June 23, 2026
Community Event: June Book Swap
Tuesday, June 23, 6.30pm
An intimate evening for bookish folks.
Bring a book you'd recommend a friend and leave with one recommended from our community. BOOK SWAP is a casual evening where you'll get to meet other bookish folks, chat about your favourite (or least favourite!) reads, and leave with a book recommended by a new friend. It's book club, without the pre-reading. Come solo or with friends, it's a low-key evening where we gather and share our love for literature.
How it works:
- Bring a book by a BIPOC author that you've read and loved (most folks brought a pre-loved book)
- We'll wrap it while you write a short review.
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Find a book on the table that piques your interest and take it home 💚
P.s. We will be hiding 1x signed advanced reader copy of Styx by Nikita Gill (out October 2026) at this Book Swap!
Tickets are mandatory but limited, so get in quick if you're interested in coming!
In-store at Amplify Bookstore, 55 Peel St, West Melbourne. The swapping of books is held on the shop floor, but attendees are welcome upstairs for tea, snacks, and a quieter place for conversation.
Light snacks and non-alcoholic drinks provided.
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Free Shipping for orders $150+
The book club will be held in our reading room at 55 Peel St, West Melbourne. The reading room is accessed via a spiral staircase. If this is an accessibility issue for you, please be in touch after making your booking so we can accommodate your needs.
Publishing has a diversity problem. There are less 'diverse' books being published which limits the discoverability and reach of those authors.
Representation is important. Read more about why we exist here.
The Venue
Find us at
55 Peel St, West Melbourne
VIC 3003
Opening hours
Thu & Fri 11am–6pm
Sat & Sun 10am–5pm
Public transport access
Located just behind the Queen Victoria Market, Amplify is easily accessible by public transport. Your best options are:
- The 58 tram,
- A 7 minute walk from the 19, 57 and 59 trams on Elizabeth St,
- A 10 minute walk from Flagstaff train station.
Parking
Available at the QVM or on Capel Street.
Frequently Asked Questions
Event tickets are non-refundable. However, we can issue you a store credit refund or you can pay it forward and pass the ticket along to someone on the waitlist.
If you can no longer make it to an event you’ve booked in for, please let us know so that we can give your spot to someone else!
Events are announced on our Instagram page and in our newsletter. You can find tickets here for our upcoming events.
We run a monthly book club, hold book launches and author salons, and general community events. Our reading room is also available for hire for private events.
Check our FAQs or ask us on our contact form.
An anti-racist social enterprise bookstore specialising in BIPOC books.
Only about 11% of books published are by BIPOC authors — so unless you specifically seek out books by BIPOC authors, you aren't likely to find very many of them organically. At Amplify, BIPOC authors are highlighted and celebrated. Here, they don't have to fight to be seen, and you don't have to fight to find them.
We hope that in our shop, you can discover a new favourite read, find stories that speak uniquely to you, learn about a culture outside your own (or more about your own histories), and gain a better understanding of the systems that connect us all.
Feeling social?
Book Launch: The Sisters of Serendib
Community Event: June Book Swap
