Quill and Queer

The website is suitably punctuated with pink,and has a queer aim — to offer literature on the LGBT community as well as non-mainstream books that one rarely finds in the neighbourhood bookstore. The e-bookstore,www.queer-ink.com,which will start formally on July 2 to mark the first anniversary of the Delhi High Court judgment decriminalising homosexuality,is the brainchild of Mumbai-based activist Shobhana Kumar,42.

About 200 titles are on offer – in English,Hindi and other Indian languages like Bengali,Gujarati,Marathi,Tamil and Telugu. There is Armistad Maupin’s seven-book series called Tales of the City that has acquired a cult status in the community as well as books for parents like Straight Parents,Gay Children by Robert Bernstein. There is fiction,non-fiction and magazines (copies of Bombay Dost as well as publications by NGOs). Apart from ordering books,one can also write in reviews. Books are delivered to metros within three days of payment.