Dua Lipa just wants to get the world to crack open a book. Since 2021, the pop star has championed literary arts with her Service95 book club. Now, Lipa is moving that mission forward by opening her very own library.
Dua Lipa just wants to get the world to crack open a book. Since 2021, the pop star has championed literary arts with her Service95 book club. Now, Lipa is moving that mission forward by opening her very own library.
Dua Lipa just wants to get the world to crack open a book. Since 2021, the pop star has championed literary arts with her Service95 book club. Now, Lipa is moving that mission forward by opening her very own library.
The first physical version of Service95, titled the Manifesto Library, will open on June 27 as part of new international book festival, BABELL – City of Books. Lipa’s library 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 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 favor 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.”
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 will be present 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 Libarary.
“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”. (NME)
Presented as part of the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary year, this year – also the National Year of Reading – marks the 19th edition of the London Literature Festival, making it the longest-running literature and spoken word festival in the capital.
Taking place from Wednesday 21 October to Sunday 1 November, the ‘Radical Optimism’ pop star will curate a series of events in the opening weekend (October 24 – 25 October), as well as events across the whole festival with her Service95 Book Club.
In 2023, Lipa launched the Service95 Book Club, and each month selects a book and sits down with its author for an accompanying podcast. Well known for being a passionate advocate for reading, a new press release notes her vocal advocacy for marginalised readers who face barriers to books, including those affected by book bans or incarceration.
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Commenting on the curatorship, Lipa said: “Reading has anchored me through every chapter of my life – from being the new kid at school in a new country to finding quiet refuge on tour.
“Curating the Southbank Centre’s London Literature Festival is a dream come true. I’m thrilled to indulge one of my greatest obsessions: books and the brilliant minds behind them. I can’t wait to dive into the imaginations of some of my favourite authors in one of London’s most iconic cultural spaces,” she added.
Mark Ball, Artistic Director of the Southbank Centre added that Lipa’s “passion for the written and spoken word has inspired a new generation of readers”, adding that they were thrilled she could apply “her incredible creative talent, her advocacy and her reach to connect audiences to our finest writers”.
Lipa’s curatorship of the London Literature Festival will be in partnership with the Service95 Book Club, and is set to include events that feature a mix of her favourite writers along with an array of free programming.
