Cola book lovers are still buzzing with excitement from the opening of All Good Books, and soon there will be an additional space to explore that offers not just a unique literary environment, but a safe space curated with queer people in mind: Queer Haven Books.
Baker Rogers, MSW, PhD has recently founded what is presently South Carolina’s only queer independent bookstore. The store just opened online, and Rogers is fundraising to get a brick-and-mortar location on Main Street.
As a queer person themselves—and with a masters in social work, a doctorate in sociology, and a position as Director of Arts in Social Science at Georgia South University—Rogers is deeply familiar with the experiences of LGBTQIA+ individuals and how various histories and situations impact them.
When Rogers lived in South Carolina previously, they knew there needed to be a safe space for queer people—a place where their community could be seen and see each other. Their first dream was to open a gay bar, but as they grew older, left South Carolina, and came back, Rogers realized what the city truly needed.
In Rogers’ time in academia, they have published a plethora of work in gender and sexuality in the US South with titles under their belt such as Conditionally Accepted: Christians’ Perspectives on Sexuality and Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights and King of Hearts: Drag Kings in the American South. With their work in literary texts, Rogers’ vision for Columbia crystallized: we needed a bookstore.
For them, a queer bookstore is the perfect intersection of education and community. Beyond having stock rife with queer texts—which is thus a space where queerness is the norm—Rogers plans to host a plethora of events, such as queer book club, queer-centered recovery groups, and classes on sex positivity.
As they work on this goal, they are continuing to expand their selection. Every book currently stocked in their online store is written by and/or either portrays the narrative of a queer individual or in some way addresses the experience of being queer. Queer Haven has sections for nonfiction, local authors, and children’s literature. They also sell a handful of gifts, such as keychains and cards.
Presently, Rogers is running the store out of their home—getting books from online bulk retailers and distributors and storing them in their house. Fortunately, the investment is already showing promise: Rogers shares that they have already begun to sell books online and at some of the events the bookstore has been present at, like NoMa Flea.
Unfortunately, Rogers and Queer Haven have received their share of pushback and negative feedback—particularly on social media and Facebook. However, Rogers is undeterred and asserts that this is only more proof that this space is necessary. The majority of feedback, though, has been positive, and Rogers intimates that they have received a good amount of support from locals.
Rogers has already met with All Good Books, and they are working in tandem with each other. All Good Books has a queer section in their store and can offer Queer Haven as a path for patrons interested in diving into those texts even deeper, while Queer Haven can direct patrons to All Good Books for various reading needs.
For the bookstore to take off and really begin supplying the area with queer space and queer literature, though, they need a physical place, and for that, they need financial support. Rogers has started a Kickstarter that ends on June 8. If they can raise $50,000 by then, the bookstore should open physically by the end of 2023.
If you can’t donate but want to support, you can browse their website, which houses their current stock and holds an Event Calendar with all upcoming places you can find them. They are also currently hosting a Logo Content for any interested artists.
Rogers named this place a haven because that’s what it will be. It will be a safe space, set apart from the harmful spaces queer individuals have to navigate in their daily life, especially in the South. Among current harmful political climates, it will serve as a refuge but also as an informative, educational space for both LGBTQIA+ individuals and allies.
As Rogers emphasizes, “This is a place Columbia needs, now more than ever, to provide education on the queer experience and to give queer people in South Carolina a place to go.”