Dua Lipa pushes for free speech in literature, opening a library fully dedicated to stocking banned and censored books
The Manifesto Library is a physical space that Dua Lipa has created, housing banned and censored books and stationed inside the historic Livraria Lello bookshop in Porto, Portugal. The library features roughly 100 titles exploring power, control, and female/feminist voice.
Pop provocateur Dua Lipa has never been one to play it safe, but her latest move might be her boldest remix yet: opening a library dedicated entirely to banned books.
Part cultural sanctuary, part middle finger to censorship, the space is set to house titles that have rattled institutions and sparked debate for decades.
Think George Orwell’s 1984 – a chilling blueprint of surveillance and control; Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird – still challenged for its unflinching take on race; and J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye – once deemed too rebellious for young minds. And yes, Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale will sit proudly on shelves, its dystopian warnings more relevant than ever.
Lipa’s vision isn’t just about nostalgia, it’s about access. In an age where information is increasingly curated, filtered, and quietly erased, this library feels like a neon-lit act of resistance. It invites readers to question, to feel uncomfortable, and to rediscover the radical power of words.
In true Dua, it’s not just a space, it’s a statement. A good loud one at that.
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