[3] Various locations were looked at, including Covent Garden, which was then being regenerated, before they decided to open the store in Marchmont Street in Bloomsbury, an area of the capital with rich academic and literary associations.

Initial reluctance from Camden Council to grant a lease was overcome with help from Ken Livingstone, then a local councillor, later Mayor of London.

The gay movement at this period in the United States was particularly vibrant and stimulated an immense amount of literature with many small publishing houses being established.

In 1984, Customs and Excise, assuming the shop to be a porn store rather than a serious bookstore, mounted a large-scale raid and seized thousands of pounds' worth of stock.

Some of the titles seized were Querelle by Jean Genet, Torch Song Trilogy by Harvey Fierstein, Gay Sunshine Interviews Vols 1 & 2 which contained interviews with writers such as William Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Christoper Isherwood and Tennessee Williams, Coming Out to Parents by Mary Borhek, Enemy by Robin Maugham, The Joy of Gay Sex by Dr Charles Silverstein, the Joy of Lesbian Sex by Dr Emily Sisley, The Front Runner by Patricia Nell Warren, A Thirsty Evil by Gore Vidal, Teleny attributed to Oscar Wilde and Roman Conquests by Phil Andros.

Edmund White, David Leavitt, Stella Duffy, Armistead Maupin, Jake Arnott, Damian Barr, Alan Hollinghurst, Philip Hensher, Charlotte Mendelson, Patrick Gale, Neil Bartlett, Alison Bechdel, Jake Shears, Emily Danforth, Ali Smith, Jackie Kay, Alex Bertie and Thomas Page McBee have read or done signings at the bookshop.

[citation needed] It is a popular venue for poetry readings and has attracted poets such as Andrew McMillan, Richard Scott, Kate Foley, Sophia Blackwell, Keith Jarrett, Mary Jean Chan, Gregory Woods and John McCullough.

The 2014 film Pride, directed by Matthew Warchus, featured the group as they campaigned and raised money for striking Welsh miners and depicts the shop being a target for several instances of homophobic aggression and vandalism.

The two burglars ransacked the bookshop, stole change from a charity collection tin and were arrested within the store when they stopped to drink a bottle of prosecco belonging to one of the staff.

The shop workers were taken aback by the public response to the appeal with news on the crisis featuring in blogs from Russia to Australia, to America and Europe.