Melbourne alternative bookstore Polyester Books to close

Melbourne alternative bookstore Polyester Books is closing its doors in May, reports the Age.

The store, located on Brunswick St in Fitzroy, was founded in 1985 and became known for its ‘obscure, unusual, subversive literature’. Its bestsellers over the years have included The Anarchist Cookbook (William Powell, Igal Meirovich), a colouring book of vaginas and Philip Nitschke’s assisted suicide books.

Current owner Adam Emslie has blamed high rents and a struggling retail sector on Brunswick St for the closure, as well as competition from online retailers such as Amazon and the Book Depository.

Emslie said he is unlikely to continue to run the business online. ‘A shop like this doesn’t make itself. It’s the customers that make it. I was trying to foster somewhere to exchange ideas but everyone exchanges their ideas online now,’ he said.

The business was famously described by musician Frank Zappa as a store ‘full of perverts, throwbacks and degenerate gamblers’.

Category: Local news