The first of its kind, and still standing.

The first of its kind, and still standing.

In 1983, Jim Deva, Bruce Smyth, and Barb Thomas opened one of the first unapologetically queer spaces in Western Canada. For a lot of people, this is where they found their first book, their first community, or themselves.

This page is where that story lives on, along with the resources, events,  and people carrying it forward today.

A fight against censorship

Starting in the 1980s, Canada Customs seized shipment after shipment of queer literature at the border, deeming it obscene. Little Sister's fought back, through years of court battles that ended in a Supreme Court decision still shaping freedom of expression in this country today.

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The Tom of Finland shelf, explained

Why one artist gets his own corner of the store, and what his work has meant to queer visual culture for decades.

Walk far enough into the store and you'll hit a corner that's all his. Touko Laaksonen — better known as Tom of Finland — spent five decades drawing unapologetically muscular, joyful, hyper-masculine men at a time when that kind of desire was something you were supposed to hide. His work wasn't just erotica. It was an argument, drawn in pencil: that queer desire could be proud, powerful, and out in the open.

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Three people,  
one legacy

Jim Deva, Bruce Smyth, and Janine Fullers built more than a store. Their courage and advocacy helped shape Vancouver's queer history, and still inspire it today.

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Forty years  of belonging

For more than four decades, Little Sister's has remained a cornerstone of this community, a place people have found chosen family, attended their first event, or simply felt seen for the first time.   New owners and new decades haven't changed that.  It's still the place people come back to.

More than just a bookstore.

Since 1983, through change, challenges, and one landmark fight for free expression, this has always been a place that belongs to the people who need it.

A BRIEF HISTORY

JULY 24, 2026

Little Sister’s Book and Art Emporium opens

Jim Deva and his partner Bruce Smyth open the shop for the...

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1985-86

Battle against Canada Customs begins

Officials began seizing shipments of literature bound for the store, marking the...

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1987-1992

Little Sister’s bombed three separate times

While it was the only gay and lesbian bookstore in western Canada. ...

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June 7, 1990

Original constitutional claim filed

Little Sister's filed against the federal government, arguing Customs was violating the...

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1994-1996

Case reaches BC Supreme Court

With a 1996 decision confirming shipments had been wrongly delayed or withheld. The lawsuit...

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JUNE 1996

Little Sister’s moves  to Davie Street

The store relocates to its current location at 1238 Davie Street. 1996 was a...

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1998

Award for the Advancement of Intellectual Freedom

Little Sister's receives the award from the Canadian Library Association. In 1998,...

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2004

Janine Fuller receives honorary law degree

Little Sister's manager is recognized by Simon Fraser University for her role...

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June 4, 2026

Little Sister's earns  a stamp

Canada Post honoured Little Sister's, recognizing the store as one of the...

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The latest from the community

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IN THE NEWS

Little Sister's earns  a stamp

Canada Post honoured Little Sister's, recognizing the store as one of the country's most significant queer historic sites. There's an irony here that nobody at the store misses. For the better part of two decades, the Government of Canada treated Little Sister's as a problem to be managed — seizing its shipments at the border, deeming its books “obscene,” dragging its owners through a legal fight that cost a quarter of a million dollars and ran all the way to the Supreme Court. On June 4, 2026, the Government of Canada put Little Sister's on a stamp. Canada Post released it as part of the Places of Pride collection, which honours the sites and events that shaped 2SLGBTQIA+ history in this country. The stamp features the people at the heart of the store: Jim Deva, Bruce Smyth, Janine Fuller — and Little Sister, the cat who gave the bookstore its name. It was designed by Kelly Small and illustrated by Tim Singleton. It's a small object, and it carries an enormous amount of history. A business the federal government once tried to shut down is now part of Canada's official visual record, celebrated by a federal Crown corporation as a place of national pride. That arc — from target to tribute — says something about how far the country has moved, and about what happens when people refuse to be silenced. Jim and Bruce opened a bookstore because they couldn't find their own stories in print. Janine spent twenty-five years making sure those stories kept reaching the shelves. The stamp says, in the smallest and most official way possible: this mattered, this was real, and it's worth remembering. Not bad for a second-floor walk-up named after a cat.

local Events

Jazz Jams with the Hipponauts

Fridays at 6:00 PM weekly until September 4, 2026. A free outdoor live jazz session — and local musicians are welcome to bring their instruments and sit in. Every Friday evening this summer, the Hipponauts set up outside for a free, live jazz session — and everyone's invited to pull up and listen. There's no cover, no ticket, and no need to buy a thing. Bring a friend, bring a folding chair, bring a drink and settle in as the light goes down over Davie Street. The best part is that it's a jam, not a concert. Local musicians are welcome to bring an instrument and sit in, so the lineup shifts a little every week and you never quite know what you'll get — a standard everyone knows, a loose experiment, a horn player who wandered over and stayed. That looseness is the point. It's the musical version of what this store has always been: a place where people show up, contribute what they've got, and make something together. We host it because summer on Davie should sound like something, and because the neighbourhood was built for exactly this kind of gathering — a bit of music, a crowd that skews all ages, and no reason needed to be there beyond wanting to be. When: Fridays at 6:00 PM, weekly until September 4, 2026 Where: Jim Deva Plaza Cost: Free · Bring: a chair, a friend, and an instrument if you'd like to join in

