[URBAN NOTE] Daily Xtra on the sale of Little Sister’s

Daily Xtra‘s Jeremy Hainsworth notes the end of an era in Vancouver.

Vancouver’s iconic gay bookstore Little Sister’s has been sold.

Jim Deva and Bruce Smyth opened the store in 1983, when they had trouble finding gay books for sale anywhere else.

Within two years, Canada Customs agents were seizing their shipments, leaving the store’s shelves increasingly bare and jeopardizing its very ability to survive as a business. Undeterred, the couple fought back and very publicly took Canada Customs to court.

The court battles that ensued spanned nearly two decades, as Little Sister’s championed gay voices, challenged censorship, fought for our stories and sexual freedom and became a key community gathering space in Vancouver.

But now it’s time to sell, Smyth tells Daily Xtra.