The Bookshop opens in Colac
Recently, The Bookshop opened in the Victorian town of Colac. Owner Kris Seabert spoke with Books+Publishing about his vision for the shop.
Why did you decide to open a bookshop? Do you have any previous experience in the book industry, and if so can you tell us about it?
So, we used to own Cow Lick Bookshop here in Colac, which we closed a few years ago. We’d taken over Cow Lick in February 2020 – as you can imagine, it went a little pear-shaped 6 weeks later!
Not only keeping the store afloat during the pandemic, but in fact growing it, took a lot of work – right when our first child was born. We closed in January 2023, when she was 2, so I could spend more time with her. Funnily enough, we found out we were expecting our son the night before we closed the doors at Cow Lick.
A few years later, with our kids a little older (Ellie is about to start school), we thought it was time to get back into it. We also own The Bar [a live music venue], which is right next door, so when the option to take on the connecting shopfront came up, I thought I’d be silly not to have the two parts of my business empire right next door to each other!
How big is the store and how many people do you anticipate employing?
It’s a small store, and it’s just me, with a little help on the weekends from a family friend who’s a massive bookworm.
If you love spicy books/horror/dark fantasy, it’s best to call in on a Saturday or Sunday when she’s here helping me!
What books do you specialise in and what differentiates your bookshop from others?
We’re making a concerted effort to stock more “special editions” of books – “shelf trophies”, as it were.
We know how hard it is competing with big chain stores who sell books for less than their cost price, so we try and have things you can’t find in those places, mixed with fun, friendly, local service.
We’re also working with a lot of independent authors across Australia (and in some cases internationally) to get their stories on the shelves in a physical bookstore.
What are some ways you plan to engage with the community?
In the past we’ve run theme days with special characters visiting the store (we even have a life-sized “walking with dinosaurs” Velociraptor in the shed ready to make an appearance soon!), and we’re also planning on using The Bar to host our author talks/signings and book clubs as we head into 2026.
Is there anything else you’d like people to know about your store?
We’re a small, independent store, run buy a local family, that just loves the gift of reading. Come in for a wander through the shelves, and see what you discover.
Category: Features
