The Raven's Perch is set to open June 12 in Modesto, Calif., the Modesto Bee reported. The bookstore will carry new and used titles for all ages and will reside in a 3,100-square-foot space at 1208 J St. Alongside books, there will be board games, crafting supplies, literary gifts, and items made by local vendors. The store's event plans include live music, game nights, book clubs for all ages, and crafting nights.

In an Instagram post, co-owner Crystal Sweyd described the bookstore's mission as creating a "safe, inclusive space where children, parents, women, and LGBTQ+ folks can learn, grow, connect, and just be." 

"We’re just trying to find ways to connect all these different aspects and bring it all together into one spot to do art, literature stuff, book clubs and other fun things to just build community," Sweyd told the Bee. She owns the bookstore with her husband, Jeff Sweyd, while Amber Hunt is the store's media and events manager. 

"We want to have that third space that you saw on sitcoms and not have to spend a lot of money to do something or to take your kids somewhere," Sweyd continued. "We think it can actually exist."

According to the Bee, the space features a "moody, romantic, Old World aesthetic with whimsical and fantasy elements." The adult section features two suits of armor and is meant to evoke a castle, while the children's section resembles a forest. The shop also includes tables where customers can sit and read or play board games.

After becoming a parent, Sweyd wanted to create a community space where adults and their children were welcome to hang out and meet each other, and as an avid reader, she felt a bookstore would be a good option. Hunt worked as a dance teacher before creating a community nonprofit called the Little Luminaries that offered art classes and other programming for children and their families. They became friends when Sweyd's children took one of Hunt's dance classes, and before long they began talking about opening a bookstore and community space together.

"The Little Luminaries will continue here," Hunt noted. "I will be connecting it to the bookstore and even doing some dance classes here."

Once they decided to take the plunge, searching for a suitable space took about a year, with a number of detours--at one point they almost bought an existing used bookstore, and after that nearly signed a lease for a different space on the same street. They were finally able to move into their current home in early May, and because Sweyd had been collecting furniture and fixtures all the while, things came together fairly quickly.

The bookstore will make its debut next Friday, with opening celebrations planned to continue through the weekend. Festivities will include a free gift bag for the first 150 customers. Per the Bee, it will be the first bookstore to open in downtown Modesto since the closure of Readmore Books in 1999.

X&O Books, a romance-focused indie bookstore, will be opening this summer at 25712 Northwest Freeway, Suite I, in Cypress, Tex. Founder and owner Kara French told Community Impact the store will feature a combination of mainstream romance titles and local and Texas-based indie authors, while its main genres of focus will include contemporary, western and romantasy.

Additionally, French said customers will be able to shop from a "713 shelf" with local spotlights and a shelf of recommendations from her husband, or Mr. X&O, as she calls him. "Supporting independent authors and artists remains an important X&O Books priority," she added. 

The new bookstore will include a lounge and bar area serving wine and dirty sodas. French noted that as a Cypress native she wanted to create an elevated space for women in the community.

"This is what happens in your mid-40s--suddenly you have time and you might want to linger a moment," she said. "Or you need to sit down, because these knees need a break. I always felt like while I loved book shopping in the larger chain stores, there was not really a place to sit down and be with other like-minded romance readers."

In April, French posted on Instagram: "I've been a romance reader my entire life. Even before it was cool. I was the kind of kid who always had a romance book in her backpack and strong opinions about character development. After a really tough few years, I started dreaming. I couldn't stop thinking about a place where women could come in, pour a glass of something good and find their next favorite romance read. I realized no one had created it in my hometown. So... I decided to."

Left on Read, a Black-owned bookstore in Wichita, Kan., will be moving to a new, larger location next month. After nearly two years at 612 E. Douglas Ave., Suite 200, Left on Read will be relocating roughly two miles to 2721 E. Central Ave, Suite 121. The new space will be part of Revolutsia, a shopping complex made from shipping containers that features retail, dining, and a courtyard. Co-owners Latasha Eley Kelly and Corinthian Kelly will have around double the space for both books and events.

"When we opened Left on Read in November 2024, we believed in the mission to amplify representation, cultivate perspective, and empower community," they wrote in an announcement posted to Facebook. "We hoped Wichita would believe it too.

"You did. You bought books, attended events. You liked, commented, and shared. You supported Black authors. You shopped small, bought local, and supported Black-owned. You helped build this community." 

