WHS Travel to run gay literature promotion to tie into LGBTQ landmark

W H Smith Travel is to hold a gay literature promotion in major stores in June to mark the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales. The national bookseller and stationer will run a dedicated promotion of around 32 titles in more than 35 of its biggest Travel locations, including airports at Gatwick, Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Stansted, and key London mainline train stations, including Victoria, Paddington, Euston and Liverpool Street.

In July 1967, the Sexual Offences Act decriminalised homosexual activity between men over the age of 21 in England and Wales. It is widely considered to be one of the most important moments in gay British history, although it wasn’t until 1980 when the law was changed in Scotland, and 1982 in Northern Ireland.

Matt Bates, W H Smith Travel fiction buyer, who is gay himself, has curated the promotion. He said he believed in the importance of highlighting the titles to “all audiences”, and added that the anniversary was a “great opportunity to realise that”.

The books on promotion include contemporary works such as Guapa by Salem Haddad (Europa Editions), which the chain has sold more than 1,200 copies of since it appeared in its Fresh Talent promotion in January. The novel gives “a unique view of gay sub-cultures from a Middle Eastern perspective”, Bates said. Also highlighted are What Belongs to You by Garth Greenwell (Picador), which tells the story of an American teacher who forms a relationship with a charismatic young hustler, Mitko, whom he pays for sex. W H Smith Travel has sold 600 hardbacks of the title, and 1,100 paperbacks since March. Christodora by Tim Murphy (Pan Macmillan), also on the list, follows a diverse set of characters whose fates intertwine in an iconic building in Manhattan’s East Village: the titular Christodora. Polari First Book Prize-winner The Good Son by Paul McVeigh (Salt), which W H Smith Travel has shifted 580 copies of to date, is also included.

One self-published title has been selected for the promotion: The Second Footman by Jasper Barry (Matador). Bates said he found the title “by accident” and said that it was “one of the finest books I’ve ever read”, adding: “It’s a beautifully written gay story with shades of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Honoré de Balzac and Alexandre Dumas. The writing is exquisite. I loved it so much that I wanted to share it with other potential readers, so I bought some for the store. It’s sold very steadily since.”

More commercial gay fiction, such as the Costa Prize-winning Days Without End by Sebastian Barry (Faber), will also be promoted, along with older works, such as Maurice by E M Forster (Penguin), and non-fiction such as Straight Jacket by Matthew Todd, which Bates said “moved me to tears with its searing and honest observations of gay life now, and the shame and prejudice that still persists and that many gay men still hold”.

While Greenwell’s novel is a “great example of contemporary gay fiction”, Bates believes publishers could diversify more in the genre and is adamant that sales would follow. “We have a responsibility to our own cultural and social heritage to make sure we record the times we live in,” he said. “Books are such an important way of doing that and it’s good to see publishers starting to diversify a little, such as Picador has, taking a risk with What Belongs to You, which has been wonderfully received both commercially and critically, and Europa Editions with Guapa.”

However, he added: “Publishers could be a bit more confident about publishing this kind of stuff. I’m interested in what it is to be a gay man in a Generation X age and I don’t think we’re seeing a lot of that. Works like Guapa do really sell, and the 50th anniversary of [the Sexual Offences Act] means it is a good time to be bringing these books together.”

Jim MacSweeny, manager at dedicated lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ) bookshop Gay’s the Word in central London, said he would like to see more contemporary gay fiction set in the capital. “We are seeing lots set in New York, but not much showing contemporary gay life set here,” he said. “I would probably like to see more lesbian fiction.” However, he said he thought the gay literature on offer from publishers at the moment was “strong”, with several notable titles. “Our shelves are groaning with books. At the moment I can’t find enough shelf space for them,” he said, listing Days Without End, What Belongs To You, Guapa and Christodora as titles that are “selling really well”.

“There is a lot of youth LGBT fiction around at the moment,” he said. “I am struggling to find space on the shelves.” 

Penguin Random House is also reaching out to the LGBTQ community: it launched online campaign Penguin Pride last year ahead of London Pride. This year the publisher is preparing “something even more exciting”, according to creative manager Zainab Juma, set to be revealed in the next few weeks. It will focus on the theme “What’s Your Story?” The publisher will also promote a dedicated LGBTQ book club for three months.

Juma said it was important for books to be inclusive for an LGBTQ “Readers find themselves in the pages of a book and Penguin wants to be involved in that,” she said. “The 16–19 audiences in particular want to see more inclusion in books they read, and that includes being inclusive of the gay community. That is what our WriteNow scheme is trying to do: to tell stories that we haven’t before and reach people who haven’t felt represented in books.”

W H Smith’s gay literature promotion, with dedicated point-of-sale material, will begin on 22nd June.

The promoted titles