Gay bookstore minneapolis

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With its rich history and growing gay community, Minneapolis has a lot to offer.

He asks celebrated bibliophiles for a list of their ten favorite books, and the shelves of his adorable, modernist shop are filled with their hit-lists of reading treasures. Hicklin’s bookstore has proven such a success, he’s started a lit magazine, a podcast, a summer literary festival, and he’s opening a second One Grand in a nearby town upstate. That same home would have a monthly mortgage of $2,852.

However, buying may still be a better choice in many cases than renting.

But it’s home to more than just beautiful lakes and delightfully messy hamburgers (we’re looking at you, Juicy Lucy!).

This Mississippi River hub has one of the most progressive LGBTQ communities in the upper Midwest. In 1975, it was the first US city to pass a non-discrimination ordinance. They are, above all, vital community spaces. Every August, the community hosts the Uptown Art Fair, and recently, the unique and charming Uptown Dog Fair in October has attracted dog lovers throughout the city.

Northeast Minneapolis

Named the city’s gayest neighborhood, Northeast Minneapolis is one of the newer LGBTQ+ areas, drawing residents in with affordable homes.

In 2015, former Out Magazine editor Aaron Hicklin took his love of books 125 miles north of New York City and opened his own bookstore, One Grand Books, in the tiny village of Narrowsburg. Boasting vibrant neighborhoods, eclectic nightlife, and great food and entertainment, there’s a lot that makes Minneapolis the perfect place to call home.

A Brief History of Minneapolis

Originally home to the Dakota and Anishinaabe peoples, Minneapolis was settled by French fur traders in the 1600s.

Summer months are chock-full of tours at Longfellow Gardens, activities at Minnehaha Falls, and outdoor dining at the city’s huge selection of restaurants. 

Easy to Get Around Town

Another benefit to living in Minneapolis is the well-developed public transit system. This Minneapolis staple is one of the most popular 24-hour eateries in the city, and it serves true American diner-style food. 

The Best Gayborhoods in the City 

Whether you want the activity of a busy downtown or the tree-lined streets of a quieter community, Minneapolis has a neighborhood for you! 

Loring Park

This downtown neighborhood in Minneapolis shares its name with the actual Loring Park at its center.

I sought solace in lesbian and gay fiction inside Bluestockings. Booksellers who are book lovers, and who proudly look you in the eye and smile. But you’d be forgiven if you were too absorbed with the books on the tables to lift your head. And for those who prefer to explore from outside the Library’s walls, our growing Q Digital collection provides convenient online access to many of our stories.

Run entirely by a passionate team of volunteers, Quatrefoil continues to evolve, constantly expanding its offerings and fostering a welcoming, inclusive space.

“Visibility is everything in small towns, where books are some of the only windows to a more accepting world.”

Visibility is everything in small towns, where books are some of the only windows to a more accepting world.

Visibility allows people with marginalized identities to see themselves and their stories reflected in and worthy of art.

A Seat at the Table and hello again books are just a few of many LGBTQ-owned stores we spoke to for this article that have sprung up in recent years. I called mid-pandemic to see if they could do an in-person delivery for a nearby friend whose birthday it was, and the person who helped me was truly lovely and understood the vital intersection of birthday + pandemic + salvation by books.”
—Jen Silverman, author of We Played Ourselves

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• Women & Children First - Chicago, IL
• Unabridged Books- Chicago, IL

  
  “As a newly out gay man in the early 1990s, long before dating sites and apps and at the height of the AIDS crisis, gay bookstores allowed me to feel part of a community and afforded me the safety to find my place in it.

  You’ll find an incredibly diverse collection spanning books, DVDs, periodicals, and even rare archival materials that chronicle the rich tapestry of queer experiences.

  We believe knowledge and community should be accessible to all. She has been awarded a fiction fellowship by the New York State Writers Institute and was once profiled in her hometown newspaper for being in the process of writing a novel--a novel she is still in the process of writing.