About The Bookshop

From Buninyong to Bakery Hill

The Known World Bookshop first opened in 2001 as Buninyong Books, in the small historic goldmining township of Buninyong, Victoria, Australia.

In 2008, I moved the bookshop to the city of Ballarat, changing the name to The Known World Bookshop.

wide view of the delightful chaos that is the Known World Bookshop with mountains of books overfilled shelves and weird and wonderful objects

I now operate the Known World in the historic Main Road precinct of Bakery Hill, Ballarat. Bakery Hill is one of Ballarat’s most historically important precincts.

This is where Cobb & Co coaches plied the muddy tracks of the emerging gold-mining township, transporting patrons and gold to the metropolis of Melbourne.

Main Road still has a number of historic buildings, in one of which the beautiful Known World Bookshop can be found.

About Michelle:

I established my first shop in my 30s, after a career as an editor and travel guide-book writer.

Michelle Coxall in a patterned blouse smiles warmly while holding an open green book surrounded by bookshelves and a wooden ladder

I undertook various writing assignments for Lonely Planet Publications, including co-authoring and coordinating two new guides books to the Indian Himalaya and the Indian desert state of Rajasthan.

Prior to this, I trained as an editor at Lonely Planet, during which a chance encounter in the Carlton Gardens with His Holiness the Dalai Lama inspired me to leave Melbourne and travel to the Indian Himalaya, where I worked as a volunteer with the Tibetan Government in Exile.

I’m an inveterate reader, and my (possibly impetuous) decision to open a secondhand bookshop finds its impetus in this love of books and literature.

I hand-pick every book for the Known World and am constantly updating and refining the collection.

A cozy bookstore scene with towering shelves of diverse books, including the title Girl, Woman, Other.

The shop is also home to a variety of quirky collectibles, prints, artworks and exotica. Many of these can be purchased.

But no, the raven is not for sale!

The Known World Bookshop is a labour of love. Nearly 25 years have passed since the creation of Buninyong Books, and I still enjoy every day at the bookshop.

A puppet of Salvadore Dali atop a flying camel its neck wrapped in red fabric beside a model dinosaur atop a vintage view camera all under a hanging light

The loyal customers and visitors, their stories, the slightly chaotic ambience, including the flying camel – and of course, the thousands of books – make every day a new adventure.

It’s a beautiful space, full of strange, beautiful things, and books covering just about every aspect of human endeavour.

I hope you will visit us soon.

Michelle