The Chestnut Tree Bookshop
An environmentally sustainable independent bookshop (and café) for book lovers committed to reforestation. The Chestnut Tree is honoured to operate on the land of the Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung and the Bunurong of the Kulin Nation (West Footscray, a.k.a. #wefo in the inner west of Melbourne).
Junior Book Club
Between Tuesday 14 May 2024 and Tuesday 12 November 2024
Dive into amazing stories with fellow young readers! Join us for lively discussions and book-inspired fun.
The chestnut tree bookshop
Parents & Bubs Book Club
Between Wednesday 15 May 2024 and Wednesday 20 November 2024
Join us for a monthly catch up at the Chestnut Tree for parents from the inner west community. Bubs are welcome and hot drinks are available.
Our pick for April is 'Piglet' by Lottie Hazel and is available in store on online now!
The Chestnut Tree Bookshop
General Book Club
Between Wednesday 24 April 2024 and Wednesday 20 November 2024
Our General Reading Book Club welcomes all readers to come along for a fun and cozy night in the store to discuss great books!
Wine and nibbles are provided on the night!
Our pick for May is 'Time Shelter' by Georgi Gospodinov and is available in store!
In Time Shelter, an enigmatic flaneur named Gaustine opens a 'clinic for the past' that offers a promising treatment for Alzheimer's sufferers: each floor reproduces a decade in minute detail, transporting patients back in time.
But as the rooms become more convincing, an increasing number of healthy people seek out the clinic as a 'time shelter', hoping to escape from the horrors of our present...
Please register before attending.
We kindly ask that if you can no longer attend that you cancel your booking as we have a waitlist.
Your donations contribute to wine and nibbles and our awesome staff who run the show.
The Chestnut Tree Bookshop
WEFO The Movie: A screenwriting workshop with Stuart Page
Friday 17 May 2024
If you’ve ever been curious to find out more about the nuts and bolts of screenwriting, this workshop with West Footscray’s own Stuart Page is for you.
Stuart has worked on some of the country’s most loved TV series, including leading the script team on ABC's Total Control — earning him AACTA Awards nominations for Best Drama and Best Screenplay. Stuart has also picked up awards for his work on Wentworth and a nomination for The Doctor Blake Mysteries. And like all great Aussie screenwriters, he has done his time on Home and Away, Blue Heelers and Neighbours — among many more.
Join Stuart for an insightful and fun workshop that digs into the craft of screenwriting and guides you through writing your very own scene on WeFo’s Barkly Street strip.
Brought to you by Bad Writers Club, Chestnut Tree Bookshop and West Footscray Arts, with support from Maribyrnong City Council.
The Chestnut Tree Bookshop
Decolonise Your Shelf Book Club
Between Thursday 2 May 2024 and Thursday 28 November 2024
Our book club aims to broaden your reading list by reading books written solely by First Nations and People of Colour. Everyone is welcome.
Wine and nibbles are provided.
We please ask that you cancel your registration if you can longer attend as we have a waitlist.
Our pick for our May book club is 'Serengotti' by Eugen Bacon.
In the one tumultuous day, Ch’anzu loses hir job and finds wife Scarlet in bed with a stranger. As life unexpectedly spirals out of control, Ch’anzu turns to hir charismatic Aunt Maé for comfort and wisdom, and makes the bold move to work on a project in Serengotti, a migrant African outpost in rural Australia.
In a novel haunted by the strangeness and yearnings of a displaced community – both beautiful and fractured – Ch’anzu is forced to confront hir many demons. Back in the city, brother Tex has gone missing. In Serengotti violence and infidelity simmer.
The Chestnut Tree Bookshop
The place has character
Friday 12 April 2024
Reading, researching and writing Melbourne's west.
Footscray is full of juicy secrets - and some stinky ones. In the 1880s, people even called it West Smellbourne. Thankfully, it's now known more for food, art and football than for rotting carcasses.
Join independent historian Liz Crash and writer Jinghua Qian as they talk about why local history gets a bad rap, how anyone can research around these streets, and share some of their favourite stories from the archives. All this in the lovely, fragrant surrounds of West Footscray's Chestnut Tree Bookshop and Café.
About your hosts:
Jinghua Qian is a writer often found worrying about art, queerness, history, China, diaspora and desire. Eir work appears in prose, verse, television and audio.
Liz Crash is an independent historian with a particular interest in bluestone (the best stone).
Liz and Jinghua both live in Footscray and together created Underfoot, a series of virtual audio tours uncovering the secret histories of Footscray.
The chestnut tree bookshop
