Queer Glasgow bookshop raises over £14,000 for security shutters after targeted attack

A queer bookshop in Glasgow has raised over £14,000 in just 12 hours after a window was smashed targeting the word “TRANS”.

Category Is Books, in Govanhill, launched the fundraiser to help pay for roller shutters after the shop said it had faced a growing pattern of “intimidation, spitting and aggression”.

The independent bookshop has operated for eight years without shutters but said the recent attack left it feeling extra security was needed.

The fundraiser reached its £10,000 target within 12 hours, with the shop thanking people for their “generosity and solidarity”.

The shop has operated for over eight years Supplied

In an update, Category Is Books said: “We are completely blown away by the generosity and solidarity that has come our way. Thank you to everyone who has donated, shared the fundraiser and held us in the past week.

“Over the past eight years, Category Is Books has grown beyond being just a bookshop. It has become an active site of queer organising, mutual aid and community. We genuinely appreciate knowing that this space matters to so many of you, and that we’re not alone in wanting to protect it.

“For transparency, we’ll leave the fundraiser open until tomorrow, 10am. Given the time it will take to get a formal quote, we worked with £10k as an estimated cost for the shutters and associated expenses.

“Any contribution beyond this amount will help us with covering unexpected costs that may come up. If there are funds remaining after everything is covered, we’ll redistribute them to other fundraisers and queer groups that could use the support

“Again, from the bottom of our hearts: thank you so much.”