Mary Martin Bookshop wins Australia’s best indie book retailer
A scientist who “fell in love to the point of distraction” with books and quit her 35-year career to run two Melbourne shops has had her efforts rewarded, being named Australia’s best independent book seller. Here’s where you can snare a great read.
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Never in her wildest dreams did scientist Jaye Chin-Dusting think her love of reading would lead to her owning Australia’s best independent bookstore.
After 35 years as a professor of medical research, Ms Chin-Dusting swiftly retired from her full-time science position after “falling in love to the point of distraction” with the book industry.
She bought Southbank’s Mary Martin Bookshop in 2016 before opening a second store in Port Melbourne in December last year. This month her hard work came to fruition when she won the Australian Book Industry Award for Independent Book Retailer of the Year.
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“My two dreams were to win a Nobel prize and to own a bookshop,” Ms Chin-Dusting said.
“I didn’t manage the first but may very well have mentored enough gifted students for one of them to achieve that goal.
“I’ll settle for the bookshop.”
Ms Chin-Dusting said books provided “endless stimulation, companionship and wonder”.
“The dream has always been to spend my days in a bookshop and so when the opportunity came to own one, I didn’t hesitate,” she said.
“I cannot think of anything I would rather do.”
Ms Chin-Dusting said the stores were a “haven for the community” and “magical spaces”.
“An indie bookshop has the quirky and charming ability to absorb the personalities of its owner, staff and the customers that frequent it,” she said.
“(In book choice) we reflect back upon the community their intellect, curiosity, loves and passions.”
The Mary Martin Bookshops were first established in Adelaide in 1945 and until the opening of the Port Melbourne store, Southbank was the last of the bookstores in the country.
Visit Mary Martin Bookshop on the ground floor of Southgate at Southbank or Bay St, Port Melbourne.
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