One of the best and most important aspects of having a community group and social media presence is the opportunity to use your platform for good. At the QGBC we passionately advocate for and value our community; Whether that means promoting queer authors, other queer groups, investing in queer community initiatives or ensuring that queer people always have access to literature that reflects their experiences, regardless of financial circumstances.
Below are some of the incredible causes we've been able to support so far and partnerships that have enabled us to distribute and promote literature to the community. If you have a project that you would like us to be involved in, or would like to work together, please get in touch.
Book 28
Book donation
Over a period of 6 months, the QGBC members collected over 50 volumes of literature and made a donation to Book 28, the onsite library at the Outside Project, which is a grassroots community shelter for queer people experiencing homelessness.
When facing the unimaginable hardship of homelessness, leisure items such as books become an extravagance few can afford. Spaces like this provide education, comfort and escape to queer people during times of displacement, fear and vulnerability. It was truly an honour to work with them.
BBC Radio 2
Book Club
The group's founder Ayse had the privilege of being invited to BBC Radio 2's Book Club to star in their Pride 2025 Episode. During the conversation with Sara Cox, Ayse got to both wax lyrical about QGBC (her favourite thing to do) and offer insights into the group's discussion of Ordinary Saints by Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin. Additionally, she got to promote queer authors such as Lamyah H, Alison Bechdel, and Carmen Maria Machado to Book Club's substantial audience. You can listen to the full episode below:
LGBTQ+ Growing Group
Barnes Common
In May of 2025, Barnes Common invited us to a growing session at their brand new LGBTQ+ Community Growing Group.
Over the course of the session, we learned so much about sustainable growing practices, building community, the medicinal properties of so many common plants, and laid some very positive early groundwork for the QGBC commune haha
The QGBC will always promote and support community initiatives designed for the queer community.
Pan Macmillan & the Aesop Queer Library
Festive giveaway
At the end of our December 2024 and 2025 meetings, all attendees were gifted a piece of queer literature thanks to donations made by Pan Macmillan and the Aesop Queer Library. All attendees were invited to select a piece of fiction, non-fiction or poetry of their choosing. Many in attendance stated that this was the first piece of physical queer media that they had ever owned. One of the key principals of the Queer Girls' Book Club is that queer literature should not exist behind a paywall. Thanks to the profound generosity of both companies, we were able to ensure that meeting attendees always had access to queer stories. We hope that this is an initiative that we can continue for many years to come.
Lonely Planet
Giveaway
In 20205 we had the pleasure of partnering with Lonely Planet to giveaway copies of the LGBTQ+ Travel Guide. This was our first meeting and social media giveaway.
As well as listing queer friendly travel destinations and activity recommendations, the travel guides also contained essential tips for LGBTQ+ travellers regarding safety, knowing your rights, and practical advice in case of emergencies, as well as a calendar of worldwide Pride events. This guide is an essential resource for all queer travellers and we were thrilled to be able to gift our members with copies.