History

 “More than anything else, Little Sister’s represents the power of community. It has never been about one person, or two, or three, or four. It’s always been about a community.”                                                                                                                      - Jim Deva (1950-2014)

Store co-founder Bruce Smyth ( - 2019) (along with his late partner Jim Deva (1950-2014) for whom the nearby Jim Deva Plaza is named), first opened the doors to Little Sister's Book & Art Emporium at its original location, upstairs in an old residential house at 1221 Thurlow Street in April 1983.

Since those early days, Little Sister's Book & Art Emporium has survived over three decades of challenges (ranging from years of government harassment to three anti-gay terrorist bombings).

In June 1996, the store relocated to our current premises at 1238 Davie Street and we've grown organically along with the city to cement our well-deserved reputation as Vancouver's "grown-up general store" for proud people of all communities.

After 33 years of service to the community, Bruce Smyth decided to pass the torch to new owners who, fortunately, already enjoyed a long history with the store and, since October 2016, the ship has sailed forward under our new Captain, Don Wilson, the store's General Manager and owner since Jim's passing.

Today, even though a huge number of book sales are purely digital and never touch us, Little Sister's Book & Art Emporium continues to offer a great selection of queer reads for all ages, vital coming out info, sexy advice & hot erotica for all...but we ALSO feature an award-winning greeting card section, the latest quality adult toys & supplies (*including transgender supplies, like binders & packers!) and fun clothing...all in a friendly, relaxed, non-judgmental environment.