BookPeople, the association representing Australian booksellers, has today unveiled the official theme and artwork for this year’s national Love Your Bookshop Day(LYBD) campaign, created by artist Emma Sjaan Beukers, whose Ngiyampaa/Ngemba, Dutch and Irish heritage informs her vibrant, storytelling approach.
Following a public call-out to local illustrators across the country, the association commissioned the Naarm-based artist to bring to life the 2025 theme – Discover the magic. Discover you.
On her thought process when creating the artwork, Emma said, “Bookshops are always a hive of activity for people of all ages, backgrounds and abilities because they don’t just cater to the avid reader, but also to people who are getting back into reading or who like to consume media in various forms like comics and graphic novels. They are places I love to visit to learn, discover new interests, find inspiration, and develop my own artistic and reading practices. They are a welcoming and warm place for everyone, filled with the love and magic of the stories and worlds we read about. In my artwork, I've taken that feeling of excitement and community connectedness and created lots of little scenes that we often see in bookshops. Bookshops are always at the forefront of communication and community, and I love that I've been able to create a snapshot of that.”
The campaign aims to reignite Australians’ love of reading and remind people that no matter one’s life stage, local bookshops are spaces of discovery, inspiration and connection.
This message is backed by the Understanding Australian readers: Behavioural insights into recreational reading research report released by Australia Reads and Monash University’s BehaviourWorks Australia earlier this year. It found that while reading habits shift over time, many Australians wish they read more, with 54.9% of readers and 49.8% of non-readers saying they read less than they’d like to.
BookPeople CEO, Robbie Egan, said, “We want to encourage people to find the right book for right now – whether that means trying a new genre or rediscovering an old favourite. There is a book for everyone, and your local bookshop is the best place to start exploring because booksellers know how to help you find what speaks to you, sometimes even when you aren’t sure what that is.”
To further capture this essence, BookPeople is seeking real life stories of people who have (re)discovered themselves at a local bookshop. It could be anything – from meeting your partner at your local bookshop, finding comfort during a difficult time while chatting to a bookseller, or simply stumbling on a book that changed your life.
Visit loveyourbookshop.com.au to learn more and submit your
story. LYBD 2025 will take place on Saturday 11 October.
