Dua Lipa has opened her first-ever library in Porto, Portugal, dedicated to banned and censored books. The Manifesto Library, launched on June 27, is part of the new BABELL – City of Books festival and will permanently reside inside the historic Livraria Lello bookshop.
The library features nearly 100 books organised around four themes: power, control, voice, and memory. Titles include Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, Reginald Dwayne Betts' Felon, and works by Salman Rushdie and Olga Tokarczuk. Lipa said the collection includes books banned by school districts for themes of race or sexuality, and works by authors who have faced persecution for their writing.
Lipa, who launched the Service95 Book Club in 2023, called the library a “dream partnership”. She stated: “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.”
Francisca Pedro Pinto, Head of Brand at Livraria Lello, said: “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.”
Lipa is also set to curate the Southbank Centre’s 2026 London Literature Festival.
