Founded on a belief in the transformative power of queer storytelling, the Aesop Queer Library returns this weekend for its fifth edition, in partnership with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). To date, the Library has distributed over 100,000 books to readers around the world. This year, the Aesop Queer Library celebrates the vibrant vocabularies crafted by LGBTQIA2S+ communities and showcases the power of language as both a shelter and a declaration of defiance.
“A reverence for the potency of fables has defined Aesop from the start—after all, the brand takes its name from a storyteller who won freedom from bondage with his yarn-weaving abilities”, shares Aesop in an official release announcing this year’s Library. “The Queer Library affirms literature’s ability to broaden minds and embolden individuals and seeks to provide a platform for underrepresented voices.” As with previous editions, each visitor will be invited to select a complimentary book to take home, while stocks last.
Since its inception, the Queer Library has had a positive impact on the neighborhoods and communities it has travelled to, by supporting and uplifting local bookstores and organizations. This year’s iteration continues Aesop’s partnership with the ACLU. For nearly a century, the ACLU has been a watchful guardian of America’s liberty, defending individual rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution—notably those of speech and expression.
Partnering with Penguin Random House, titles have been sourced from a diverse range of queer authors. The below stores in New York, Los Angeles and Toronto will see their shelves cleared of most products and stocked with books instead—along with aromatic accompaniments to enhance reading moments—from Thursday, June 26th through Sunday, June 29th, 2025.
New York City
Aesop Rockefeller Center
610 Fifth Avenue, Suite 7, New York, NY 10020
Los Angeles
Aesop Larchmont
128 N Larchmont Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90004
Toronto
Aesop Yorkville
94 Cumberland Street, Unit 3, Toronto, ON, M5R 3N7
The titles in this year’s full Aesop Queer Library selection include, Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, You Exist Too Much by Zaina Arafat, Girls Girls Girls by Shoshana von Blackensee, I Leave It Up to You by Jinwoo Chong, All The World Beside by Garrad Conley, The Skin and Its Girl by Sarah Cypher, Her Majesty’s Royal Coven by Juno Dawson, Disappoint Me by Nicola Dinan, The New Queer Conscience by Adam Eli, Little Rot by Akwaeke Emezi, First Time For Everything by Henry Fry, Flirting Lessons by Jasmine Guillory, Hombrecito by Santiago Jose Sanchez, Leaving Isn’t the Hardest Thing by Lauren Hough, The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez, All Fours by Miranda July, Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo, Continuum by Chella Man, Two Truths and a Lie by Cory O’Brien, Body Grammar by Jules Ohman, Necessary Fiction by Eloghosa Osunde, Stag Dance and Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters, The Guncle by Steven Rowley, Ordinary Love by Marie Rutkoski, Fundamentally by Nussaibah Younis, Cinema Love by Jiaming Tang, The Other Wife by Jackie Thomas-Kennedy, Marsha: the Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson by Tourmaline, The Emperor of Gladness, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, and Time Is A Mother by Ocean Vuong, A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara, and The Risk It Takes to Bloom: on Life and Liberation by Raquel Willis.
For more details head to Aesop.com.
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