Peter Hujar's images are all the rage, and, as The Atlantic noted recently, the late photographer "would be shocked." PPD has previously taken note of the acclaim that has grown around the work of Hujar, who died of AIDS in 1987. His work, primarily his masterful black-and-white portraits of artists and others, has in recent years become widely celebrated, and last year saw the release of a biopic of the artist, "Peter Hujar's Day." Now a new book, "The Wonderful World That Almost Was," by Andrew Durbin, traces the lives of Hujar and his lover and collaborator, the painter and installation artist Paul Thek. On top of that, New York's Morgan Library is opening a Hujar exhibitions featuring more than 110 contact sheets and 20 enlargements.

  Late last month, American booksellers hit a major milestone. Across the United States, 2,000 bookshops celebrated Independent Bookstore Day—breaking participation records. Based on trends from early 2026, the independent bookstore scene in NYC remains strong, with at least 34 independent bookstores in Brooklyn alone participating in the 2026 Brooklyn Bookstore Crawl last month. Above: The Lit.Bar, 131 Alexander Avenue, Mott Haven, The Bronx, ...