Labrys Lit Book Group

Labrys Lit is a book group run by, for, and about lesbians. Every month we read a new novel, short story collection, or memoir written by a lesbian author. And then we meet up on Zoom for a chat about the book – what we enjoyed, which bits resonated, and the characters we fell in love with. Bring a cuppa or a cocktail – whatever floats your boat. Scroll down to read our Statement of Values.

When?

We meet at 4.30 pm on the last Sunday evening of every month over Zoom. Between meetings, there will be updates on the @LabrysLit Twitter account and mailing list. We also have a Facebook Group for members, and a public Facebook Page.

Current book?

We’re currently reading In at the Deep End, by Kate Davies. Join in with the discussion on Sunday 25th February, 4.30pm GMT.

Why lesbian books?

Labrys Lit is committed to celebrating lesbian stories and voices. We want to connect lesbians with a rich cultural legacy that – owing to how deeply rooted misogyny and homophobia are in this society – women are still discouraged from pursuing. Reading lesbian books affirms the way we live and love, and recognises the value of lesbian women’s perspectives. Rosemary Auchmuty co-founded the Lesbian History Group with the goal of giving ourselves a heritage, validating our existence, and empowering lesbians. And Labrys Lit was built upon these same principles.

Who can join?

Any lesbian aged sixteen and over. We define lesbian as a woman who exclusively experiences same-sex attraction. It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, because we’re meeting online. But please be aware that as Labrys Lit is hosted in the UK, we will be operating on London time (GMT or BST).

What books will we read?

We’ll be reading stories by lesbians across generations, ethnicities, cultures, classes, and religions. Like every branch of FiLiA, Labrys Lit is passionate about amplifying the voices of women who are less often heard or purposefully silenced. Priority is given to stories about lesbians of colour, working-class lesbians, and lesbians from religious minorities. Yes, books about women like Anne Lister are important. But the average lesbian doesn’t have her wealth or privilege, and stories belonging to the most visible lesbians aren’t the only stories worth exploring.

Upcoming books:

• In at the Deep End, by Kate Davies (February 2024)

• Girl Meets Boy, by Ali Smith (March 2024)

• The Hidden Room, by Stella Duffy (April 2024)

• Backwards to Oregon, by Jae (May 2024)

• Frontier, by Grace Curtis (June 2024)

• Juliet Takes a Breath, by Gabby Rivera (July 2024)

• Desert of the Heart, by Jane Rule (August 2024)

• Solo Dance, by Li Kotomi (September 2024)

• Hush Little Baby, by Rachael Herron (October 2024)

• All This Could Be Different, by Sarah Thankam Mathews (November 2024)

• Miss Lister’s Guest House, by A.L. Aikman (December 2024)

Past books:

• The Cancer Journals, by Audre Lorde (January 2024)

• The Price of Salt/Carol, by Patricia Highsmith (December 2023)

• The Last One, by Fatima Daas (November 2023)

• Tall Bones, by Anna Bailey (October 2023)

• Leaving isn’t the Hardest Thing, by Lauren Hough (September 2023)

• Tipping the Velvet, by Sarah Waters (August 2023)

• What Goes Around, by Emily Chappell (July 2023)

• Free to Be Me, by Jane Traies (June 2023)

• Afterlove, by Tanya Byrne (May 2023)

• Stone Butch Blues, by Leslie Feinberg (April 2023)

• Butter Honey Pig Bread, by Francesca Ekwuyasi (March 2023)

• The Secret of You and Me, by Melissa Lenhardt (February 2023)

• The Girl on the Stairs, by Louise Welsh (January 2023)

• Last Night at the Telegraph Club, by Malinda Lo (November 2022)

• Spirited, by Julie Cohen (October 2022)

• Small: On Motherhoods, by Claire Lynch (September 2022)

• Cack-Handed: A Memoir, by Gina Yashere (August 2022)

• When Sparks Fly, by Kristen Zimmer (July 2022)

• The Henna Wars, by Adiba Jaigirdar (June 2022)

• XX, by Angela Chadwick (May 2022)

• The Jasmine Throne, by Tasha Suri (April 2022)

• Bessie Smith, by Jackie Kay (March 2022)

• When Katie Met Cassidy, by Camille Perri (February 2022)

• Golddigger, by Hilary McCollum (January 2022)

• Liberty, by Jay Taverner (November 2021)

• The Daylight Gate, by Jeanette Winterson (October 2021)

• Under the Udala Trees, by Chinelo Okparanta (September 2021)

• Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls, by T Kira Madden (August 2021)

• La Bastarda, by Trifonia Melibea Obono (July 2021)

• Straight Expectations, by Julie Bindel (June 2021)

• Patsy, by Nicole Dennis-Benn (May 2021)

• Little Gold, by Allie Rogers (April 2021)

• Oh You Pretty Thing!, by V.G. Lee (March 2021)

How are the books are chosen?

Most books are chosen by Claire, the FiLiA volunteer who is Curator and Chair of Labrys Lit. This is because it takes a lot of time to read potential books, contact authors, and prepare discussion points. But Claire is always delighted to receive recommendations for future Labrys Lit Books.