The bookstore will remain open in its Douglas Ave location until the new space is ready to open, likely in July.

"Thank you for the outpouring of love and support following the news of our move," they wrote in an update. "We appreciate your patience and grace as we transition."

Penguin Workshop, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers, will launch a new publishing program, Tinker, in Spring 2027. Led by publisher Daniel Moreton and editorial director Nick Magliato, with art direction by Lynn Portnoff, Tinker will publish commercial design-forward board and picture books "built for play" for readers ages 0-10, with a focus on publishing diverse and dynamic books for every reader.

"At Tinker, we see ourselves as the playmakers of Penguin Workshop--tinkering, building, and crafting books that spark curiosity and discovery," said Magliato. "Here, we approach publishing like a workshop floor where every book is an invention--designed to surprise, delight, and stand out in a crowded marketplace."

Each Tinker list will include a combination of seasonal titles, pop-culture picks, inventive novelty, and books to make readers laugh. The imprint is officially launching with six titles: The Big Book of Fun Fanciful First Words by Suzy Ultman; Pop! Playbook: Bad Bunny: Puzzles, Games and Activities for Superfans by Erik Forrest Jackson, illustrated by Alex Fine; Bite-Size Basics: Ice Cream Colors by Steph Stilwell; Could We Wipe Our Butt with That? by Gideon Sterer, illustrated by Charlie Mylie; Growing Up: Wild: A Height Chart Storybook by Rob Sayegh Jr.; and P Is for Pope: A Pope Leo XIV Alphabet Book by Pia Imperial, illustrated by Maria Gabriela Gama.

Marjane Satrapi, graphic novelist, film director, and children's book author, died today, June 4. She was 56.

Marjane Satrapi (photo: Mattias Ripa)

According to a statement issued by friends and family (via Deadline), "Marjane Satrapi died of sadness a little over a year after the death of Mattias Ripa, her husband and the love of her life." (Swedish producer, actor, and screenwriter Ripa died April 8, 2025.)

Born and raised in Iran, Satrapi studied abroad for a time and then moved to France permanently in her early 20s. She was best known for her graphic novels Persepolis and Persepolis 2, which were originally published in French and then appeared in English, published by Pantheon in 2003 and 2004. The graphic novels, which Satrapi preferred to call comics, featured an autobiographical character and chronicled her difficult childhood and adolescence in the brutal Islamic Republic. The bestselling graphic novels were made into an animated film co-directed by Satrapi that was released in 2007. The film won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for an Oscar in the best animated feature category. 

French President Emmanuel Macron called Satrapi "a great artist who turned her Iranian childhood into a universal tale."

Cannes Film Festival head Thierry Fremaux said, "Marjane was an extraordinary artist and a charming woman who embodied the joy of creation and the sorrow of exile and painful memories. We mourn her this morning."

Satrapi was also well-known for her film Radioactive, a 2019 live-action biography of Marie Curie that was based on a graphic novel by Lauren Redniss and starred Rosamund Pike.

Satrapi's other work included the graphic novel Chicken with Plums, about how a musician's life falls apart after his wife destroys his violin. Chicken with Plums also was made into an animated feature.

Satrapi directed The Voices, a 2014 black comedy about a schizophrenic character who hallucinates and commits murder; Gang of Jotas (2012), which Satrapi wrote, directed, and starred in, a film that also featured her husband, Mattias Ripa; and her most recent film, Dear Paris (2024), featuring several Paris residents who have brushes with death.

Satrapi's children's books included Monsters Are Afraid of the Moon, Ajdar, and The Sigh.

Throughout her life, Satrapi remained opposed to the Islamic Republic's repressive cultural and political policies and its subjugation of women. She edited a collection of graphic stories, Woman, Life, Freedom, published in the U.S. in 2024 by Seven Stories Press. 

Chris Paul (Rainbows) Farias kicked off a 40+-stop tour for their children's book Guinea Pigs Don't Wear Pants at the Revival Art Store in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

The book has drawn both high-profile praise and online backlash ahead of publication. Publisher Rebel Goose Books chose to respond publicly: for every hateful message the publisher and author received about the book, one copy was donated through We Need Diverse Books to low-income schools in conservative regions across the United States, resulting so far in 230 donated books.

