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The Book Cow - Kingston

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The Book Cow - Kingston

Your local, independent book store. We sell the latest releases, quality new books, books for kids

03/09/2026

The Book Cow is delighted to announce we are a recipient of the ABA Bookseller Events Grant!

We are one of 26 bookshops across Australia that will receive funding to bring our events program to life. The program is designed to support the creation of events that otherwise wouldn’t be possible, allowing us to connect literary communities and encourage new and underserved audiences into our bookshop.

What is it that we will be doing with grant? We have begun planning the inaugural Canberra Kids & YA Summer Book Festival, which will take place in late January here in Canberra.

The Festival will be a fantastic event over two days packed full of authors, illustrators, book events, readings and stories for kids and young adults of all ages – during the summer school holidays. Dates and venue are locked in (see below) and we will share more information in the coming weeks.

We are hoping to make the event as accessible (and free) as possible so as many people as possible can join in the fun!

We can’t wait to share updates with you. More details to come soon!

The ABA Bookseller Events Program has been assisted by the Australian Government through Writing Australia.

When: 10 am - 4 pm Friday 22nd January - Saturday 23rd January 2027
Where: Denman Village Community Centre
This will be a free event but registrations will be required (registration site will be up and running soon)!!

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31/08/2026

A great way to finish the day — talking YA crime in a school library! 📚🔎

This evening we welcomed Tamara Moss to Canberra for an author talk at Canberra Grammar School, where she was in conversation with Canberra author Jack Heath.

Earlier in the day, Tamara stopped by The Book Cow to sign copies before heading across to the school, where readers gathered in the Senior School Library for a lively discussion about murder mysteries, writing for young adults, creating believable characters and the twists and turns behind her new novel, Five Voices.

Five Voices follows five friends whose popular podcast takes a much darker turn when one of them is found dead after an explosive argument — and everyone has something to hide. It is Tamara’s first solo YA mystery, following the #1 New York Times bestseller The Escape Game, co-written with Marissa Meyer.

A huge thank you to Tamara and Jack for such an engaging conversation, and to Canberra Grammar School for generously allowing us to use their Senior School Library for the event. It was a terrific space to bring authors, students and readers together.

And if you missed Tamara tonight, we have signed copies of both Five Voices and The Escape Game at The Book Cow. 🐄📖

Allen & Unwin Books Canberra Grammar School

30/08/2026

A picture-perfect day for a picture-perfect way to end Book Week! ☀️📚🎨

Yesterday we were delighted to welcome illustrator Amie Sabadin to Green Square to celebrate The Picture-Perfect Present, written by Bethany Loveridge Bethany Loveridge Author and published by .

It was a beautiful afternoon of stories, illustration and creativity, with families gathering in the sunshine to hear Amie read from the book, talk about how the illustrations came together, and share some of the ideas behind the story.

There was plenty of audience participation too. The kids played Who Am I? and helped decide whether some of Amie’s drawn presents were good presents or not-so-good presents — and, importantly, what could be done to make them better. It was a lovely way to get everyone thinking about what makes a gift truly thoughtful.

And there were even a couple of real-life dads on hand for the occasion — including Amie’s own dad and her husband, dad to their children — making it an especially fitting family celebration.

A huge thank you to Amie for joining us, to Bethany and for bringing the book into the world, and to everyone who came along to help us finish Book Week on such a cheerful note.

The Picture-Perfect Present is available now at The Book Cow. 🐄💛

28/08/2026

Another terrific Friday night of books and conversation at The Book Cow! 📚

This evening we welcomed bestselling author Joanna Jenkins .jenkins.writer to celebrate the launch of her new novel, Bad Neighbours, in conversation with Barbie Robinson from Living Arts Canberra.

Set in an Art Deco apartment building in Potts Point, Bad Neighbours begins with the death of Ben, a homeless man living in the garden of The Lumen. When it emerges that Ben was poisoned, the tensions, secrets and grievances among the building’s residents quickly come to the surface.

Joanna and Barbie ranged across the many layers of the novel — crime, property, privilege, neighbourly conflict and the legal world Joanna knows so well from her years as a solicitor and law firm partner. It made for a lively and thoughtful conversation, helped along by a wonderfully engaged audience.

A huge thank you to Joanna and Barbie for such an entertaining evening, to , to everyone who came along and joined in the discussion, and to our Book Cow team for another late night supporting authors and readers.

Bad Neighbours is out now — a sharp, clever mystery that may have you looking at the people next door a little differently. 🏢🔍
jenkins.writer

27/08/2026

What a fantastic night celebrating local writing at The Book Cow!

