Brunswick Street Bookstore

To celebrate Love Your Bookshop Day (Saturday 8 October), we’re taking part in a bookshop bingo. You can go into the draw to win a prize pack including over 45 books plus bookish goodies selected by some of your favourite local booksellers. Visit and buy a book from each of the participating bookshops in the week leading up to (1 October - 8 October, inclusive), and you’ll be able to fill your bingo card up.

Participating shops:
Amplify Bookstore (online)
Brunswick Bound
Brunswick Street Bookstore
The Chestnut Tree Bookshop
The Little Bookroom
Mary Martin Bookshop (all locations)
Neighbourhood Books
Paperback Bookshop
The Sun Bookshop & The Younger Sun

We've got booksellers on hand for last-minute Father's Day recommendations all weekend, cards galore, and a handful of books that the little ones might like to enjoy with dad!

Everybody act normal...

Absolutely thrilled to have Paul Mescal drop into the bookstore last night to say hi at our feverish invitation. Fitzroy has been abuzz with spottings for weeks so this quietly blew our minds. The shook state of the bookshop WhatsApp when these photos came through... just imagine.

The star of the TV adaptation of Sally Rooney's Normal People was gracious enough to get a pic with the lil' ol' novel that set all our hearts aflutter, and you'll have to forgive the shaky photography because well... 🤯

Thanks for visiting, Paul!

In it's 10th year The Stella Prize, a prize open to women, non-binary and trans authors, has delivered a longlist as diverse in form as in content and range, and we're so thrilled with this incredible list!

In the first year accepting the form into the prize, poetry collections accounted for a solid third of the longlist. And then there's a fine mix of fiction and non-fiction, with genre-bending essays, a graphic novel, two short story collections and two cracking novels! We're also so impressed with the representation of a wonderful mix of small and medium size publishers too.

You may remember that Rachael, a Stella devotee, tackled (and read all of) last year's longlist. After attending the Stella event earlier this week she's now thrilled to be diving into this stack and dedicating her March (and let's face it, likely April) to reading through this year's longlist. Let us know what you've either loved or have on your to read list!

The longlist, in all it's glory, as pictured:
* Dropbear by Evelyn Araluen
* No Document by Anwen Crawford
* TAKE CARE by Eunice Andrada
* Permafrost by SJ Norman
* Coming of Age in the War on Terror by Randa Abdel-Fattah
* She Is Haunted by Paige Clark
* Bodies of Light by Jennifer Down
* Another Day in the Colony by Chelsea Watego
* Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray by Anita Heiss
And out of stock but soon in:
* Stone Fruit by Lee Lai
* Homecoming by Elfie Shiosaki
* The Open by Lucy Van

Image Decription: A stack of books listed above on a wooden table next to a bookstore plant

"This is the story of great passion. Of respect. Of understanding and intuiting that intrinsic sense of place. Of being part of this ancient land of ours. Of touching this earth lightly. Of sensing awe and wonderment and so eschewing total domination. Choosing to live with a sense of joy and at times playfulness in a world where we are increasingly aware that creating beauty and living joyfully are antidotes to an unsettling world at times."

Now this is an ethos we can get behind! Beautiful words from a foreword by Trisha Dixon that primes you for all that is wonderful within Soulscape: Connecting Gardens to Landscape. And, there's a lot that's wonderful; from the journey through ten gardens located along the world-famous Great Ocean Road, to the 'how to' tips and the visual glossary that'll have you identifying native and indigenous plants in no time.

We were stoked to have Peter Shaw of long-running drop in to sign copies of his stunning book this afternoon.

Signed copies in-store now, or jump on our website for free delivery Australia-wide and drop a comment asking for a signed copy in the comments field!

Brunswick Street Bookstore updated their phone number.

Brunswick Street Bookstore updated their phone number.

We’re stocked up with plenty of incredible fiction, non-fiction, poetry, and children’s books from Indigenous Australian authors. These are just some of the books we recommend for reading today. Pop in store to see more.

🖤💛❤️

Open from 10-7 today.

Image Descriptions:
Image 1- Someone holds up ‘Somebody’s Land’ by and to shop front window.

Image 2- Someone holds a stack of books by various Indigenous Australian authors.

Image 3- ‘Welcome to Country’ by , ‘Finding the Heart of the Nation’ by , and ‘Loving Country’ by Bruce Pascoe and Vicky Shukuroglou are stacked on table at shop entrance.

Image 4- various books by Indigenous Australian authors set up in store.

Love & Virtue, the book we literally can’t stop/won’t stop talking about at Brunswick Street Bookstore. Today we were blessed to have Diana Reid come in to sign books and have a chat with us. In our eyes, Diana has penned the perfect contemporary campus novel that Australia has been waiting for. Love & Virtue touches on feminism, consent, privilege, and will make you question your beliefs about what’s right and wrong. Leaving the reader in a philosophical tangle, Love & Virtue makes for a fantastic book club read.