Click here to see the latest Independent Press Top 40, the weekly bestseller list celebrating the bestselling 40 fiction and 40 nonfiction titles from independent publishers, as sold by independent bookstores across the country. The list is sponsored by the Independent Publishers Caucus and the American Booksellers Association.

This week's debut fiction titles:

17. The Iliad by Homer, translated by Emily Wilson (W. W. Norton)
21. Son of Nobody by Yann Martel (W. W. Norton)
24. Losers: Part Two: Deluxe Limited Edition by Harley Laroux (Kensington)
28. Birds of a Feather: The Secrets of a Knight (Ravenhood Legacy #3) by Kate Stewart (Kensington)
31. Playground by Richard Powers (W. W. Norton)
33. Just My Luck: Deluxe Limited Edition (The Kings #2) by Lena Hendrix (Kensington)
40. Wings of Life: Deluxe Limited Edition (Dragonbound Chronicles #1) by Meghan Le Fay (Page & Vine) 

This week's debut nonfiction titles:

3. Dangerous, Dirty, Violent, and Young: A Fugitive Family in the Revolutionary Underground by Zayd Ayers Dohrn (W. W. Norton)
4. Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life by Alex Mayyasi, Hosts of NPR's Planet Money (W. W. Norton)
5. Incorruptible: Why Good Companies Go Bad and How Great Companies Stay Great by Eric Ries (Authors Equity)
9. A Queer History of the United States: Revised and Expanded (ReVisioning History) by Michael Bronski (Beacon Press)
18. These Truths: A History of the United States by Jill Lepore (W. W. Norton)
25. The Lesbian Bar Chronicles: The Living History and Hopeful Future of America's Dyke Dives and Sapphic Spaces by Rachel Karp (Beacon Press)
29. Inventing the Renaissance: The Myth of a Golden Age by Ada Palmer (University of Chicago Press)
32. Sparta: The Rise and Fall of an Ancient Superpower by Andrew Bayliss (W. W. Norton)
38. Taking Manhattan: The Extraordinary Events That Created New York and Shaped America by Russell Shorto (W. W. Norton)
39. Dad Can You Not?: A Dad's Guide to Being Less Cringey by Chip Leighton (Countryman Press)

Bright Side Bookshop in Flagstaff, Ariz., shared an Instagram reel featuring "our queer booksellers gearing up to provide book recs during Pride Month."

Jess Goodwin has joined Kensington as social media manager.

Tomorrow:
Drew Barrymore Show: Brie Larson and Courtney McBroom, author of Party People: A Cookbook for Creative Celebrations (DK, $35, 9780593970027).

Book TV airs on C-Span 2 this weekend from 8 a.m. Saturday to 8 a.m. Monday and focuses on political and historical books as well as the book industry. The following are highlights for this coming weekend. For more information, go to Book TV's website.

Saturday, June 6
4:15 p.m. Alan Pell Crawford, author of This Fierce People: The Untold Story of America's Revolutionary War in the South (Knopf, $33, 9780593318508).

5:20 p.m. Zara Anishanslin, author of The Painter's Fire: A Forgotten History of the Artists Who Championed the American Revolution (Harvard University Press, $32.95, 9780674290235).

Sunday, June 7
8 a.m. Keisha Lance Bottoms, author of The Rough Side of the Mountain: A Memoir (Mariner, $29.99, 9780063420083). (Re-airs Sunday at 8:20 p.m.)

9 a.m. Craig Fehrman, author of This Vast Enterprise: A New History of Lewis & Clark (Avid Reader Press, $35, 9781982174248). (Re-airs Sunday at 9:20 p.m.)

10 a.m. Gayle Feldman, author of Nothing Random: Bennett Cerf and the Publishing House He Built (Random House, $40, 9781400060276). (Re-airs Sunday at 10:20 p.m.)

11 a.m. David Denby, author of Eminent Jews: Bernstein, Brooks, Friedan, Mailer (Holt, $32, 9781250193407).

12:40 p.m. Adrian Wooldridge, author of The Revolutionary Center: The Lost Genius of Liberalism (Pegasus, $35, 9781639369379).

3 p.m. Megan Garber, author of Screen People: How We Entertained Ourselves Into a State of Emergency (HarperOne, $27.99, 9780063415690), at Politics and Prose in Washington, D.C.

