Northampton legislator honors High Five Books owner with state award
The Florence bookstore owner was among 147 women statewide recognized for her efforts to support LGBTQ youth and foster community belonging.
Lexi Walters Wright, owner of High Five Books in Florence, has received a 2026 Commonwealth Heroines Award from the Massachusetts Commission on the Status of Women for her work supporting LGBTQ youth and ensuring access to books and community for young people across the region.
Walters Wright is one of 147 women statewide selected for the award, including four from Hampshire County. Each Massachusetts legislator is invited to nominate one woman from their district who goes the extra mile for her organization and community. The honor includes a ceremony held in June at the State House.
Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, of Northampton, nominated Walters Wright for her consistent support of children's mental health and LGBTQ youth both at her North Main Street bookstore and throughout the community. "Every time there is something that is supportive of kids, supporting children's mental health, or supporting LGBTQ youth, Lexi is there," Sabadosa said. "She brings this sort of magic with her everywhere she goes."
High Five Books opened in 2019 at a shared retail space in Florence before relocating to its current location. Walters Wright, a 25-year veteran of the publishing industry who previously worked as a writer and editor, said she created the store to shift her literary work to a more local level while raising her own child. The shop focuses on spreading joy, inclusivity and affirmation for young people through carefully curated programming.
The bookstore maintains partnerships with local organizations supporting LGBTQ youth, including Transhealth and Translate Gender, to ensure young trans readers feel seen and affirmed. Walters Wright said the store runs between 60 and 100 weekly events each year, ranging from author visits to book clubs and gaming campaigns. In March, the store hosted New York Times best-selling author Tui Sutherland, who drew roughly 800 children to the Academy of Music theater to discuss her children's book "Wings of Fire: The Hybrid Prince."
Walters Wright explained that queer youth programming aims to help LGBTQ young people connect and feel like themselves amid broader anti-LGBTQ rhetoric. "Being able to provide families of young queer and trans kids safe, affirming places for them to go feels like a lifeline in this moment," she said. The bookstore will soon host a launch party for the second issue of "Chrysalis," a trans youth literary magazine.
Thirteen-year-old Phee Brewer, who moved to Northampton last year, said High Five Books' Affirmations Book Club and Dungeons & Dragons campaign helped them make friends and find belonging in a new community. "I just felt really welcomed as soon as I came in," Brewer said. "It's just a really fun, safe space." Phee's father Woody Brewer said the store provides middle and early teen years a place to be kids while affirming who they are.