In the words of the inimitable Helen Garner…‘an absolute cracker, Love & Virtue lobs right into the current moment with a clarifying light. I hope EVERYONE reads this book.’ We couldn’t agree more.

Get your signed copy in store or online now.

Image Description: The lovely Diana Reid stands behind a table with three large stacks of her novel ‘Love & virtue’. She is holding up a copy, and smiling at the camera.

We're counting down to this evening when we'll be curling up on the couch with Books That Made Us, the three-part documentary kicking off this evening on , hosted by Claudia Karvan. It's a literary odyssey to explore the stories that have shaped our nation’s identity, and we can't wait to watch it.

We've got the show's companion title Books That Made Us, authored by Carl Reinecke, in store now, and we're just in love with the cover's incredible carved book art from talented book sculptor too.

Image Description: A blue book, the cover shows layers and layers of a book's pages cleverly carved down into the shape of Australia.

#BooksThatMadeUs

Random Tuesday trio…

Happy Saturday book lovers!

If you’ve seen our newsletter you might have seen that we’re running a special deal…

For this weekend we’ve put together a list of our Top 10 Rainy Reads ☔️

Buy one online before Tuesday and you’ll be in the running to win the WHOLE stack. You read that right 📚

Buy at: www.mylocalbookshop.com.au

Image description: Stack of 10 books

🎉 GIVEAWAY 🎉

This morning we had the absolute pleasure of meeting the luminous Christos Tsiolkas. These are the days that make you proud to be a book seller.

And as you can see, we’ve got a stack of signed copies of his new novel, 7½.

Tag two friends in the comments below to win a free signed copy. Winner will be announced on Tuesday at 11am!

#7½

The 2021 winner is here!

2021 Chair of Judges Bernardine Evaristo, said: “We wanted to find a book that we’d press into readers’ hands, which would have a lasting impact. With her first novel in seventeen years, Susanna Clarke has given us a truly original, unexpected flight of fancy which melds genres and challenges preconceptions about what books should be. She has created a world beyond our wildest imagination that also tells us something profound about what it is to be human.”

We've got this gem in small format at a price that's a real steal, and we have a small handful of beautiful hardbacks if you like your prizewinners free of the endorsements and printed on stickers!

She's in our hot little hands!

The much anticipated new Sally Rooney novel Beautiful World, Where Are You, is finally here.

We're in store until 4PM today so shoot through an online order or call us on 9416 1030 to reserve your copy for click and collect.

We've got Fathers Day options all wrapped up! 🎁 💝 🤗

We're here 10–4 Friday and Saturday, and, if you're really last minute, 11–3 on Sunday for all your book gifting needs.

Complimentary wrapping and a puntastic collection of cards that'll suit any dad.

If you'd like gift-wrapping just pop a note in your click and collect orders (and then wait til we send you a text that your order is ready) or buzz us with a phone order on 9416 1030.


Local

Life is tough but so are you, Melbourne!

On Day 201 of our fine city's cumulative lockdown these were the click and collect orders that greeted us this morning.

We love seeing what you're reading and even more we love seeing your smiling faces at the door—we know you're smiling under your masks—when you pop by to collect your new beauties.

When Rachael isn't in the store she's often eating cake, so inspired by Emilie over at she decided to get stuck into some lockdown baking on her day off today. Turns out it's impossible to photograph a cake before knowing if it tastes any good, and can confirm this one's delish! 🤤🍎

Straight out of Ottolenghi's Simple, substituting Fuji for Bramston apples because Australia.

What cookbooks are you turning to this lockdown? And what should Rach bake next week?

Photos from Brunswick Street Bookstore's post

Brunswick Street Bookstore updated their business hours.

Brunswick Street Bookstore updated their business hours.

We sold out of all of our initial stock Small Joys of Real Life by Allee Richards in two days, and we're stoked to have this joy of a book restocked just in time for Melbourne's lockdown extension!

It's as Melbourne a novel as they come, with early comparisons to Helen Garner's Monkey Grip, no less. If you're a Northsider you're especially going to love recognising the Northcote Social Club and other iconic spots. You're going to feel the rush of whizzing up and down High Street on a bike too. It's the perfect lockdown read.

Small Joys of Real Life is a gentle read; an ode to figuring life out in your twenties, redefining what family looks like, and complex and sometimes messy female friendships.

For fans of Jennifer Down, Victoria Hannan, Laura McPhee-Browne and and all the talented young writers we're lucky enough to call local!

The Women's Prize 2021 is announced on September 8th, meaning we've got a month left to work through the shortlist.

Let us know if you've any faves from the shortlist, or what you have fingers crossed for!