5:50 p.m. Andrew Fisher, author of Nathan Straus: From Macy's Magnate to International Humanitarian (Rutgers University Press, $34.95, 9781978843479).

Gertrude Stein: An Afterlife by Francesca Wade (Scribner) has won the 2026 Plutarch Award, sponsored by Biographers International Organization and the only international literary award for biography judged exclusively by biographers. Wade receives a $3,000 honorarium.

The award committee wrote that the winning title "represents a compelling original approach to Stein's life and work and, ultimately, our thinking about biography itself. Francesca Wade identifies key figures in the reconstruction of Stein's afterlife ranging from Stein's partner, Alice B. Toklas, to scholars like Leon Katz and Janet Malcolm, culminating in Wade herself. A ground-breaking addition to the literary study of this iconic and controversial figure, Wade's biography further offers urgent and exciting new insights into life-writing and how we read and interpret another's life."

Selected new titles appearing next Tuesday, June 9:

Contrapposto: A Novel by Dave Eggers (Knopf, $32, 9780593803509) follows a lifetime friendship between two artists.

Daughters of the Sun and Moon: A Novel by Lisa See (Scribner, $29, 9781982117054) takes place in 1870s Los Angeles, where three Chinese women struggle to build lives.

A God-Shaped Nation: Five Hundred Years of Religion in America by Brook Wilensky-Lanford (Atlantic Monthly Press, $38, 9780802167347) is a history of the U.S. focused on religion and spiritual movements.

Centennial: The Great Fair of 1876 and the Invention of America's Future by Fergus M. Bordewich (Knopf, $35, 9780593803363) explores the country's centennial through the eyes of Rutherford B. Hayes, Alexander Graham Bell, railroad magnate Tom Scott, and sculptor Edmonia Lewis.

The Fourth Branch: How State Government Can Save Our Union by Daniel Squadron (Zando, $28.95, 9781638933854) looks to state governments to counteract dysfunctional federal leaders.

Rasputin Swims the Potomac: A Novel by Ben Fountain (Flatiron, $29.99, 9781250776549) is satire about a professional wrestler in the White House.

Villa Coco: A Novel by Andrew Sean Greer (Doubleday, $30, 9780385551977) focuses on a young man working for the elderly owner of a Tuscan villa.

Children of the Wild: A Novel by Kevin Powers (Harper, $30, 9780063488571) follows a trio of young people in rural Virginia as the U.S. enters World War I.

The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris (W.W. Norton, $35, 9781324006848) is a guide not just to identifying birds, but how to identify with them.

The Traveler: One Man's Quest for Humanity from the South Seas to Revolutionary Paris by Andrea Wulf (Knopf, $38, 9780593803400) is a biography of 18th-century naturalist George Forster.

Devils We Know by L.T. Thompson (Bloomsbury, $20.99, 9781547615230) is the final title in the YA historical fantasy duology, Devils Like Us.

Greatest Bedtime Story Ever by Jessie Sima (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, $19.99, 9781665974523) is a picture book featuring an aspiring author who, while trying to find inspiration, finds a dragon instead. 

Paperbacks:
Waist Deep: A Novel by Linea Maja Ernst, trans. by Nicolette Sherilyn Hellberg (S&S/Summit Books, $18, 9781668246085).

You Won't Forget Me: A Novel by Mazey Eddings (St. Martin's Griffin, $19, 9781250343840).

Baby in a Box: Stories by Sarah Braunstein (W.W. Norton, $19.99, 9781324051060).

From last week's Indie bestseller lists, available at IndieBound.org, here are the recommended titles, which are also Indie Next Great Reads:

Hardcover
A Fortune of Sand by Ruta Septys (Ballantine Books, $30, 9798217093243). "Septys's adult debut has all the twists and turns you'd want from a story set in the Gilded Age, yet it is incredibly well researched and deeply poignant, bringing to light a 1920s Detroit we rarely see." --Ashley Michael, Plenty Downtown Bookshop, Cookeville, Tenn.

The Summer Boy by Philippe Besson, trans. by Sam Taylor (Scribner, $26, 9781668204047). "A beautiful coming-of-age story that captures the vibrancy of youth and weight of adulthood. Everything about this book felt alive: the setting, the characters, the emotions. So much is said and reflected on in this short book." --Athena Varvarezis, Towne Book Center & Cafe, Collegeville, Pa.

