Bob Orr (bookseller)

Robert W. Orr
Born	Edinburgh, Scotland
Occupation	Bookseller
Known for	Co-founder of Lavender Menace Bookshop

Robert W. Orr (born March 1950) is a bookseller based in Edinburgh, widely recognized for co-founding the Lavender Menace Bookshop alongside Sigrid Nielsen.

Early activities

During the 1970s, Orr was employed at First of May, a progressive bookstore in Edinburgh that focused on LGBT+ literature. In 1976, he invited Nielsen to collaborate on the Open Gaze bookstall, a gay and feminist initiative he established within the Scottish Homosexual Rights Group’s Gay Information Centre. Despite its achievements, Open Gaze encountered criticism for its provocative selection, including allegations of socialist sympathies and contentious material.

Orr’s letters and publications spanning 1974 to 1994 are preserved at the National Library of Scotland, providing a record of these efforts.

Lavender Menace (1982–87)

Scotland’s inaugural gay bookshop, Lavender Menace, was opened by Orr and Nielsen in August 1982 on Forth Street, Edinburgh. Orr articulated their goal as creating an environment where lesbians and gay men could access literature and community support beyond societal exclusion:

"Gay bookshops... don't exist simply to sell books. They are a space for lesbians and gay men to meet, leave messages — and feel central, not marginal... a space of our own where we can find a literature of our own is a good point for moving into wider activities."

In 1987, the store moved to Dundas Street and was renamed West & Wilde, managed by Orr together with Raymond Rose. It continued to offer LGBT+ literature until it closed in 1997 due to financial strain worsened by two arson incidents.

Revival of Lavender Menace

The play Love Song to Lavender Menace debuted in 2017 as a collaboration between playwright James Ley and the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh. Inspired by Orr’s guidance through significant queer bookselling landmarks in Edinburgh—including Open Gaze, Lavender Menace, and West & Wilde—Ley developed the production.

Capitalizing on the play’s acclaim, the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, and heightened interest in Edinburgh’s queer literary legacy, Lavender Menace was revived in 2019 as both a blog and pop-up bookstore spearheaded by Orr and Nielsen. The Lavender Menace LGBT+ Book Archive serves as a combined digital and physical hub that safeguards rare and out-of-print LGBT+ works. Both Orr and Nielsen continue to be influential figures in Scotland’s LGBT+ publishing and bookselling sectors.