Thank You For Calling the Lesbian Line by Elizabeth Lovatt

 A Hidden History of Queer Women 

Shortlisted for the 2026 GORDON BURN PRIZE*

'Compelling, funny, intelligent . . .

Thank You for Calling the Lesbian Line is a remarkable piece of work.' Kerry Hudson, Observer'Utterly essential queer reading.' Lucy Rose, author of THE LAMB'Deliciously informative and rigorously researched . . .

I loved it.' Julia Bell, author of DIRTY WORK

With warmth and humour, Elizabeth Lovatt reimagines the women who both called and volunteered for the Lesbian Line in the 1990s while also tracing her own journey from accidentally coming out to disastrous dates to finding her chosen family. With callers and agents alike dealing with first crushes and breakups, sex and marriage, loneliness and illness (or simply the need to know the name of a gay bar on a night out), this is a celebration of the ordinary lives of queer women. Thank You for Calling the Lesbian Line is a timely and vital exploration of how lesbian identity continues to remake and redefine itself in the 21st century and where it might lead us in the future.

Format:Paperback / softback 416 pages
Publisher:John Murray Press
Imprint:Dialogue Books
ISBN:9780349704630
Published:12 Feb 2026
Classifications:c 1945 to c 2000 (Post-war period), Of specific Gay & Lesbian interest, Of specific Lesbian interest, British & Irish history, Gay & Lesbian studies
Weight:292g
Dimensions:197 x 130 x 29 (mm)