Carol Seajay is an American

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

and former bookseller. She cofounded the Old Wives Tales bookstore in San Francisco as well as the ''

Feminist Bookstore News ''Feminist Bookstore News'' (''FBN'') was a trade publication for feminist bookstores. It was active from 1976 until 2000, and issues were published sometimes bimonthly and sometimes quarterly. The publication was described by Tee Corinne as "th ...

'', which she edited and published for more than 20 years before ceasing publication in 2000.

Early life

Seajay attended higher education at the University of Michigan. During her last year in school she worked as an abortion counselor, but was fired after being outed as a

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

, leading her to purchase a motorcycle on which she moved to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1974.

Activity in the Bay Area

Upon arriving in San Francisco, Seajay attended classes at a

free school Free may refer to: Concept * Freedom, having the ability to do something, without having to obey anyone/anything * Freethought, a position that beliefs should be formed only on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism * Emancipate, to procure ...

in the area. She also joined a local feminist worker cooperative bookstore (the Full Moon Cafe and Bookstore), but it was eventually shut down because of unlicensed events. Several months later Seajay was taken on a bus ride to

A Woman's Place A Woman's Place may refer to: Television episodes * "A Woman's Place" (''Blue Heelers''), the first episode of the series * "A Woman's Place" (''The Handmaid's Tale''), the sixth episode of the series * "A Woman's Place" (''Time Gentlemen Please'') ...

, a worker-owned

feminist bookstore Feminist bookstores sell material relating to women's issues, gender, and sexuality. These stores served as some of the earliest open spaces for feminist community building and organizing. Prior to the spread of feminist bookstores, bookselling ...

in Oakland, California, by its

cofounder An organizational founder is a person who has undertaken some or all of the formational work needed to create a new organization, whether it is a business, a charitable organization, a governing body, a school, a group of entertainers, or any other ...

Forest Milne. She began volunteering and eventually working there, making her an early member of the bookstore's worker collective. She and Paula Wallace, a colleague at A Woman's Place and her romantic partner at the time, eventually applied for a loan from the San Francisco Feminist Federal Credit Union to start their own bookstore.

Old Wives Tales

While attending the First National Women in Print Conference in Nebraska, Seajay received a call from Paula Wallace telling her that the loan had been approved. On October 31, 1976, Seajay and Wallace opened the bookstore on 532 Valencia Street in the Mission Dolores neighborhood of San Francisco, naming it "Old Wives Tales". Old Wives Tales was a feminist bookstore which often featured books from

small publishers A small press is a publisher with annual sales below a certain level or below a certain number of titles published. The terms "indie publisher" and "independent press" and others are sometimes used interchangeably. Independent press is general ...

, and served as a

community space A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, to ...

for women in the area. The bookstore was moved to 1009 Valencia Street after Seajay and Wallace

broke up A relationship breakup, breakup, or break-up is the termination of a relationship. The act is commonly termed "dumping omeone in slang when it is initiated by one partner. The term is less likely to be applied to a married couple, where a bre ...

in 1978 and Wallace moved away. Previously a partnership between the two cofounders, it was restructured by Seajay as a worker-owned collective in the new location. Members of the collective incorporated the bookstore as a

nonprofit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

in 1983, the same year Seajay resigned. Old Wives Tales shut down permanently in October 1995.

''Feminist Bookstore News''

After returning to the Bay Area from the First National Women in Print Conference, Seajay founded ''Feminist Bookstore News'' to help those who met at the conference remain in touch. The five largest feminist bookstores donated $100 each ($ in ) to help start the publication. She published the first issue on October 14, 1976. By 1983, Seajay had stopped working in bookstores, focusing more heavily on publication of ''FBN''. Beginning in the early 1980s, she also drove a

FedEx FedEx Corporation, formerly Federal Express Corporation and later FDX Corporation, is an American multinational conglomerate holding company focused on transportation, e-commerce and business services based in Memphis, Tennessee. The name "Fe ...

truck part-time as a source of income. In 1990, Seajay won the Publisher's Service category at the

2nd Lambda Literary Awards The 2nd Lambda Literary Awards were held in 1990 to honour works of LGBT literature published in 1989. Special awards Nominees and winners External links 2nd Lambda Literary Awards
{{Lambda Literary Awards Lambda Literary Awards, 02 1990 ...

, held at the Las Vegas Convention Center by the

Lambda Book Report The Lambda Literary Foundation (also known as Lambda Literary) is an American LGBTQ literary organization whose mission is to nurture and advocate for LGBTQ writers, elevating the impact of their words to create community, preserve their legaci ...

. Seajay continued to edit and publish ''Feminist Bookstore News'' until summer 2000, when the final issue was published. Over time it became an important trade publication for feminist publishers, printers, and booksellers.

''Books to Watch Out For''

In 2003, Seajay began publishing an online newsletter called ''Books to Watch Out For'', with a lesbian-focused edition edited by her and an edition for gay men edited by

Richard Labonté Richard Labonté (1949 – March 20, 2022) was a Canadian writer and editor, best known as the editor or co-editor of numerous anthologies of LGBT literature.University of Michigan alumni American booksellers American feminists American publishers (people) American editors American women's rights activists American sexuality activists American abortion-rights activists