Sydney

Something to bring back to work.

PLACES TO WANDER · CITY 20

Three independent bookshops worth finding in person. If you're looking for the best independent bookshops in Sydney, Places to Wander's edited guide includes Gleebooks in Glebe, Abbey’s Bookshop in City Centre and Ariel Booksellers in Paddington. Explore the selected shops below, with neighborhood context, drawings and links to each shop's own website. The guide is edited, not numerically ranked.

Sydney · The bookshop mapChoose a number

Map: Esri, TomTom, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, © OpenStreetMap contributors and GIS User Community. Selected streets and water; numbered points use the existing address matches. Use directions for your visit.

The illustrated issue

Browse the drawings. Open a shop for visiting details.

01 · Glebe

Gleebooks

Literature · Ideas · Author conversations

Started on 26 January 1975 in a former lending library, moved in 1990 into a former boxing gym, and reopened in February 2024 after a rebuild. Rushdie and Atwood have read here.

The renewed Glebe Point Road home gives the books room to breathe Gleebooks pairs a broad reading selection with author conversations

Choose something that does not already agree with the last thing you read. Stay long enough to find out why.

49 Glebe Point Road, Glebe NSW 2037, Australia

02 · City Centre

Abbey’s Bookshop

Literature · History · Ideas

The blue sign makes a clear promise: books. Abbey’s York Street shop gives you plenty of subjects to follow. A useful stop when your reading list has become a little too specialized—and a reminder that curiosity does not need a department.

Departments are for the stock, not the reader. Cross one.

Worth a special trip forPlenty of subjects to follow on York Street. Departments are for the stock, not the reader.

131 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000, Australia

03 · Paddington · THE DETOUR

Ariel Booksellers

Art · Architecture · Design · Literature

In Paddington since 1985, art, design and architecture.

Ariel’s Oxford Street window is a good invitation to look before you search. Art, architecture and design sit alongside a wider literary selection. Our detour is for the visual part of your working life: bring back a way of seeing, as well as something to read.

326 Oxford Street, Paddington NSW 2021, Australia

Questions about Sydney’s bookshops

What are some of the best independent bookshops in Sydney?

Places to Wander's edited selection includes Gleebooks, Abbey’s Bookshop and Ariel Booksellers. The guide is not numerically ranked. Each entry explains why the shop is included and links to the shop's own website.

What is The Detour in the Sydney issue?

Ariel Booksellers in Paddington. In Paddington since 1985, art, design and architecture. The Detour is an editorial designation, not a ranking.

Which featured bookshops specialize in art and design books?

Ariel Booksellers in Paddington. Follow each shop's official link for its current selection.

Is there a map of the featured bookshops?

Yes. The Sydney issue includes a map and shop index. Select a shop to open its entry, then use the shop's official link for visiting details. The illustrated map is an orientation aid, not a turn-by-turn route.

The Corporate Artist: The Art of Working Beautifully by Morgan Sage Norman

Bring your creative self
back to work.

The Corporate Artist: The Art of Working Beautifully is Morgan Sage Norman’s book about bringing your creative self to everyday work. It explores how the roles we play, the conversations we have and the decisions we make can become creative practice.

Find your copy ↗

The book on Bookshop.org ↗

Have the book with you?

Try Every Role Has a Medium (Your Craft) for a different way to look at what you do.

Or turn to Nothing Is Wasted and Rightsizing Importance. Begin with the title that catches you.

Looking for books about creativity at work? Visit the Reading Room.