Last night we were delighted to launch *The Doubles*, the genre-bending debut novel from Canberra author Jacob K. Gallagher, winner of the 2023 black&write! Fellowship.

Jacob was joined in conversation by fellow local author Lisa Fuller for a fascinating discussion about writing, family, identity, First Nations storytelling, speculative fiction and the ideas behind this extraordinary novel.

Blending crime, thriller, fantasy and speculative fiction, *The Doubles* is a compelling and original mystery that draws on First Nations culture while exploring family, self-perception, intergenerational trauma and colonialism.

A huge thank you to Jacob and Lisa for such a thoughtful and entertaining conversation, and to everyone who joined us to celebrate another wonderful Canberra author.

.k.gallagher

24/08/2026

Join us this Friday evening at The Book Cow as we welcome bestselling author Joanna Jenkins to celebrate the launch of Bad Neighbours, a page-turning mystery where a death in a Sydney apartment block reveals the dark secrets lurking behind closed doors. She will be joined ‘in conversation with’ Barbie Robinson from Living Arts Canberra.

Ruth Dawson finds her perfect living space in an art deco building in Potts Point, The Lumen. The apartment boasts parquetry floor, a wall of books, the Harbour Bridge visible from her sofa and a twenty-minute walk to her office in the city. It's perfect until Ben, the homeless guy, dies under the corrugated iron lean-to in the garden where he lived.

The residents of The Lumen do little to hide their relief. They can cease their half-hearted attempts to find an acceptable solution to what they called 'the Ben problem', and return to more important issues: whether Lucas in the basement flat can keep his dog, Mavis; how it is that Lucas can afford to live there; and how it is that the banker who owns the whole of the top floor spent the owner's corporation funds to restore the glassdomed roof, but took for himself the light from the sun and the stars.

They're not happy when Ruth Dawson brings Detective Sharon Messer in. Ben was poisoned.

And one of the residents was involved

Joanna Jenkins grew up on a small farm in country Queensland. After graduating from the University of Queensland with degrees in English Literature and Law, she practised as a solicitor, including for many years as a partner of an international law firm. She now writes full-time. Married with three sons, Joanna lives in Brisbane. Her debut novel, How to Kill a Client, was published in 2023. The Bluff, her second novel, was published in 2025.
jenkins.writer

22/08/2026

With a week left of August...it's crunch time for our booksellers and customers participating in the MS Readathon!

How many pages do you think Sarahs R & H, Magu, and Claire can cram into 9 days??

There's still time to sponsor us or join our team via the link below:

https://www.msreadathon.org.au/fundraisers/thebookcows

An annual event, the MS Readathon inspires people of all ages to read books while raising vital funds to help those living with multiple sclerosis (MS).

17/08/2026

A purple stack for Sarah's new purple hair! 💜🌂🪼🪻☂️🍇🔮

💜 The Great Wherever by Shannon Sanders
💜 The Shadow of the Object by Chloe Aridjis
💜 Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid
💜 Paris Dreaming by Anita Heiss
💜 The Testaments by Margaret Atwood
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15/08/2026

📚 Claire's August Picks! 📚..
🍄 Dungeon Crawler Carl by Matt Dinniman
🍄 The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
🍄 The Red Winter by Cameron Sullivan
🍄 Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die by Greer Stothers
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12/08/2026

Looking for something to do this coming Saturday? We have some great events for kids.

First up at 11am - welcome internationally best-selling author and illustrator James Foley! Pop in for 'spontaneous storytime' and a chat about his amazing array of children’s books and graphic novels, including Stellarphant, Happy Barry Capybara, Secret Agent Mole, Bigfoot vs Yeti: A Love Story, Dungzilla , Brobot, Gastronauts and Chickensaurus. James also has a new release coming soon, Amazing Astro Animals!

Then at 2pm - a special story time with children's author Jenny Marshall as we celebrate the upcoming release of her delightful new picture book, Max Likes to Cook. Jenny will be treating young readers to a live reading of her much-loved book Cami and the Lost Letters. Come along for a fun and engaging afternoon of stories, literacy, and imagination, get your books signed and be among the first to celebrate her newest book.

More info on our events webpage (link in bio). All free!!

Address

47 Jardine Street Kingston ACT
Canberra Central, ACT
2604

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 7pm
Tuesday	9am - 7pm
Wednesday	9am - 7pm
Thursday	9am - 7pm
Friday	9am - 7pm
Saturday	9am - 5pm
Sunday	10am - 4pm

Telephone

+61251002730

Website

http://www.bookcow.com.au/

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