Welcome to the Toronto Women’s Bookstore’s website!
We are dedicated to promoting anti-oppression politics and feminist politics. Our mission: To provide books by women writers, especially marginalized women, including women of colour, First Nations women, lesbians, other queer women, working class women, disabled women, Jewish women, and all other groups of women.
Our mandate is to be an information provider and community resource for events, political actions, women’s health care, anti-violence advocacy, and anti-oppression politics for individuals and community groups, and to organize events and courses that reflect the communities we serve.
The idea for the Toronto Women’s Bookstore grew out of a need for a space for women where books written by women, for women and about women’s issues could be available and for sale.
The books that we carry reflect our feminist, anti-oppression philosophy. For instance, we are an important source for books on feminist and anti-racist theory, queer theory, transgender rights, disability studies, health, violence against women, and for writing by women of colour, First Nations women and Jewish women. We offer a wide selection of fiction and non-fiction by Canadian and international writers, and we carry magazines, journals and zines that are otherwise hard to find.
We also have a great selection of independent music and we sell locally made jewelry, crafts and other unique items. We offer mail order service to anywhere in the world and can special order hard to find titles, and we arrange course book orders for university and college professors from a wide range of disciplines.
We are a bookstore that nurtures diverse communities through special events and ventures. We offer a multitude of community services such as bulletin boards, reading groups, and courses. We also host author readings and book launches. Some of the authors who we have hosted readings by include bell hooks, Alice Walker, Dorothy Allison, Dionne Brand, Naomi Klein, Patricia Hill Collins, Lee Maracle, and Shauna Singh Baldwin.
The Toronto Women’s Bookstore celebrated 35 years in 2008 because of the efforts of many who have given generously as patrons, volunteers, staff and board members. We recognize that we can look to the future with optimism only with your continued support and partnership.
Thank you!
