Six bookshops and one library located in the heart of Owen Sound have formed an informal consortium to provide residents and visitors with the fifth annual literary walking tour of all locations.
“By morphing from competitors into strategic partners, we believe we can benefit everyone,” says bookseller Maryann Thomas of The Ginger Press.
Each book venue focuses on a different aspect of words on paper, providing bookwalkers with a fascinating range of bookish experiences. Book Walk Week takes place Tuesday June 6 to Saturday June 11 at the following locations (listed alphabetically, of course):
- About Books at The Farmers’ Market and 542 Third Avenue East specializing in out-of-print and antiquarian books.
- Downtown Bookstore and Café at 945 Second Avenue East specializing in fine literature and children’s books.
- Ginger Press Bookshop and Café at 848 Second Avenue East specializing in local books and scrumptious food
- Lawson’s Christian Books at 917 Second Avenue East specializing in Christian and health books
- The Library at 824 First Avenue West specializing in all books
- Mike’s Book Store at 1028 Second Avenue East specializing in comic books and role playing games
- Phoenix Book Store at 980 Second Avenue East specializing in the largest selection of second-hand books
Readers will be encouraged to have their “book passport” stamped at each location; completed entries will be eligible to win gift certificates from the participating bookstores.
Book Walk Week is intended to introduce and celebrate this unusual concentration of book stops. “A high number of bookstores in a community…results in a creative, economically thriving city,” writes well-known American cultural observer Richard Florida.
Owen Sound is already known as a cultural centre for the literary arts with many excellent local authors supported by the reading community.
Join the Book Walk Week on June 7-11 to discover more.
