Both a historical record and a celebration of unique stories, people and places, Queer Nottingham 1960-1990 gives us a powerful glimpse into the lives of LGBTQ+ individuals in and around Nottingham over three pivotal decades of the last century. It will be followed by a second volume, Queer Nottingham 1991-2020 in February 2026 to coincide with LGBT History Month.
For the two volumes, journalist and author CJ DeBarra conducted over 170 interviews with people who remember the times. Combined with archive materials and research, the story in the first book takes us from the underground queer spaces of the Swinging Sixties, through the fight for LGBT+ liberation in the Seventies, to the heartbreaking years of AIDS fear and activism. The stories told reveal the struggles, queer joys and activism that defined the community, and shed light on the fight for recognition and equality during a time when being queer often meant living in the shadows.
On the 22nd of October, from 7 PM at The Common Press, join Elizabeth Lovatt in conversation with CJ DeBarra as they talk about Radical Archiving.
The aims of the talk is to encourage others to take up radical archiving by explaining what it is, how it can help us, what we can find out and how to get started. It has now reached a critical point, given that soon, we won't have anyone queer alive who remembers LGBTQ+ life before partial decriminalisation in pre-1967.
Elizabeth Lovatt:
Elizabeth Lovatt is a writer of fiction and creative non-fiction currently living in London. Her first book Thank You For Calling the Lesbian Line was published by Dialogue Books earlier this year. The book, which is part social history, part memoir, reimagines the women who both called and volunteered for the Lesbian Line in the 1990s, whilst also tracing Elizabeth’s own journey from accidentally coming out to disastrous dates to finding her chosen family. It has been described as “a timely and vital exploration of how lesbian identity continues to remake and redefine itself in the 21st century” and “a heartfelt history of the gay community”.
In 2019 she was a writer-in-residence for Islington Pride and the ruckus! archive. In November 2020 she was accepted onto Penguin Books’ #WriteNow mentorship scheme and has an MA in Creative and Critical Writing from Birkbeck. Her dissertation was awarded
CJ DeBarra:
CJ DeBarra is a queer, non-binary, Irish journalist and author based in Nottingham.
The Notts Queer History archive was founded in 2022 as an oral history project to document the lives of Nottingham’s LGBT+ community from 1960 to 2025. Led by CJ De Barra, the project has involved over 174 interviews with people from all corners of the LGBT+ spectrum, covering several decades of lived experiences. These interviews and extensive archival research are being compiled into three books covering 1790 to 2020. The first book, Queer Nottingham 1960-1990, was released in August 2025.
The oral history transcripts, along with hundreds of donated items and media articles that make up the archive, will be permanently housed at Bishopsgate Institute in London and the Sparrows’ Nest in Nottingham.
CJ organises history events designed to inspire others to engage in radical archiving and grassroots history projects.