Books will be announced three months in advance. This is to allow women plenty of time to read them, and so that if you’re ordering them together from a bookshop (like News From Nowhere) you only have to pay one lot of postage.

Want to Recommend a Book?

If you’re a Labrys Lit member and there’s a work you would like us to read together, don’t hesitate to get in touch! Whether you’re a reader suggesting a book you’ve read, or an author suggesting a book you’ve written, please send your recommendation to LabrysLit@filia.org.uk with RECOMMENDATION in the email subject. Books must be written by a lesbian author. Any genre or style welcome. And books by lesbians from minoritised groups (race, class, disability, religion, etc.) or set in the global south are especially welcome.

If you are recommending your own work, please be ready to send our Chair Claire a paperback copy of your work for her consideration. Claire is more than happy to volunteer her time and expertise to facilitate Labrys Lit, but she is not currently in a position that she can afford to run this book group at a financial loss.

Please be aware that our books are set months in advance so that we can fit into our authors’ busy schedules, to ensure that we read a wide and plural range of books, and so that Claire has sufficient time to prepare discussion points. Therefore, even if your recommendation is set as a Labrys Lit text, there is a very good chance that it will not be scheduled until the following calendar year.

Don’t be disheartened if you have to wait. Please remember that Labrys Lit is a labour of love, run in a volunteer capacity. Claire will get to all recommended texts as soon as possible, and is excited to read lesbian books that are dear to you. But she also has work commitments, including books to review in a professional capacity, so don’t be discouraged if it takes a while for her to get back to you with a definitive answer. She won’t forget about you or the book you’ve recommended.   

Does it cost money?

No. Memberships is free. Labrys Lit is committed to the inclusion of women with low or no income. And cost should never be a barrier to culture or community. If you can’t afford a copy of the book we’re discussing, FiLiA will do our best to provide you with one. And we have included a donation button below this paragraph so that those who can afford to do so have the opportunity to buy solidarity copies for other women. So, if you need us to supply you with a copy of the book, send us an email.

Lesbian Writers’ Group (A Zoom of Our Own)

• Wednesday 13th September, 7-8.30 pm BST

• Wednesday 11th October, 7-8.30 pm BST

• Wednesday 15th November, 7-8.30 pm GMT

• Wednesday 13th December, 7-8.30 pm GMT

Dates for the Diary

• Tipping the Velvet film night Part 1 & 2, Sunday September 10th, 4.30pm BST

• Tipping the Velvet film night Part 3 & discussion, Sunday, September 17th, 4.30pm

• FiLiA 2023, Glasgow, 13 – 15th October 2023. There will be a Labrys Lit meet-up. Details TBC.

• Sapphic Solstice Party: Carol film night, Sunday, December 17th, 4.30 pm

 Statement of Values

Labrys Lit is a book group run by, for, and about lesbian women. It was founded on the belief that lesbians, like every other marginalised group of people, have the right to self-organise. To that end, it is single-sex and lesbian-only. We are aware that this stance may prove controversial. After all, the idea of lesbian separatism has been met with hostility and suspicion since it was first suggested as a political strategy in the 1960s. But lesbian-only space is a principle we stand by.

This is because lesbians around the world are still met with prejudice, discrimination, and even violence in response to our sexuality. Same-sex relationships between women remain illegal in 45 countries. Here in the UK, a lesbian MP (Joanna Cherry) was recently threatened with corrective rape. And lesbians seeking asylum in Britain are made to let a stranger rake through the most intimate details of her life, or risk being criminalised, raped, and murdered after forced repatriation. We still have a very long way to go before all women, lesbians in particular, are free.

Labrys Lit was founded to give women a space that’s free from homophobia, misogyny, racism, classism, and any other form of prejudice that continues to act against lesbian lives. We also seek to redress those inequalities by celebrating the contributions that lesbians from a broad range of backgrounds have made to our society and culture. We believe that women can grow in confidence, skill, and knowledge in community spaces that actively centre our voices, lives, and experiences. This holds doubly true of women who are lesbian.

Labrys Lit recognises that lesbian lives and stories remain undervalued in this society; that we are marginalised even in the social movements that should promote our liberation. Some of the most radical gay and lesbian campaigns this country has ever seen fell apart due to gay men’s misogyny. And androcentrism continues to side-line women’s interests in the LGBT community. Therefore, Labyrs Lit is committed to creating a space where women are not pressured – in a tacit or explicit fashion – to subordinate our voices, perspectives, or concerns to those of men.

Lesbians have also been marginalised in the feminist community. At the height of the women’s liberation movement, Betty Friedan notoriously described lesbian feminists as the “lavender menace” – homophobia that has, unfortunately, continued within mainstream feminism. For this reason, Labrys Lit is open to lesbians as opposed to all women.

With Labrys Lit, we are opening up a space where lesbian lives, loves, and desires are the norm; where being lesbian requires no explanation or justification, because it is standard; where lesbians can simply share ideas and conversation without being made to do difference-work in order to be understood by women who love or are open to romantic relationships with men.

We have a right to spaces that are by, for, and about lesbians. Those uncomfortable with the idea of lesbians having our own community spaces are invited to reflect upon why they feel that discomfort.

Read our Code of Conduct