Adrian Cepeda

Queens, celebrated for its global diversity with over 100 languages spoken, is dubbed "The World's Borough," yet significant parts of the borough suffer as book deserts. Adrian, who grew up in Jackson Heights, vowed he would open a shop in the neighborhood that solved for that over a decade ago and in 2023, he did just that. The World’s Borough Bookshop is a novel store featuring literature from communities that call Jackson Heights home. Now that the store is up and running, Adrian has bigger plans to increase literacy in the borough: a book festival, a publisher to source from Queens, and expanding access to other neighborhoods.