Queereads app to promote LGBTQIA+ books

Tech company RedCards has launched Queereads, a new reading app dedicated to making LGBTQIA+ books more accessible to the queer community.

RedCards said the app is based on its “unique” digital card format and will “provide a safe space for queer reading across both fiction and non-fiction".

The Bristol-based company added: “As well as an engaging interface and offline reading, users can personalise the colour, design and text of the cards to suit their own reading preferences, which helps to support dyslexic readers as well as those that struggle to read books in more traditional formats.”

It is hoped that by breaking books down into digital cards, Queereads removes many of the barriers that people experience when it comes to reading on a regular basis, allowing users instant access to a curated library of LGBTQIA+ content.

Founder Jon Air, who formed RedCards in 2018, said: “There is such a rich variety of fantastic books being written by, for and about the LGBTQIA+ community and Queereads provides a safe space in which users can access those titles, wherever they are.”

As well as a broad range of fiction, Queereads also features a selection of non-fiction titles that deal with topics such as sexuality, mental health and anxiety.

Air added: “Our mission is to promote the significant benefits that reading on a regular basis can provide to people’s mental health. We hope that our constantly expanding library of LGBTQIA+ titles will also provide helpful resources for any users that may be struggling.”

Rebecca Wojturska, m.d. of indie press Haunt Publishing, said: “As the managing director of a queer-led publisher, I’m overjoyed to see this space carved out for the book-loving queer community.

“The idea of quick and easily-digestible reading on-the-go or in the home is very appealing, and will be fantastic for even the most reluctant of readers.”

Queereads is available to download now from App Store and Google Play Store.