On Saturday, I joined 19 other people for the Eclectic Bookshops Walk from Federation Square - one of the Melbourne Writers' Festival's more energetic events, involving nearly two hours of walking round the city.
If you've seen the Writers' Festival program, thought the walk sounded interesting, then baulked at the $45 fee ... seriously, this walk is well worth the money. I discovered a couple of bookshops I'd never heard of before - the amazing and arty Metropolis Bookshop (up three steep flights of stairs ... also worth it!) and the sci fi/fantasy bookshop Science and Swords - as well as the Sticky Institute, which produces zines, and Mag Nation, three floors of wall-to-wall magazines. And it included some great bookshops already known to me, but definitely worth a visit or re-visit: Kill City, Minotaur, the Haunted Bookshop, and the very lovely Kay Craddock antiquarian bookshop.
Time allowed only five minutes or so in every shop, though we did get a bit more time in Metropolis (our penultimate destination - the last one was a cafe, for more than welcome coffee and cake). This was probably a good thing, given the walk was strenuous enough without having bags of books to carry! It was also a chance to explore some of Melbourne's lanes and alleys, and to see buildings once part of Melbourne's publishing history - such as the original Herald Sun building.
Apparently the tour will change slightly for next year, as they are planning to add some new bookshops. In the interim, I'll need to go into the city a few times and spend a lot more time browsing in Kay Craddock, the Haunted Bookshop, et al. ...
