The pop star's latest literary venture, The Manifesto Library, is one for the books.&nbsp;

Lately, books have become a much-needed anchor in the ever-changing, ephemeral world of Internet culture, and Dua Lipa is urging the world to read more. The pop star has taken her love for the literary arts one step further by launching The Manifesto Library, a sanctuary completely dedicated to banned books.&nbsp;
Housed in one of Portugal’s most storied and historic bookstores, Livraria Lello Porto, The Manifesto Library officially opened its doors on June 27. The Manifesto Library is a new kind of library, a physical extension of Dua Lipa’s online lifestyle platform <a href="https://www.service95.com/manifesto-library-launch?utm_source=ig&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_content=link_in_bio&amp;fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPOTM2NjE5NzQzMzkyNDU5AAGnhKM30Pu3vDeh7v1olv1WGxr6x2Ryu0NSHGzdOF8g-64vWmJ7uzfO4sL1gDM_aem_apjvgOwcFESqQAQ14_q9PA">Service95</a>, which operates as a book club, a weekly newsletter, website, and podcast.&nbsp;
In an Instagram post shared by Livraria Lello and Service95, Dua Lipa wrote: “This library is a shrine to the books that have disappeared, to authors whose courage unmasks structures of power and control, and to readers who refuse to be told what books they are allowed.”&nbsp;

The Manifesto Library’s opening day coincided with BABELL, Portugal’s first international literary and cultural festival that transformed Porto into a city of books. A slate of exhibitions, performances, and concerts made up the weeklong festival. Notable writers and artists also attended, including Margaret Atwood, Salman Rushdie, and Olga Tokarczuk, who all have books in the Manifesto Library.
To inaugurate The Manifesto Library, Dua Lipa’s Service95 hosted a Book Tasting in partnership with Livaria Lello, serving Portuguese wines from Sogrape. The event opened with conversations on censorship and explored four titles from the Manifesto collection—Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, My Pen is The Wing Of A Bird: New Fiction By Afghan Women translated by Parwana Fayyaz, and Patriot by Alexei Navalny.&nbsp;The 100 titles curated by The Manifesto Library are grouped in four core themes, or four chapters—power, control, voice, and memory.&nbsp;
Visitors to The Manifesto Library can browse an archive of 100 banned books in Livraria Lello’s new cultural auditorium, designed by architect Álvaro Siza, one level beneath Livraria Lello’s main floor. Unlike a traditional library, The Manifesto Library is a permanent, non-circulating collection, meaning that all the books remain in the library for readers to peruse at their leisure. Readers can access The Manifesto Library by purchasing a <a href="https://tickets.livrarialello.pt/en/1578-tickets/9583-ticket-voucher-livraria-lello/info">ticket voucher</a> to Livraria Lello, which can be redeemed for a Livraria Lello Editions book of your choice.&nbsp;&nbsp;

“A book removed from a shelf becomes a decision about the questions that are asked, whose stories are carried forward, and which lives are believed to be worth understanding,” Dua Lipa said in a video announcing the library on Instagram. &nbsp;
According to PEN America, book banning is more common than we might think. Recent data from a report conducted by <a href="https://pen.org/report/the-normalization-of-book-banning/">PEN’s Freedom to Read</a> team recorded 6,870 schools that banned books in the United States during the 2024-2025 school year.&nbsp;
The Manifesto Library’s collection of banned books asks readers to remember the authors that have challenged the way we see the world, to grapple with the narratives we inherit, and to imagine the stories that will set us free—a mission that has never been more important or timely.
The Manifesto Library is not Dua Lipa’s first foray into the literary world. She’s established her status as pop culture’s resident bibliophile with Service95 Book Club, which started in 2023 to unite her fans around a passion for reading and encourage conversation about books.&nbsp;
First on the list was the Booker Prize-winning novel, Shuggie Bain by Douglas Stuart. The Grammy Award-winning artist showed off her literary interviewing chops in an exclusive recording of her podcast, Dua Lipa: At Your Service, in conversation with Douglas Stuart at the prestigious UK Hay Festival of Literature &amp; Arts in June 2023. Over the past three years, the Service95 Book Club has expanded to include Dua Lipa’s Monthly Reads, lists of book recommendations, and exclusive Q&amp;As between the singer and featured authors.&nbsp;
So, what’s up next for Dua Lipa, literary extraordinaire? She’s been pegged as Guest Curator for <a href="https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/press/dua-lipa-announced-as-curator-of-2026-london-literature-festival-in-the-southbank-centres-75th-anniversary-year/">Southbank Centre’s 2026 London Literature Festival</a> in partnership with Service95 Book Club, which will run from Oct. 21 to Nov. 1.&nbsp;

<h3 dir="ltr" style="text-align: center;">Books in the Manifesto Library Collection</h3>

Power: Simone de Beauvoir’s The Second Sex, Omar El Akkad's One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This, Lea Ypi’s Free, and Reginald Dwayne’s Felon.&nbsp;&nbsp;
Control: Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Franz Kafka’s The Trial, Yoko Ogawa’s The Memory Police, and Ai Weiwei’s On Censorship.&nbsp;
Voice: Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses, Ocean Vuong’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, and My Pen Is The Wing Of A Bird: New Fiction By Afghan Women translated by Parwana Fayyaz.
Memory: Min Jin Lee’s Pachinko, Alexei Navalny’s Patriot, Milan Kundera’s The Unbearable Lightness Of Being, and Olga Tokarczuk’s The Books Of Jacob.&nbsp;&nbsp;

An Insider's Guide to Dua Lipa's Library in Portugal

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