(Okay, Jess is biased, but it’s true.)

Happy June, friends! Outside it’s awful, but June is still the best month! First, it’s PRIDE! We are always waving our various flags here at Why Choose, but in June we are waving flags, singing songs, flinging glitter, and preparing those bricks for whoever might need them.

In June, we also get Juneteenth, and here at Why Choose we celebrate both Juneteenth and Jessteenth! (AKA, it’s her birthday.) We’ve got awesome plans to celebrate this year, and hope to see you outside!

There’s more this month, so just keep reading to find out what we’re up to…

Our pop-up this month is going to be a combined book sale and conversation down at 4th & 4th! We’ll still have books for sale, but we’re also hoping you’ll come hang out in our nice AC and discuss the highs and lows of queer romance with likeminded folks in the community! (Also please note we’ve moved it slightly later in the day than our previous pop-ups!)

How will it work? We’ll have a space set up for conversation in the round and an opportunity to sign up to lead a discussion on a particular topic (or speak TED Talk style, the way of sálons olde), or just listen. If you have thoughts or want to learn about the state of queer romance in 2026, come join us!

And of course, you can just pop in for a book or five. We’ll have a curated selection of queer romances and merch for you to browse, and we’ll break up the heavier conversations with a book recommendation or two. And if YOU have a book you definitely want to recommend to other people, respond to this email to let us know so we can make sure we have it there!

It sounds intimidating, but we hope it’ll be chill and educational. Or at least if you don’t learn something new, a worthwhile discussion. And you will definitely leave with a great list of books to try. (Not to mention it’s the easiest way to fill a few different squares on the PCPL/Tucson Spotlight/Tucson Tome Gnome Summer Reading BINGO for adults!)

Come for the books, stay for the discourse. See you there!

Here and Queer: A Pride Romance Sálon
Sunday, June 28, 2026 3-5pm
402 E 4th St (corner of 4th & 4th)

See you there!

We’re so excited to be a featured vendor at the Tucson Juneteenth Festival this year! The festival is on Saturday, June 20th from 6-10pm at Kino Sports Complex, which yes, is outside, but hopefully will be cooling down by the time 6pm rolls around. (Yes, I know it’s the day before the Summer Solstice and therefore is the second longest day of the year but you know what, we need to manifest the cool to survive the evening, okay?) We’ll be there with plenty of awesome books and merch by Black authors and creators.

Please note that Kino Sports Complex has a strict clear bag policy!

See you there!

Tucson Juneteenth Festival
Saturday, June 20, 2026 6-10pm
Kino Sports Complex (2500 E Ajo Way)

Why Choose favorite Emily Rath has a new paranormal romance coming out in August, and we’re the only Arizona indie participating in her Indie Bookstores preorder campaign! With your preorder, you’ll get a signed bookplate, really cool art print, and a sticker that Emily designed herself! We’ve seen the graphics, they’re all very cool. Also, the book itself is gorgeous (we are suckers for The Pretties at Why Choose and this one is particularly so). You can preorder anytime between now and its release on August 4th, right on our website!

It’s wild out there, but we know with each other we can find places of comfort, joy, and revolution. Take care and happy reading.

TL; DR:
Here and Queer: A Pride Romance Sálon
Sunday, May 28 3-5pm
4th & 4th (402 E 4th St)

Follow us on socials, tell your friends, and come out and say hi!