The People's Reading Grove.
Literature In Full Bloom.
An oasis and community space bringing banned books, special events, and the Freedom to Read to Palm Beach County, Florida.
We launched a Kickstarter !
Help Us Grow!
The People’s Reading Grove is our next leap forward: an outdoor‑inspired literary space for everyone.
Support us by backing our Kickstarter campaign and sharing it widely!
What is The People's Reading Grove?
In alignment with our mission to create literary third spaces and highlight banned and diverse literature at Embargoed Editions, we have become recipients of the DDA's Placemaking Grant to launch an outdoor bookstore project.
Gone are the days of traveling to Miami for a book fair, or Fort Lauderdale for an author talk or lecture series. The People's Reading Grove combines the charm of an independent local bookshop with an inviting, green outdoor reading space centering the same values of protecting access to diverse stories, celebrating literature, and creating an inclusive sanctuary for all readers. Launching in Fall 2026, right in the heart of Downtown West Palm Beach.
West Palm Beach Needs a Place to Gather Around Books.
In 2025, we founded Embargoed Editions as a pop-up bookstore in response to the growing censorship and literacy crises in Florida, a state leading the nation in book bans. After a year of traveling across Palm Beach County, we learned that people are ravenous for real, algorithm-free third places to connect and discover literature organically.
While celebrities like Dua Lipa, Solange, and RuPaul have launched initiatives around banned books, this movement belongs to all of us—teachers, service workers, students, retirees, and neighbors.
This project is also deeply rooted in local history. As West Palm Beach expands into a financial hub, rapid growth has led to displacement and the loss of authentic gathering spaces. We want to honor the legacy of Indigenous peoples, Black pioneers, and immigrants who built this region, including the Black laborers who built Palm Beach Island before being forced out in 1918 to establish the historic Styx settlement in West Palm Beach.
By transforming a cargo trailer into a bookmobile at Alexander Arts Park (Dixie Hwy & Fern St), we are taking a park corner that many locals currently treat as a dog bathroom and turning it into something magical, inclusive, and community-driven.
Protecting Books & Memory
Providing direct access to banned and challenged literature while operating as a gathering place that celebrates local history and centers stories from marginalized voices.
Organic Connection
Creating an algorithm-free zone for organic book discovery, deep conversation, queer picnics, feminist film nights, and real community connection.
Reclaiming Public Space
Transforming an underutilized park corner into a lush, welcoming outdoor reading spot—complete with open-air seating, rotating workshops, hosted book clubs, live open mics, and vibrant community programming for all ages.
From Concept to Community: What Your Support Builds
While our placemaking grant provided the vital foundation to activate Alexander Arts Park, this Kickstarter campaign bridges the funding gap between what the grant covers and the full vision we have for The People’s Reading Grove. We are raising funds to create a space that deeply reflects both our core values and the needs of the community we serve.
Here is exactly what community funding brings to life:
The Bookmobile Conversion: Fitting our cargo trailer with a climate-controlled interior, custom book shelving, exterior artwork, and a reliable generator to keep our mobile indie bookshop fully powered.
The Grove Outdoor Sanctuary: Transforming Alexander Arts Park with comfortable outdoor seating, lush greenery, shaded cover, and an accessible Little Free Library shelf for 24/7 book sharing.
Initial Book Inventory & Curated Collections: Stocking our shelves with a heavy focus on banned and challenged books, diverse indie titles, local South Florida authors, and marginalized voices that resist erasure.
Free Community Programming: Funding high-quality projectors for outdoor movie nights, mics and audio equipment for open mics, honorariums for "Lectures on Tap" speakers, and supplies for hosting vibrant book fairs and free community gatherings.
The First Chapter Starts With YOU!
Join The Pre-Launch List
Indie bookstores matter, and we hope you’ll give us a supportive hand in creating something epic. By entering your email today, you become a founding supporter of the Grove:
Custom Personalized Reading List:
Everyone who signs up before launch gets a tailored book recommendation list curated specifically for your reading taste by the Embargoed Editions team.
Limited-Edition Merch & Experiences:
Access to exclusive "People's Reading Grove" accessories, custom tote bags (like the one below), shopping experiences and more.
Shape the Space:
Direct updates on construction progress and opportunities to vote on upcoming event themes.