Pre-loved bookstore joins Main Road

ICONIC second-hand bookstore The Known World has made its return to Ballarat.

Formerly located at the base of Sturt Street, it can now be found among an array of vintage and antique shops on Main Road.

With the store’s look and feel suiting the street’s nostalgic appeal, store owner Michelle Coxall said she feels right at home.

“I love this precinct, I won’t be moving again,” she said. “The other shop owners and proprietors have been fabulous and Sherran from the antique store has been great like a big sister.

“A group of us have been gathering and getting to know each other on Wednesday nights.”

The history of the shop spans back almost two decades to when Mrs Coxall opened Buninyong Books in 2001.

After operating in Buninyong for around seven years, she said her shop needed a bit of a change of scenery.

“I changed the name and took the shop to Ballarat for around eight years,” she said

“I then moved out to Linton but was only out there for about a year before I realised it was just too quiet and then stored everything away for a while.

“I came here a couple of months ago and thrown everything I’ve got into this store.”

Having studied editing and publishing at university and being a self-professed book lover, she said it was only natural to open a book store of her own.

Using this expertise, Mrs Coxall hand selects the entire catalogue of pre-loved books that fill the shelves of Known World.

“Literature is my thing and the second I opened a book I was hooked,” she said. “I find books at auctions, op-shops, from people selling but people can also bring in their own books and I’ll give them store credit.

“I’m really going to need people to bring their books in to keep the stock replenished because I can’t go to auctions at the moment.”

Although she had the unfortunate luck of re-opening her business during a world-wide pandemic, Mrs Coxall remains positive about the future.

Holding onto her faith in the Ballarat community spirit, the store owner said everyone has been incredibly positive and supportive so far.

“The locals have been great but it’s also people who don’t even know the history of the shop finding it and loving it,” she said.