Selection

While there were few stores in Edmonton that carried gay and lesbian literature in the 1980s and 1990s and those that did had smaller collections compared to larger cities such as Vancouver and Toronto, the selection at Greenwoods' was impressive. Although the bookstore did not have as specific a focus on queer or feminist literature like Common Woman, and later Orlando Books, the staff were more than happy to make special orders for customers for any books not already on the shelves. Then city councillor Michael Phair listed Greenwoods' and other local bookstores as a primary reason for gays and lesbians to live in Edmonton, praising the businesses as having "more books than [he could] possibly keep up with." Phair went on to say, "What a change from the days where finding a total of 4 or 5 [gay] books in all of Edmonton was a miracle!"

Apart from the diverse selection of books, Phair also praised the local selection of gay and lesbian magazines. Greenwoods' was one distributor for queer periodicals such as Womonspace News, Modern Pink, the Alberta Gay and Lesbian Press, Outlooks, and more. In turn, queer magazines would run Greenwoods' ads, list the store in queer-friendly business directories, and recommend visiting the store to purchase a recently reviewed book.

Womonspace was a particularly strong supporter of Greenwoods' Bookshoppe, whether it was encouraging readers to support local 2SLGBTQ+ authors such as Candas Jane Dorsey and her book Machine Sex and Other Stories, advertising events, such as feminist activist Gloria Steinem's visit to the bookstore to promote The Revolution From Within in 1993, or printing a Greenwoods’ Bookshoppe ad for a “no-holds barred look” at TV sensation The L Word in 2006. Greenwoods' was also one of Womonspace's suggested spots to stock up on holiday gifts for lesbians. "When you tear yourself away from the gay section," one review of the Bookshoppe encouraged, "an about-face will plant you in front of Greenwoods' excellent womyn's studies collection." Those with money to spare, the article suggested, might enjoy their new purchase at the Bagel Tree Café, another local lesbian hangout only two doors down.

Censorship and Confidentiality

Edmontonians in the 1980s and 1990s could not take the ample selection of queer print material for granted. Apart from the introduction of GST in 1991, which often caused hold-ups at the Canadian border and frustration for stores like Greenwoods', imported books faced another kind of scrutiny. Many gay and lesbian publications would be seized by Canadian customs due to claims that they violated the Criminal Code. The conflict between the government and booksellers were literally side by side at the 1990 Canadian Booksellers Association trade fair in Toronto. At booth 11 was Revenue Canada providing information on GST, while the Canadian Committee Against Customs Censorship occupied booth 12, raising awareness about government seizures of queer literature.

Dedicated queer-friendly bookstores such as Little Sisters in Vancouver, Glad Day in Toronto, and Orlando Books in Edmonton were under far more scrutiny by Canadian Customs than other booksellers. On one hand, queer bookstores like Orlando had their viability threatened when their stock was confiscated; on the other, larger companies were often unwilling to carry queer literature. In between these extremes, large independent booksellers like Greenwoods' were able to curate their own selection while drawing less attention at the Canadian border than more specialized shops. As one of the few stores willing or able to stock queer literature alongside local independents like Orlando Books and Audreys, Greenwoods' was one more lifeline for the local queer community in Edmonton and the more rural areas beyond. Greenwoods not only helped to bring voice and visibility to queer authors, but also to Edmonton’s 2SLGBTQ+ community as it became a hub of activity on the southside of the North Saskatchewan river.

At the same convention where booths 11 and 12 personified the border conflict, Greenwoods' received the Roy Britnell Award for Canadian Bookseller of the Year. This award put Greenwoods' on the radar of national media, and the owners became a voice for the issues facing booksellers across the country. Apart from the ongoing battle against the GST, the Greenwood siblings were often outspoken about censorship. When interviewed ahead of the release of a particularly controversial book, Greenwoods' usually confirmed they would stock it as long as there was customer demand, regardless of the book's content or acclaim.

