The Portal Bookshop

Anger as Waterstones snaps up prime site on doorstep of independent bookshop UK's biggest bookselling chain under fire over plans for new store beside Edinburgh tram line.

We need your help.

@waterstones.bsky.social, without any direct communication with us, will be opening their 6th Edinburgh branch less than 100 metres from our front door at the Foot of the Walk in Leith.

Please read on for more information

www.heraldscotland.com/news/2562908...

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Mood

🥳 I have one copy left in the dealers hall tomorrow before 1pm! #WorldFantasyConvention2025

😂

I believe they have all lived in their acquired status for at least two years and been reviewed and approved by a panel of homosexual experts who have agreed that they are acceptably hetero 🫡

A tiny box of sci-fi books on the floor next to a bookcase, with a handwritten sign on the box reading "Heterosexual books! 10% off!"

Here to support the heterosexual community at @worldfantasy2025.bsky.social

I'm an ally 🫡

Sold out! Got any more? ;)

Really wanted to shout out:

Until the Last Petal Falls - Viano Oniomoh (queerplatonic Nigerian beauty and beast)
The Unbalancing - RB Lemberg

Huge rec again for The AroAce SpecFic Database run by Claudie Arseneault and team (offline atm)

Another growing database: aroacedb-front.vercel.app/about

Bruising of Qilwa - Naseem Jamnia
Lord of the Empty Isles - Jules Arbeaux
Hands of the Emperor; At the Feet of the Sun - Victoria Goddard

Ace - Angela Chen
Ace Voices - Eris Young
Being Ace - Madeline Dyer

Didn't get to mention ace authors SL Dove Cooper, John Wiswell

#WorldFantasyConvention2025

Asexuality in Fantasy book recs included:

Claudie Arseneault
Claire Kann
Darcie Little Badger

Every Heart a Doorway - Seanan McGuire
Vicious; Vengeful - VE Schwab
Perfect Assassin - KA Doore
Not Your Backup - CB Lee
Last Hour Between Worlds - Melissa Caruso

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#WorldFantasyConvention2025

The Portal Bookshop stall, laden with so many books

Alright @worldfantasy2025.bsky.social, we are ready 🫡 You can start now

I will be there! Come find me in the dealers hall! (And sign everything please ;) ) ❤️ Travel safe, all the love

I'm so excited for this event!

Still time to get a signed book dedicated to you or a friend!

The event is tonight, gonna be fun :) Still a few tickets left

Event tomorrow (off site, too big for here 😅) with Tasha Suri, CL Clark, Francesca May, and VL Bovalino!

Tickets here: www.tickettailor.com/events/yorkl...

If you can't make it grab the books online and note in the order what name you'd like it dedicated to!

the-portal-bookshop.square.site

We do! Shipping can be a bit arsey. Anything particular you're after?

Bookcase in the window of Portal, showing 9 books, titled in order: This is how I fight Unbroken You don't have what it takes to be my nemesis I was born for this Not for the faint of heart Something to be proud of I hope we choose love We make it better I wish you all the best

New window display, for no reason at all 🫡

I do? 😮 That's nice to know! ❤️❤️❤️ Thank you, lovely human

Did you see the mega bundle for #AceWeek ?? Did you look at those books? Because I have read a significant chunks of them, and they alone would be worth the $50

itch.io/b/3318/ace-p...

🌈📚 #AsexualBooks #QueerSFF

A corkboard absolutely chock full of small and large badges covering disability rights, trans inclusion, antifascist action, neurodiversity, and a wide variety of LGBTQ+ identities, plus some for allies

Got some new badges 👀

An asexual bouquet of flowers, with white, off white, Imperial purple and deep purple flowers

Asexual bouquet! I still don't quite know what merited flowers but happy bookshop day to us I guess :)

A photograph of six stacks of stickers laid out in two rows. Each sticker is a cartoon sloth standing bipedally with their hands on their hips and a pride flag waving behind them. The flags on the top row are bisexual, non-binary and lesbian; the flags on the bottom row are transgender, asexual and the progress pride flag. The background is a green and yellow craft cutting board.

A photograph of ten stickers laid out in two rows. Each of the stickers is a cartoon sloth standing bipedally, dressed as a dungeons and dragons class. On the top row there are: wizard, artificer, bard, paladin and cleric. On the bottom row are: druid, ranger, barbarian, monk and rogue. The background is brown craft paper.

Just did a sloth sticker restock at @portalbookshop.bsky.social including refilling the flag sloths and adding the dnd sloths! Also available at my etsy in now much more limited numbers: illustratedjaishop.etsy.com

You are too kind. 🥲 I am three disasters in a trenchcoat barely (not always) staying on top of the chaos ❤️

It's Bookshop Day! Get down to your local independent bookshop and buy a book or three. No local bookshop? Snap up a book with us 10-12 October and you could WIN a £250 gift card.

EVERY sale supports indie booksellers, not billionaires. uk.bookshop.org/lists/win-a-...

Added it! 🫡❤️

the-portal-bookshop.square.site/product/all-...

a woman says " everybody be cool be cool " Alt: Amy from Brooklyn 99, visibly tense, vehemently says "Everybody be cool, be cool!"

Never quite sure how to react when iconic LGBT+ figures who've helped shape my life come by the shop...

Absolutely. Coming out in physical form just in time for Halloween. Hardback or paperback?

Absolutely, and sorry for the silence, life has been wild. It's landed in today's delivery if you're still after a copy?

It has landed with us 🫡 Box stacks are happening

Needs updating, award is cancelled this year

I wanna say left, the staircase is on the right as you face the stage. I sat on the right and feel like things were a tiny bit obscured there but there wasn't much that would be equivalently blocked on the left as long as you're not WAY over. It's mostly very central