The Aesop Queer Library has returned to New York City in celebration of Pride Month. The brand’s annual literary initiative commemorates LGBTQIA2S+ voices by offering complimentary books from a wide range of queer authors. This wonderful program is back this June in partnership with the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation.

As the program heads into its sixth year, it is proud to have distributed more than 115,000 books globally. The 2026 edition of the library explores writing that focuses on the queer body, highlighting the power of literature to challenge assumptions and stereotypes, foster community and bring greater visibility to stories that are far too often overlooked.

In New York, Aesop Nolita at 226 Elizabeth St. will transform into a Main Branch Library from Friday, June 26, through Sunday, June 28, allowing visitors to choose a complimentary title from a curated collection of works by incredible authors such as Audre Lorde, James Baldwin, Torrey Peters, Ocean Vuong, Alejandro Varela, and Kristin Arnett. Aesop Park Slope at 225 5th Avenue in Brooklyn will also host a dedicated Reading Room experience throughout the activation period, serving as a smaller-scale version of the Library, but no less exciting.

Though Aesop may be best known for its skin, hair, and body care formulations, as well as its personal and home fragrances, the company also understands the power of literature. It even offers a virtual nook—a digital reading room where visitors can learn more about the brand’s story while exploring an abundance of others.

Aesop believes literature is an arena where the masterful communicator can capture all that is apparently amorphous and unknowable in the human psyche and transform it into a world-changing, and even lifesaving, tool. We turn to it to learn, to find meaning, and to connect more deeply with one another.

Aesop Queer Library seeks to place a worthwhile book in your hands instead of the cellphone you cannot seem to part with.