A new chapter for The Little Bookroom in Melbourne

The Little Bookroom, a decades-old bookshop specialising in children's and YA books, will relocate thanks to fundraising efforts.
A bearded man with glasses and a white t-shirt smiling. Michael Earp, new owner of The Little Bookroom.

The Little Bookroom, a cornerstone of Melbourne’s literary scene for over six decades, has recently reached its initial fundraising efforts to support what they’re calling ‘a new chapter’. The funds will allow the store to re-open in a new location – East Brunswick Village – within months.

After weathering recent challenges, this milestone reflects Michael Earp’s (former store manager and now the new owner of The Little Bookroom) commitment to literacy and local culture – but also the community’s deep love for the world’s oldest children’s bookshop. Generous donors contributed through a recent fundraising campaign to meet the initial target goal. Earp spoke to ArtsHub about this fundraising effort and their new position.

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Thuy On is the former Reviews and Literary Editor of ArtsHub and an arts journalist, critic and poet who’s written for a range of publications including The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, Sydney Review of Books, The Australian, The Age/SMH and Australian Book Review. She was the Books Editor of The Big Issue for 8 years and a former Melbourne theatre critic correspondent for The Australian. She has three collections of poetry published by the University of Western Australian Press (UWAP): Turbulence (2020), Decadence (2022) and Essence (2025). Threads: @thuy_on123 Instagram: poemsbythuy