We're a large and growing Community of writers, artists, publishers, reviewers and readers ... with a difference. We're a GLBT Community, where the emphasis is on gay books. If you enjoy a great gay read, this is the place for you ... with around 1400 members as we rapidly approach the end of our second year online, we're going places -- and you're invited along!

 Many other writers' and publishers' Communities are thriving on the web, but you could easily feel like the odd one out, among the children's fiction, mainstream romance and self-improvement volumes. So many online writers' communities have a specific category for Gay and Lesbian works, into which we're firmly separated out. Historical, SF, military, crime, Western -- no matter the real genre of the books, if they feature gay characters or interests -- they're gay. Not here. This is GLBT Bookshelf.

 The goal of this Community is to support our publishing industry, encourage writers, reach and intrigue readers, foster sales, build careers -- not just in writing and publishing, but specifically in GLBT writing and publishing.

Feature interview: Red Haircrow talks to Mel Keegan about the art and business of writing, gay books, indie publishing, and  a whole lot more.

Featured Titles  

 How to use this wiki...!

Readers: are you looking for a partiular writer? Start with Authors A-Z. If they're with us, you'll find them there. Are you looking for a specific book, and you know the title? Start with Titles A-Z, and if the author, publisher or the book's fans have posted about it, you'll find it alphabetically. Are you looking for recommendations -- what to read, or what to read next? Start with Book Reviews... Are you in the mood for a story of a particular genre? Start with Book Categories.

Writers: are you new, and looking to hook up with a likely pulisher? Start with Publishers. Are you simply wondering who's reading right now, and what they want? Start with  Publishers Now Reading. Are you taking command of your backlist, and you want to repackage your titles? Start with Professional Services: Artists. Are you new to the trade and want to hook up with an editor to lick your work into shape before you tackle the publishers? Stary with Professional Services: Editors. Is your book already published, and your editor has dropped big hints that you should promote it? Start with Advertising. 

Publishers: are you looking for new writers, new stories? Get the word out by posting on Publishers Now Reading. Do you need the services of cover artists? Start with Professional Services: Artists. Are you simply looking for affordable advertising? Start with Advertising.  

Members: are you wanting to make your own pages, get yourself into the lists, be out there, be seen, be known? Simply start with Wikiing For The Rest of Us. It's a serial-style tutorial with rafts of illustrations and plenty of humor. You'll be up and running before you know it.

 Featured Reviews:

A DARING, DEVOTED HEART by Linda Hines, reviewed by Aricia

 STUD by Brigit Zaraha,reviewed by Mel Keegan

PAINTING STEPHEN by Jayne DeMarco, reviewed by Aricia Gavriel

ODD GIRL REVISITED by Artemis Smith, reviewed by Mel Keegan

  Looking for effective and affordable advertising? On average, the wiki as a whole gets more than 10,000 pageloads per day -- that's a considerable traffic stream, and with advertising starting at $1 per week, it has to be the best deal in town.

Why is on-wiki advertising so affordable? Because GLBT Bookshelf is still 100% volunteer staffed, non-profit -- our mission is to assist writers to succeed on one side, and help readers to find new GLBT voices on the other. You don't do that by charging an arm and a leg for ad-space!

Want to know more about our advertising set-up? Click here! 

Join us!
Registration is free! Rub shoulders with writers, watch publishers at work, get help with your own book, find a cover artist, learn how to market, and perhaps even publish your work -- promote and sell your books here!  Join as a Reader, a Writer, an Artist, a Publisher or a Reviewer -- all of whom can participate in our Community "projects" ... Want to know more?

GLTB Bookshelf is a wiki ... as a registered member, you can make and edit your own pages, embed anything from sample chapters and covers to video, and network to anything. Join us!

FEATURE ARTICLE: Ebook readers and ebook formats: a quick look at what's out there, and what might be right for you -- both your needs and your budget, by Mel Keegan. 

  Advertise with us!

Want a banner like this? Here's the deal: spend $20 or more on your campaign, and we'll make your banner (like these!) FREE!

•  Shop Amazon, support the Bookshelf
• The Booklovers' Lounge
• The Cover Art Gallery
• BOOK LAUNCHES  
• THE READING ROOM

Feature Articles:

• My Very, Very, Very Last Word On the Lammies (Victor J Banis)
• The challenge of marketing gay books online (Mel Keegan)
• Why Pirating Small-Press Ebooks Threatens Digital Freedom (Kirby Crow)
• Smashwords: what is it, and how does it work? (Buckeroo Bonsai)
• How gay paperbacks changed America(Ian Young)
• The ubiquitous torso (Alex Beecroft)
• Monetizing lesbian chic (Sara Lansing)
• Literary history repeats itself, for $2 a pop (Mel Keegan)

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Don't forget to join us on facebook, where the Bookshelf has close to 1,000 friends now. And if you'd like to keep up with special messages ... offers, competitions, sales ... be sure to join the GLBT Bookshelf Group!

 Did you notice we've added a lot more categories to the Find Books By Category master page? If you've issed our new Yaoi page ... here it is!

and...

New titles on our Free Gay Ebooks page -- now over 20 complete stories and novels. Discover new writers, hear new voices, and be delighted to find old favorites on the Bookshelf!