Paperback
Endling by Maria Reva (Vintage, $18, 9781984897596). "Endling is a rich stew of the foreign bride industry, nearly extinct snails, familial disappointment, and war in a scabrous, blistering portrait of contemporary Ukraine that is as eye-opening as it is entertaining." --David Enyeart, Next Chapter Booksellers, St. Paul, Minn.

Ages 4-8
Kindergarten Gets Ready by Naomi Danis and Pete Oswald (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, $18.99, 9780316581134). "Featuring behind-the-scenes classroom prep, from the selection of front-facing picture books to the counting of classroom chairs, Kindergarten Gets Ready will surely be of comfort to any kindergartener feeling anxious about the unknowns of school." --Jessica Devin, Brewster Book Store, Brewster, Mass.

Ages 8-12
The Second Life of Snap by Erin Entrada Kelly (Greenwillow Books, $18.99, 9780063485952). "A short middle grade novel for older Wild Robot fans from a storyteller who writes incredible protagonists. An ultimately hopeful story set in a hardscrabble section of an oppressive society. Note: this is not a gentle story. It is one of survival & questions of what makes us free-willed & human." --Leslie Darnell, Powell's Books, Portland, Ore.

Ages 13+
Ellen Poe: The Forgotten Lore by Diana Peterfreund (Running Press Kids, $12.99, 9798894141688). "After moving in with her aunt in her spooky Edgar Allan Poe-themed B&B, Ellen starts having nightmares and visions that lead her to believe that she might be a descendant of the haunted writer." --Manda Barker, Raven Book Store, Lawrence, Kan.

[Many thanks to IndieBound and the ABA!]

Home is where the heart is, or so the saying goes. But what happens when a family is forced out of the home in which they've left their heart? Or when a new family moves into a house that never quite feels like home?

In Andrea Uptmor's The New People, newlyweds Emma and Rachel have relocated from Chicago to small-town Riverbend, Ind., pursuing a tenure-track professorship for Rachel while Emma recovers, emotionally and physically, from a recent miscarriage. Coming to the small college town on the heels of the 2008 housing crisis, Emma and Rachel find that their city budget affords them an entire house: a small picturesque Cape Cod. But what looks like perfection on the surface turns out to be a poorly executed flip--a theme that becomes recurrent in their experiences as the two struggle to find their way as an openly gay couple in a conservative-leaning town. Between the emotional angst of a stalled writing career and the physical challenges of IVF, it's easy enough for Emma to chalk up the odd and inexplicable occurrences in the house--a leaky washing machine, a flipped breaker, a splash of orange juice on the floor--to shoddy construction and her own fatigue. But the reality is far more concerning: Charlotte and Dirk, the former homeowners, are secretly living in the attic. The arrangement is only temporary, the aging couple having been displaced by foreclosure and left with nowhere else to go. "The four of them were simply sharing a waiting room," Charlotte reasons to herself, "their lives suspended until someone's name was called."

In The New People, Uptmor moves through examinations of privilege and identity, extraction and gentrification, politics and parenthood, holding it all with a delicate sense of emotion that keeps this debut from ever veering into the territory of diatribe. Instead, Uptmor successfully balances the tender and intimate revelations about these two couples, worlds apart and yet sharing the same roof over their heads, with a sharp sense of humor and wry insights into the many ways the myth of the American Dream leaves victims in its wake. The New People is a carefully crafted story of what makes a house a home: the people that share it, to be sure, but also the community built (or not) around it and the many marks left, both good and bad, on the spaces inhabited. --Kerry McHugh, Textus Collective

Shelf Talker: Newlyweds move into a house, unaware that the former owners are living in the attic, in Andrea Uptmore's The New People, a story with a sharp sense of humor and wry insights into the American Dream.

Hay Festival 2026 took place May 21-31 in Hay-on-Wye, the National Book Town of Wales that features more than 20 bookshops. It is also home base for Hay Festival Global, which describes itself as "the antidote to polarization. We bring together diverse voices to listen, talk, debate and create, tackling some of the biggest political, social, and environmental challenges of our time."

