Shop
History

Established more than 20 years ago as a very small bookshop, Woodend Bookshop was taken over in 2002 by Peter and Rosie with the idea of a “quality secondhand bookshop” for Woodend. Their main purpose was to fill the shelves with good books. The reputation of the shop grew with visitors from Melbourne as well as local support.
Katrina owned it for two and a half years from 2016 and brought in shop cats. Stock continued to come in until the shop was crowded with books on shelves and books in boxes.
Ed bought the business in 2018 after retiring from working in the tertiary sector and continued the work of previous owners to keep the quality up. Organising stock and labelling shelves were priorities. A $1 bargain table was introduced to keep stock moving.
In November 2020, the shop expanded when Schatzi’s restaurant closed next door and the landlord offered Ed the space – an offer too good to refuse - particularly with a door knocked through the wall as part of the deal.
In 2022, Gail, a prize-winning mannequin dressed in pages of a book, was donated to the shop and takes a proud, night-lit position in the new room’s unused door space.

Community Interaction

The Woodend Bookshop has gone to great lengths to support the local community and is deeply involved with Woodend and The Macedon Rangers.

Woodend Bookshop Supports:

CFA

Rotary Textbook Exchange

Woodend Goodstart Early Learning Centre

First Nations Support

Zonta

Kyneton Uniting Church Monthly Book Market

School Work Experience

Woodend Winter Arts Festival

Asylum Seeker Resource Centre

Local Fundraisers

Woodend Bookshop can provide books for a community group fundraiser. The community group provides the venue, tables, the staff and decides what to charge. Woodend Bookshop provides a thousand free books to any site within the Macedon Ranges or Mount Alexander shires and collects the left-over books. The books will be popular titles in fiction and non-fiction covering many topic areas. A specialty focus, for example children’s books or popular fiction, can be negotiated. The profit all goes to the community group.

Contact Ed

Introducing Our Friendly, Knowledgable Staff

Any one of five people may be behind the counter. All have a good knowledge of books, the bookshop and a friendly attitude.

Ed Irons

Ed bought the business after retiring from working as a learning skills adviser in the tertiary sector. His studies have been in literature and art. As a keen reader with a good general knowledge, he shows some “type-A” characteristics in obsessively organising the bookshelves.

Christine

Christine is part of the brains trust of the shop. Her background as a teacher from primary to tertiary level gives deep understanding of the social sciences and education. She reads widely and can find out book information.

Mandy

Part-time early childhood teacher Mandy is a Woodend local who loves books. She takes responsibility for the considerable children’s section. She has worked in the bookshop for over a decade and knows its stock very well.

Jacqui

Jacqui has a background in publishing and retail and is a keen reader. She is very familiar with the shop’s stock and can research hard to find books.

Peter

Peter is one of the original owners who started the idea of a “quality second hand bookshop” for Woodend. In the shop he performs dual roles of backstop shop assistant and odd-job person. He, too, is a big reader.

0448 661 373