IN THE NEWS

We made headlines again. Here's how

A roundup of recent press, mentions, and the odd op-ed featuring Little Sister's. Some of it's about the past. Most of it's about what happens next. For a store our size, we end up in the paper a lot. Some of that is history catching up with us — the court case gets taught, the anniversaries roll around, a documentary crew comes through. Lately, though, more of it is about what's next. Here's a running roundup. The big one: in 2026, Canada Post put Little Sister's on a stamp as part of its Places of Pride collection — Jim, Bruce, Janine, and the cat, honoured by the same federal government that once seized our books. The CBC, Canadian Stamp News, and a stack of others covered it. There's also been coverage of the store's next chapter: new ownership, a move onto Shopify, a refreshed look, and the exploration of a street-level home in the new Fuller-findlay building at Davie and Burrard. After forty-three years without a proper storefront window, that last one is a big deal. We made headlines again. Here's how A roundup of recent press, mentions, and the odd op-ed featuring Little Sister's. Some of it's about the past. Most of it's about what happens next. For a store our size, we end up in the paper a lot. Some of that is history catching up with us: the court case gets taught, the anniversaries roll around, a documentary crew comes through. Lately, though, more of it is about what's next. Here's a running roundup. The big one: in 2026, Canada Post put Little Sister's on a stamp as part of its Places of Pride collection. Jim, Bruce, Janine, and the cat, honoured by the same federal government that once seized our books. The CBC, Canadian Stamp News, and a stack of others covered it. There's also been coverage of the store's next chapter: new ownership, a move onto Shopify, a refreshed look, and the exploration of a street-level home in the new Fuller-findlay building at Davie and Burrard. After forty-three years without a proper storefront window, that last one is a big deal. In the press BCBusiness · Davie Village construction putting stress on Vancouver businesses · September 2026 · https://bcbusiness.ca/business/davie-village-construction-little-sisters/ The West End Journal · The Talk of the Town (September 2026) · September 1, 2026 · https://www.thewestendjournal.ca/blog/2026/9/1/the-talk-of-the-town BCBusiness · Why this iconic Vancouver bookstore remains a lifeline for the local 2SLGBTQIA+ community · July 24, 2026 · https://bcbusiness.ca/lifestyle/art/little-sisters-vancouver-bookstore-new-owner-parm-gill/ Georgia Straight · Little Sister's features in Canada Post's new Pride stamp collection · June 9, 2026 · https://www.straight.com/living/little-sisters-features-in-canada-posts-new-pride-stamp-collection Xtra Magazine · Canada Post just debuted four new stamps honouring queer historic sites · June 8, 2026 · https://xtramagazine.com/video/canada-post-queer-history-stamps-282430 CBC News · Vancouver bookstore that put its stamp on 2SLGBTQ+ history honoured by Canada Post · June 6, 2026 · https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/canada-post-stamp-little-sister-s-bookstore-9.7226204 CBC (video) · New Canada Post Pride month stamp honours Vancouver's Little Sister's Book & Art Emporium · June 7, 2026 · https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.7226489 Daily Hive · Vancouver bookstore gets honoured by Canada Post · June 6, 2026 · https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-bookstore-canada-post Canadian Stamp News · Canada Post's latest Pride stamps spotlight places that changed Canadian history · June 5, 2026 · https://canadianstampnews.com/canada-posts-latest-pride-stamps-spotlight-places-that-changed-canadian-history/ Canada Post Magazine · Commemorating the places and events that shaped 2SLGBTQIA+ history in Canada · June 5, 2026 · https://www.canadapost-postescanada.ca/blogs/personal/perspectives/places-of-pride-2026/ What's On Queer BC · New Era for Little Sister's: Iconic Queer Bookstore Sold to Impact Investor · May 11, 2026 · https://www.whatsonqueerbc.com/woq-bc-stories/little-sisters-sold We keep this page because the press about Little Sister's has always been part of the story, from eighty-nine words in the Vancouver Sun after the first bombing to a national stamp four decades later. The coverage traces the same arc the store did: from a problem the city would rather not talk about, to a landmark it's proud to claim. We're just adding to the file as it grows. We keep this page because the press about Little Sister's has always been part of the story — from eighty-nine words in the Vancouver Sun after the first bombing to a national stamp four decades later. The coverage traces the same arc the store did: from a problem the city would rather not talk about, to a landmark it's proud to claim. We're just adding to the file as it grows.

QUEER HISTORY

Jim Deva Plaza: Remembering a Voice for Queer Vancouver

The plaza bearing his name sits just steps from the store he built. Here's why Jim Deva's legacy still matters on Davie Street.

PRIDE & CULTURE

Pride isn't a season. It's Tuesday too

Some thoughts on what Pride month gets right, what it misses, and why the store treats the other eleven months the same way. Every June, the flags come out, the brands swap their logos, and Davie Street fills up. We love it. Pride is a party this community fought for, and we're not going to be precious about celebrating it. But here's the thing about a store like this one: the reason we exist doesn't take eleven months off. The person who walks in nervous and newly out doesn't check the calendar first. The kid looking for a book that reflects their life needs it in February as much as in June. The community that gathered here through the AIDS crisis, through three bombings, through a fifteen-year court fight — that community didn't show up seasonally, and neither did we. So we treat Pride month as the loud version of what we already are. The shelves don't get more queer in June and less queer in July. The staff who'll talk you through a first read, point you toward a resource, or just let you browse in peace are here on a rainy Tuesday in November too. The community board still fills up. The events still run. Pride month gets a lot right. It makes the community visible, it brings people together, it reminds the city we're here. What it can miss is that visibility isn't a campaign — it's a place you can walk into any day of the year. Corporate rainbow logos come down on July 1st. We don't. We try to be that place on all 365 days, and to be the same store in the quiet months that we are during the parade.

History remembers
the big moments...

Community is built in the small ones. In conversations, recommendations, readings, chance encounters, and all the everyday moments that made this place what it is.