Muse bookstore closes | Books+Publisher

Canberra’s Muse bookstore closed last weekend after owners Dan Sanderson and Paul Eldon decided not to renew the lease on the premises, which also housed a café/restaurant and wine bar.

In a post shared on Facebook on their last day of trading, Sanderson and Eldon said: “We have achieved everything we wanted to do with Muse: from our Gourmet Traveler WINE Australia’s Wine List of the Year Two-Glass Review and Readers’ Choice Award, and our two SpringOUT LGBTIQ Business of the Year awards; our selection as a national finalist for Best Breakfast Meeting Venue at the 2018 Qantas Business Travel Awards and inclusion in the Lonely Planet Australia travel guides; our exceptional literary and cultural programme and, most importantly, the community of Canberra residents and visitors to our little corner of Kingston that has sprung up around it.”

In an earlier Facebook post announcing their decision, the owners also discussed their bookstore’s literary program, “which spans more than 360 events and features over 500 speakers, including some of the biggest names in Australian literature, journalism and politics – from Tim Winton and Hannah Kent to Laura Tingle and Laurie Oakes, Mick Dodson and Anthony Albanese.”

The owners thanked staff, suppliers, family, friends and the local community, adding: “While saying goodbye to Muse is bittersweet, our final chapter is just as exciting and nerve-wracking as the first one all those years ago, and we are both looking forward to what comes next!”

In a follow-up post, Sanderson and Eldon said they had been “overwhelmed” by a flood of “kind messages” following the announcement; well-wishers on the bookshop’s social media included the Marion Writers’ Centre and author Sulari Gentill.

Muse ceased operations on August 25, on the ninth anniversary of its opening, according to the owners.

Category: Local News