Greenwoods' was routinely interviewed on stocking controversial content, whether religious texts like the Quran, violent-themed novels such as American Psycho, or Madonna's erotic photography album Sex. Edmonton booksellers including Audreys, Orlando, and Greenwoods' would also come to the defence of local bisexual author Timothy Anderson's Neurotic Erotica, which came under fire when the Alberta Report decried the use of government grants to produce "sexual and religious filth". Even if queerness was not at the centre of most publicized controversies, Greenwoods' hard stances against censorship contributed to the welcoming culture for queer literature that Greenwoods' had long maintained, especially in a political climate where the government openly and disproportionately targeted queer publications as “pornographic” or otherwise, citing so-called community “morality standards” and the obscenity sections of the Criminal Code of Canada.

Greenwoods' political commentary would continue to be relevant to Edmonton's queer community into the 21st century. A 2002 American court case opened the possibility of making bookstore customer records available to the United States Drug Enforcement Agency, on the assumption that a suspect's reading list might suggest their culpability. Alongside Little Sisters owner Janine Fuller, Laurie Greenwood commented on the potential risks of making that information available: "I’d never want that information and it’s spooky that someone could ask me for it. All the new legislation since Sept. 11 scares me.” For queer customers who could potentially be outed by their purchases, this demonstration of concern and support from local booksellers was vital.

Changing Trends

At the turn of the millennium, Edmonton had a decent selection of queer literature, but the appearance of commercial giants Chapters, Indigo, and Amazon threatened the independent bookstores that stocked it. The Greenwood siblings, while wary, were not concerned with the competition. “Independents have weathered the storm because we personalized bookselling, and books are personal,” Gail Greenwood suggested about two years prior to the Chapters opening on Whyte Avenue.

Queer patrons, who had only recently won national protections against discrimination based on sexual orientation after the Supreme Court decision on Vriend v. Alberta in 1998, would lose the specialized stock of Orlando Books in 2002. With Orlando succumbing to the problems of increased competition, censorship, and complications after a move, the personalized experience stores like Greenwoods' offered was even more important. Chapters seemed unlikely to match the selection of queer literature in Edmonton's independent bookstores, and it was even less likely to stock queer periodicals or advertise local initiatives in support of the queer community, such as Laura Derwentwater's calendar about AIDS awareness that aimed to destigmatize gay men.

Even with an eclectic mix of progressive bookstores and a thriving arts scene, Whyte Avenue in the late 1990s and early 2000s could not be mistaken for Edmonton's gay village. Edmontonians felt the city lagged behind Toronto, Vancouver, and Calgary in acceptance. "It would take a lot of courage for a business to hang a gay pride flag in front of their store in Edmonton. There’s still a lot of redneck stuff out here. The whole message from the provincial government is that we, the gay community, still don’t count," commented Narda Brooks, sales manager at Alternative Video, in an interview with the Edmonton Journal.

Instead of rainbow flags or pink triangles in the window, businesses would find more discreet methods to avoid public backlash while providing safety for their queer customers. A listing in the Pride Pages, for instance, gave queer patrons a convenient directory of businesses to explore. "We’ve got a whole section of gay books, so we’re just advertising to our customers,” Laurie Greenwood explained to the Edmonton Journal on the Bookshoppe appearing in the Pride Pages. Greenwood went on to say that larger “bland by design” businesses were absent from the Pride Pages for fear of offending "the loud minority", but optimistic activist and director of the Gay and Lesbian Awareness Society Murray Billett predicted the big chains could not afford to ignore Edmonton's queer community forever.

Conclusion

After 33 years and surviving the introduction of GST, Chapters, online retail, and two moves up and down Whyte Avenue, Greenwoods' Bookshoppe finally closed its doors in the fall of 2012 after the sudden death of co-founder Brad Greenwood. Since the store’s beginning in 1979, Greenwoods' provided Edmonton with access to queer literature, periodicals, events, and so much more. In a time when sexual orientation had not been a protected human right, when censorship and commercialization threatened independent bookstores, and in the years before the Internet, Greenwoods' was a place where queer Edmontonians could browse discreetly, find information about queer networks in the city, and connect with one another. While the selection of queer literature was only a small segment of Greenwoods' holdings, it was one of many allied independent bookstores in the city willing to make space, to be responsive to requests, and to fight against stigma and censorship in all of its forms. Womonspace News may have put it best underneath their list of holiday gift ideas, encouraging readers "to support businesses that support us."