![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/IMG_7714.jpg\")
Sara Williford opened The Lavender Bookshop in Marietta, Georgia, in October 2024. (Photo via Instagram.)<\/p>\nSupport local news in ATL<\/p>\n
Sara Williford opened The Lavender Bookshop in Marietta, Georgia, in October 2024. (Photo via Instagram.)<\/p>\n
After the pandemic pushed them out of a job in tech, Sara Williford found work at a used bookstore. <\/p>\n
Williford curated popular displays of queer books for customers who didn\u2019t want to painstakingly sift through the entire store to find the queer literature they were looking for. After experiencing \u201clegitimate and not so legitimate\u201d pushback from management about thee LGBTQ+ displays, Williford knew they needed to quit and open their own bookstore in Marietta.<\/p>\n
Crosswalk by Georgia Voice is a new, weekly newsletter for the region’s LGBTQ+ community.<\/p>\n
Williford opened the Lavender Bookshop<\/a> in October 2024, and there\u2019s only one qualification to be included in their shelves: have a queer main character. Of course, that means queer authors inevitably line the Lavender bookshelves, but Williford isn\u2019t interested in policing author\u2019s sexualities or forcing anybody to come out; if you write about queer people, your book can be for sale, regardless of your own sexuality or gender identity.<\/p>\n In 2023, Cobb County fifth grade teacher Katie Rinderle<\/a> was fired for reading her class \u201cMy Shadow is Purple,\u201d a picture book by Scott Stuart with a non-binary protagonist. A year later, Cobb County School District removed 26 books<\/a> from all schools for \u201csexually explicit content.\u201d These books included titles with LGBTQ+ themes like \u201cTricks\u201d<\/a> by Ellen Hopkins, \u201cAll Boys Aren\u2019t Blue\u201d<\/a> by George M. Johnson, and \u201cJuliet Takes a Breath\u201d<\/a> by Gabby Rivera. <\/p>\n Amid this assault on LGBTQ+ books locally and nationwide<\/a>, Williford says they \u201cprovide [the] service\u201d of connecting young people and families in the area with queer books they might not be able to find at school or in mainstream bookstores. They\u2019ve recommended books for helping an entire family understand and embrace a child\u2019s new transgender identity and connected non-readers with queer stories that sparked a new love for reading.<\/p>\n Along with a vast and diverse inventory of queer literature, the Lavender Bookshop also offers multiple book clubs throughout the month \u2013 including separate clubs for sapphic romance, Achillean romance, sci-fi\/fantasy, non-fiction, YA for teens, and transgender stories \u2013 as well as non-reading events like craft circles, Magic the Gathering nights, open mics, improv club, and a monthly local artist mart.<\/p>\n \u201cI think COVID really drove home how important those kind of community spaces are for a lot of people,\u201d Williford told Georgia Voice. \u201cPeople are always saying they want third spaces. They want queer spaces that aren\u2019t focused on alcohol, queer spaces that aren\u2019t adult-only.\u201d<\/p>\n Williford said they want the Lavender Bookshop to be a third place \u2013 one of the ever-dwindling<\/a> free public spaces that aren\u2019t home or work where people can convene \u2013 so all their events are free, and regulars often come to the store just to hang out, play games, or read together. <\/p>\n The Lavender Bookshop is located at 1289 Roswell Rd in Marietta. To shop online, visit lavenderbookshop.com<\/a>. To keep up with events, follow them on Instagram @lavenderbookshop.<\/a><\/p>\n Related stories: \t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Screenshot-2025-09-15-at-9.17.52-AM.png\")
Lavender Bookshop owner Sara Williford. (Photo via Instagram) <\/p>\n
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