Literature lovers behold – the annual Back to Booktown event at Clunes is upon us.
Clunes, population 1,650, is located just 30 minutes north of Ballarat and an hour and a half from Melbourne, and is one of the most architecturally intact 19th Century towns in Victoria's Central Goldfields. It was the place of Victoria's first registered gold discovery, which subsequently triggered the first
Gold Rush in the state.
But that was years ago and in recent times, the bluestone, sandstone and brick building-lined streets of Clunes have been the backdrop to many television series and films and come May, the small town goes through its annual transformation into an all-out Booktown.
Despite its humble beginnings in 2007, Back to Booktown now attracts over 15,000 visitors annually, a success due in large part to the hardworking townspeople who band together to create it.
On the weekend of May 1st-2nd 2010, over 60 booksellers from around the country will set up shop and offer thousands of second-hand, rare and out-of-print books for sale. Free talks at the event from an extraordinary line-up of literary legends including
Sonya Hartnett, Toni Jordan and
Arnold Zable, among others, are very much the book lovers' dream, and the politically inclined among them will be pleased to know that former Prime Minister
Malcolm Fraser will be in attendance to launch his memoirs.
If that isn't enough to get you there, there will be food, wine and live music. And feel free to bring some of your own special books to be valued by an experienced bookseller. Who knows— you may already be the owner of a literary gem.
For accommodation in Clunes, click
here.
For information on how to get to Clunes, click
here.
For more event information and to download a program guide, visit their
website.