Tim Wu, Sarah Wynn-Williams and Carole Cadwalladr at their Hay Festival panel.  (photo: Sam Hardwick/Hay Festival)

This year's Hay Festival made headlines internationally due to an event featuring Careless People author Sarah Wynn-Williams, who was on a panel called "The Power of Tech," with academic Tim Wu and journalist Carole Cadwalladr. The former Facebook executive remained silent "after receiving legal advice that taking part in the on-stage discussion could place her in breach of an injunction imposed on her by Facebook parent Meta. The festival had earlier withdrawn her book Careless People from sale in order to facilitate her appearance," the Bookseller noted. She was later given a standing ovation by the audience. 

Helen Bagnall, Hay's program director, said the panel was "an important act of solidarity for the silenced." The Guardian noted that in her introduction, Cadwalladr said: "I think this might be a Hay first, in which we have an author in a hostage situation. Blink once if you can hear us, Sarah, twice if [Mark] Zuckerberg is an asshole."

In addition to headline-making panels, the Hay Festival is about the thousands of people who make their way to the tiny village of Hay-on-Wye to bask in the aura of a place and festival where books and book people matter. Here are some bookish Hay moments that caught my attention on social media:

*North Books, Haye-on-Wye, posted: "Will you be 'reading with intent' or 'reading within tent' this festival? Bookshop customer, Hannah, created this splendid bunting with her own inspired spin on literary convention. Either way, drop by for your festival author books en route to hear your favorite authors!"

*BBC Radio 4's Danny Robins and Evelyn Hollow "take us around the Hay Festival book shop and create their very own book haul."

*One attendee posted on his Facebook page: "We went to 16 events spread over 5 days.... Just as important as the events was the atmosphere of the festival, especially in the hot sunshine. It was good to be in the presence of kindred spirits who enjoy reading. Hay has been described as the Woodstock of the mind."

*Among other projects, Hay Festival illustrator in residence Charlotte Hepburn was creating "live sketches," and noted: "I do the Hay program. I kind of started with the real things like the tents and the deck chairs.... I like drawing people that don't know that you're drawing them. It makes it less fake... plus it takes pressure off me if people don't know I'm drawing them. If it's rubbish it doesn't matter."

*Local artist Stef Thelwell, who was also sketching attendees from her perch in the shade of a tree, observed: "The really interesting thing about Hay Festival is that you get such an enormous array of people.... Each person has their own story. It's all part of one big story."

*Bestselling author Maggie O'Farrell was in attendance to talk about her latest novel, Land. 

*This year's Hay Festival Medal winners were women's rights campaigner and Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai (Medal for Education), British broadcaster and journalist Jeremy Bowen (Medal for Journalism), former children's laureate Michael Rosen (Medal for Poetry), and actor, screenwriter, and author Emma Thompson (Medal for Drama), who said while putting the medal on herself: "I love it. I shall wear it to bed."

*"Meet Simon, Hay Festival steward and resident chalkboard artist."

*"Guinness World Records confirmed Lizzie and Finn built the tallest stack of books in an hour, live on stage at Hay Festival 2026" and "Idris built the tallest stack of books in 3 minutes (under 16s) today, live on stage at Hay Festival 2026."

*Bestselling author Matt Haig was challenged by BBC Radio 4 "to find the ultimate book haul" at Hay Festival's bookshop.

*"Let's talk about Hay Festival!" The Enchanted Shelf, Newport, Wales noted: "It's been a very busy weekend so I'm a little late posting these, but i had a great day! It was my first time going to Hay Festival but it definitely won't be the last.... Popped into the town and had a chat with @the.wandering.chapter who was so sweet and lovely! Visited lots of book shops! Then back to Hay for our last talk of the day with the hilarious @saaraelarifi and @say_shannon! They were so funny, and brought so much energy to the end of the day. I giggled the whole time! Finishing the day off with an ice cream. It was exhausting but wonderful."

*One More Chapter in Nottingham posted: "A few days away from the shop, spent wandering through book tents, listening to brilliant people talk about stories, and coming home with far too many ideas (and books). Hay Festival--you were an absolute dream. Now excuse us while we attempt to fit approximately 47 new recommendations onto the shelves at onemorechapter.shop."

*And Gay on Wye bookshop summed it up well: "Hay Festival is over for now, Gay on Wye is here all year! Hay-on-Wye is the world's most famous book town and we're its only LGBTQ+ bookshop. We're here every day, and our online shop never closes. If the festival has inspired a reading list, we can help with that. The tents are coming down, the wristbands are coming off, what was your highlight of the festival?"