Name: Blarney Books and Art
Address: 37 James Street, Port Fairy, VIC, 3284, AU
Telephone: +61 355682174

FIND/CONTACT US

We are NOT on the main street!

37 James Street (off Bank Street),
Port Fairy

Text us on: 0437 754847

Mon, Wed 11am - 4 pm

Thurs, Fri, Sat 11am - 5pm

Sun 11am - 4pm

Closed Tuesdays

We offer a safe & welcoming
space to our diverse community.

In 2004, we purchased Port Fairy's unrenovated old Masonic Hall but more recently the New Life Church, and set up Blarney Books, opening in January 2005. We had our first child in March 2005.
In 2006, we married. (Aww.)
In 2007, we added an art space and changed our name to Blarney Books & Art. We had our second child in March 2007.
In 2009, we founded our now well-known and loved book-related art competition, the Biblio Art Prize.
In 2015 we added a stage to our shop, for author and music events.
In 2015 we introduced a curated range of new books in order to enhance our author events.
In 2017, a tiny wedge of the enormous pie that is the Port Fairy Folk Festival came to us (at last!) and we played host to some of Australia's living legends.
In 2018 more living legends via the Folky.
In 2019 our Biblio Art Prize turned 10. To mark the occasion we took the exhibition to Melbourne!
2020 - Memorable for bushfires, Covid 19, and racial conflict. We took the opportunity while locked down to do some shop repairs & maintenance, and minor renovation work. We even managed to get the Biblio Art Prize through this year!
2021 - reopened with a new look! New wheelchair accessible entrance for everyone, a new accessible bathroom, a new events bar and some brand new shelving!
2021 - we organised and ran the inaugural Port Fairy Literary Weekend!

2022 - an event with my Australian literary hero, Helen Garner and her friend and fellow author David Owen Kelly, was finally able to go ahead, after two years of covid restrictions derailing it!
2022 - we held the first fundraising exhibition for the South West Makers Association.
2022 - we officially formed a committee and created the Port Fairy Literary Weekends Incorporated Association, a not-for-profit community cultural event for our community! (www.portfairyliteraryweekend.com.au) WH Chong, senior designer with Text Publishing, designed our beautiful logo. It was an enormously successful weekend!
2023 - we established the Port Fairy Sketch Club, which meets every Saturday at 11am.
2024/25 - WE TURNED 20 YEARS OLD!!!