Melbourne City of Lit Booksellers in Residence announced

The Melbourne City of Literature has announced the four Victorian booksellers who will spend a week in an overseas bookshop, as part of its Booksellers in Residence program.

The Booksellers in Residence are:

• Ellen Cregan (Readings) to the Third Place Bookshop in Seattle
• Heather Dyer (Fairfield Books) to the Book Hive in Norwich
• Megan O’Brien (Brunswick Bound) to Lighthouse Bookshop in Edinburgh
• Kate O’Donnell (The Younger Sun) to the Book Case in Nottingham.

The booksellers will spend a week in a bookshop in another City of Literature, where they have the chance ‘to observe, to participate and to exchange ideas’. Recipients receive a return flight and $2000 towards travel expenses, with the trips to take place anytime between now and December 2020.

Melbourne City of Literature director David Ryding said ‘it was when walking around a sister City of Literature bookshop (Prairie Lights in Iowa City) that made me ask, “how can we connect our bookshops of excellence across the Cities of Literature?”

‘It seems to me there aren’t really any obvious connection methods for individual bookshops internationally and I thought booksellers would enjoy experiencing a bookshop overseas,’ said Ryding. ‘I believe each country’s bookshops have things they do every day which, when reflected on by a visitor, are remarkable, and I thought a process like this would let our selected booksellers discover the everyday in another country, exchange ideas and hopefully create connections between bookstores.’

Applicants were assessed by an independent selection committee of representatives from sister Cities of Literature.

Category: Local news