Great Bookstores: Galaxy Bookshop in Sydney, Australia

Thanks to all the authors who’ve written in to tell us about the great bookstores they’ve been visiting! This week we hear from Janny Wurts and Karen Miller who wanted us to know about Galaxy Bookshop in Sydney Australia.

Galaxy Bookshop was established in 1975 and is an independent bookseller owned and operated by Abbey’s Bookshop (also independent). They focus exclusively on science fiction, fantasy, horror and paranormal romance genres.  Most of their books are US imports of titles that don’t have local distribution or whose author doesn’t have a deal with a UK publisher. Mark Timmony, the store manager, says that the Galaxy staff reads the books they sell and are passionate fans of genre fiction.

Karen Miller reports, “I first encountered Galaxy Bookshop way back in 1981, when I was in university. Making my way along Bathurst Street, in Sydney, I heard the unmistakable strains of John Williams’ Star Wars soundtrack… and the rest, as they say, is  history. Since then, Galaxy Bookshop has shifted location a few times, changed managers, and rolled with the punches that come with the business of bookselling. Through all the changes, one thing has remained constant: if  you’re a lover of speculative fiction,  there is no better place to go book-buying. The wonderful people at Galaxy did right by me when I was a customer, and now that I’m an author too, they continue to support me. The book trade is riding out yet another storm at the moment, but it helps to know Galaxy is still there, a champion of speculative fiction.”

Janny Wurts, who you see signing books at Galaxy Bookshop in the photo below, says “Few people in the world have as much enthusiasm as the Australians, and Galaxy Bookshop is no exception. A specialty store for Fantasy and SF, they won my heart for their warm reception of authors and readers, alike. They carry an incredibly wide selection of genre titles, and can throw a memorable signing party. Every corner of the world should be so lucky as to have a book store as devoted as this one!”

The Galaxy Bookshop has a great website. Check out Janny Wurts’ and Karen Miller’s books at Galaxy Bookshop by clicking on the book covers in this post.

Readers and authors,  if you’ve been to a great bookstore recently, please send us a photo (the SFF section would be great!) and a paragraph or two about why you love that store.