The shortlist, pictured from left to right:
⭐ Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
💫 Transcendant Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi
⭐ Unsettled Ground by Claire Fuller
💫 How the One-Armed Sister Swept Her House by Cherie Jones
⭐ No One Is Talking About This by Patricia Lockwood
💫 The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

Available for click and collect from 10 - 4, give us a call on 9416 1030 to pop one aside for you, or jump on our website at www.mylocalbookshop.com.au

Complementary Reads: What do Charlotte McConaghy's Once There Were Wolves and Nature's Palette have in common? The Werner's Nomenclature of Colours (1821), a colour reference system from the natural world, pairing colour swathes with examples from the vegetable, animal and mineral kingdoms.

🎨 Nature's Palette is a fully illustrated ode to Werner's, with the 110 colours illustrated with the referenced species,, with specimens from contempoary collect's matched to these colour swathes.

🐺 Once There Were Wolves is a thrilling novel about a woman's quest to reintroduce wolves into the remote Highlands of Scotland. It's part cli-fi, part thriller, part love story and an absorbing read! Our protagonist, Inti, was raised between Canada and Australia, and references Werner's throughout the novel as she explores her relationship with nature and the wilderness around her.

If you're looking for some escapism, or some immersion in the outdoors and nature, Rachael fully recommends getting lost in shades of Prussian blue in either of these books!

Choose Your Fighter Lockdown Version 6.0: Just a few titles that might sum up the mood on Day 1!

Of course we're all old pros at this now, and you know what to do. We're open from 10 - 4 daily for contactless click and collect and phone orders. Give us a bell on 9416 1030 or jump onto the website at any hour of the day over at www.mylocalbookshop.com.au

We've also got free postage nationwide for orders over $50, and free express post for orders over $100 if you want to support an independent bookstore from afar.

4:15PM press conference got us like...

Nostalgia Has Ruined My Life is a fragmentary novella and a darkly comedic offering from Kiwi author Zarah Butcher-McGunnigle. Easily devoured in a single sitting, it's got lines like "I want to pick blackberries on a farm and then die"... if that makes you laugh morbidly (like it did for Rachael) then this sliver of a book is going to be your jam.

Out from the always impressive and in store now.

Now, Melbourne, real talk. We're open until 8PM this evening for all your lockdown reading needs, and remember that our website is always open for click and collect orders too.

It's less than a month to and we couldn't be more hyped. This stack represents some of the stellar international authors in the MWF Digital Program, but there is also an absolute plethora of Australian talent across the program (some of which we'll highlight over the coming weeks).

Congratulations to Festival [email protected] and all at Melbourne Writers Festival for giving us something spectacular to count down to!

A contender for best title of 2021, and one of Rachael's favourite reads of the year to boot, Everyone In This Room Will Someday Be Dead by Canadian author Emily Austin is in store now.

An exquisitely funny, warm, and in turns heartbreaking and life-affirming, exploration of one young woman's experience coming of age with an anxious mind and an inability to stop thinking about death.

For those forever in the throes of existential angst. For fans of Meg Mason's Sorrow & Bliss, Halle Butler and Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

Chuffed to have author and Melbourne bookseller extraordinaire in store to sign copies of Garden Like A Nonno today.

Limited seed packets, harvested from Jacyln's own garden, available with purchase while they last!

In 2019, Bridie Jabour wrote a piece for the Guardian about the malaise of millennials and how the painful, protracted end of their adolescence is finally hitting home. They're looking at their lives and thinking: 'Is this it? Have I chosen the right place to live, the right job, the right partner? Am I, perhaps, not as special as I thought?'

The article went viral overnight and Bridie decided the time had come to write a book about her generation - those much-maligned millennials.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSBcpb_qZnm/?utm_medium=copy_link

In 2019, Bridie Jabour wrote a piece for the Guardian about the malaise of millennials and how the painful, protracted end of their adolescence is finally hitting home. They're looking at their lives and thinking: 'Is this it? Have I chosen the right place to live, the right job, the right partner? Am I, perhaps, not as special as I thought?' The article went viral overnight and Bridie decided the time had come to write a book about her generation - those much-maligned millennials.

And just like that we're open for browsing again! We're open 10 - 8 Wednesday to Saturday and 10 - 7 Sunday to Tuesday and we can't wait to see you.

Masks and QR code check-in essential, and limited numbers for browsing, but we know you're all pros at this now, Melbourne.

We can't wait to handsell you books again, and for those wanting to keep their visit short and snappy we're still offering click and collect!

Home

We're looking forward to the inaugural Victorian Speculative Fiction Festival taking place at the end of the month. Follow the link for info on guests, panels and tickets. See you there! https://www.specfic.com.au/

Home Speculate is Victoria's Science Fiction and Fantasy festival, featuring the best of Australian Speculative Fiction.