell us about what it might have been like to be an ordinary trans person in Scotland around 1850–1950, and point you to some tools for doing your own trans history research.

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By day, Sam Rutherford is Lecturer in LGBTQ+ History at the University of Glasgow. By night, he is a member of Glasgow’s trans community who tries to use the past as a resource to build power, find solidarity, and get organised in the present.

What to expect

An informal research workshop in a small-group setting. The workshop lasts for 2 hours with a break in the middle. No experience necessary and no advance preparation needed.

Booking

Tickets are pay-what-you-can. Booking 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 & Accessibility

The 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 questions

Please email us: themenaces@lavendermenace.org.uk

Queer Men for Queer Literature
2026-07-12 12:15 - 14:00
A friendly monthly discussion group about gay books and gay writing, for people who enjoy reading and talking about how gay writing has impacted our lives. We meet on the second Sunday of every month and we pick a different theme/topic each time.

The theme for July is still TBC.

You don’t need to prepare anything in advance, but you’re welcome to bring along a text or extract from a piece of published gay writing you feel a connection with.

These sessions are for anyone who identifies as a gay, bi, or queer man and wants to discuss books. Our events are trans-inclusive: trans men, trans mascs, and non-binary folks welcome.

Booking

Book a ticket

Booking 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 Joy
2026-07-19 12:15 - 14:00 | Lavender Menace Queer Books Archive, Edinburgh Palette, Edinburgh, Scotland, EH7 6AE
Join us at our monthly Queer Joy book club!

In July, we’ll be reading Unsuitable by Eleanor Medhurst.

We normally meet on the third Sunday of each month to discuss queer books through a lens of finding joy in LGBTQ+ stories. Queer books are often distressing or tragic, so we started a book club focused on seeking out more uplifting stories. That doesn’t mean we always read lighthearted books, but through our discussions we try to focus on the joyful aspects of living a queer life.

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

Lesbian Words
2026-07-19 14:15 - 16:00
Join us for our monthly discussion about lesbian books! We get together on the third Sunday of each month to chat about books and media about lesbians, sapphics, bi and/or queer women.

We usually pick a specific topic to discuss each month, like our favourite book to movie adaptations, controversial books, or lesbian representation throughout history.

The theme for July is lesbian crime and mystery.

Lesbian Words is open to anyone who wants to talk about lesbian or sapphic books. You don’t have to be a lesbian to join, and the group is trans inclusive: trans women, trans femmes, and non-binary folks welcome.

Booking

Booking 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
