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Dua Lipa to open library of banned and censored books in Portugal
“Because sometimes the most subversive thing you can do is read a book and then talk about it”
Dua Lipa is opening a library in Portugal. Find all the details below.
- READ MORE: Dua Lipa live at Glastonbury: a powerhouse performance to shut down the critics
In 2023, Lipa launched the Service95 Book Club, which recommends a book each month, with Lipa interviewing its author for an accompanying podcast. The singer has long been a passionate advocate for reading, and is set to curate the Southbank Centre’s 2026 London Literature Festival.
Now, she’s taken her book club a step further by opening her first-ever library in Portugal, which will be filled with banned and censored books.
The Manifesto Library will open today (June 27) as part of the new international book festival, BABELL – City of Books, and will permanently reside inside the famed Livraria Lello bookshop in Porto, Portugal.
In a press release, Lipa called the new library “a dream partnership” and a result of years of pushing her mission forward. “When I founded the Service95 Book Club, my ambition was for it to become a home for writers and readers, wherever they are and whatever their circumstances.
“Reading the world brings us closer — but sadly, not everyone is in favour of that,” Lipa said, adding, “Here you will find one hundred books that ask questions, or have been questioned. Some have been banned by school districts for themes of race or sexuality. Others, written for LGBTQIA+ readers, have been restricted from display. In some cases, the author has paid for their words with their life.”
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She continued: “This library is a shrine to books that have disappeared, to authors whose courage unmasks structures of power and control, and to readers who refuse to be told what book they are allowed to read. You are invited to visit and decide for yourself what belongs on these shelves. Because sometimes the most subversive thing you can do is read a book and then talk about it.”
Nearly 100 books are included in Livraria Lello’s new cultural auditorium, with each relating to four key themes: power, control, voice, and memory. Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Reginald Dwayne Betts’ Felon, alongside selected works from Salman Rushdie and Olga Tokarczuk will also be available in the Manifesto Library.
“For 120 years, Livraria Lello has been built on a simple conviction: the book is a technology of freedom. The Manifesto Library grows from that belief,” Head of Brand at Livraria Lello Francisca Pedro Pinto said in a statement. “Because what is at stake is not only the future of reading, but a society’s ability to imagine, interpret and build its own future.”
On a recent episode of her aforementioned book club podcast, Lipa hit out at the media coverage of the Epstein files, saying it was largely “doing such a disservice to all the victims”.
In other news, Lipa recently married actor Callum Turner.
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Dua Lipa is opening a library in Portugal. Find all the details below.
- READ MORE: Dua Lipa live at Glastonbury: a powerhouse performance to shut down the critics
In 2023, Lipa launched the Service95 Book Club, which recommends a book each month, with Lipa interviewing its author for an accompanying podcast. The singer has long been a passionate advocate for reading, and is set to curate the Southbank Centre’s 2026 London Literature Festival.
Now, she’s taken her book club a step further by opening her first-ever library in Portugal, which will be filled with banned and censored books.
The Manifesto Library will open today (June 27) as part of the new international book festival, BABELL – City of Books, and will permanently reside inside the famed Livraria Lello bookshop in Porto, Portugal.
In a press release, Lipa called the new library “a dream partnership” and a result of years of pushing her mission forward. “When I founded the Service95 Book Club, my ambition was for it to become a home for writers and readers, wherever they are and whatever their circumstances.
“Reading the world brings us closer — but sadly, not everyone is in favour of that,” Lipa said, adding, “Here you will find one hundred books that ask questions, or have been questioned. Some have been banned by school districts for themes of race or sexuality. Others, written for LGBTQIA+ readers, have been restricted from display. In some cases, the author has paid for their words with their life.”
View this post on Instagram
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She continued: “This library is a shrine to books that have disappeared, to authors whose courage unmasks structures of power and control, and to readers who refuse to be told what book they are allowed to read. You are invited to visit and decide for yourself what belongs on these shelves. Because sometimes the most subversive thing you can do is read a book and then talk about it.”
Nearly 100 books are included in Livraria Lello’s new cultural auditorium, with each relating to four key themes: power, control, voice, and memory. Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Reginald Dwayne Betts’ Felon, alongside selected works from Salman Rushdie and Olga Tokarczuk will also be available in the Manifesto Library.
“For 120 years, Livraria Lello has been built on a simple conviction: the book is a technology of freedom. The Manifesto Library grows from that belief,” Head of Brand at Livraria Lello Francisca Pedro Pinto said in a statement. “Because what is at stake is not only the future of reading, but a society’s ability to imagine, interpret and build its own future.”
On a recent episode of her aforementioned book club podcast, Lipa hit out at the media coverage of the Epstein files, saying it was largely “doing such a disservice to all the victims”.
In other news, Lipa recently married actor Callum Turner.
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