Love books? Dive in to our city’s vast and wonderful literary scene by taking part in Melbourne’s Book Crawl. This joyful event for bibliophiles is a part of the worldwide movement, Global Book Crawl, which launched last year. For its second edition, even more independent bookshops are taking part, inviting readers to walk from store to store and connect with fellow book lovers. It’s on from now until Sunday, April 26.
Melbourne’s Book Crawl
This year, 45 bookshops around Melbourne are taking part in the program. 14 of them are located within the City of Melbourne, and the rest are scattered across suburbs like St Kilda, Northcote, Hawthorn, Yarraville and Belgrave. If you’re interested in going a little further out, you’ll also find bookshops in places like Healesville, Sassafras, Rosebud and Sorrento.
To take part in the book crawl, pick up a ‘passport’ from a participating shop, and collect a stamp from each place you visit. If you visit a set amount of stores, you will get a free audio book of your choice from Libro.fm.
There’s also other prizes to be won while stocks last, like Penguin Persona cards or a Global Book Crawl tote.
If you share your experience on Instagram, you’ll also have the chance to win a $200 Australian Booksellers Association voucher.
Of course, the real prize is the ability to venture around Melbourne, and discover a new literary gem. Find niche stores devoted to cook books, second-hand books, stories by BIPOC authors, bookshops with cafes and more!
Keen to try it out? You can find the list for Melbourne, east of Melbourne and the Mornington Peninsula here. Even if you can’t make it this week, you can save these lists and keep these stores in mind the next time you’re in the mood to browse some books.