Calling all bookworms! Paperchain Braddon has announced an opening date

Posted on 9 October, 2026

Established in 1982, Paperchain has long been known as Canberra’s leading independent bookstore.

Home to thousands of titles (over 16,000, in fact), for over four decades locals have gathered there to browse, buy and connect over books. But now Paperchain is expanding, opening a second location in an area that’s long been overdue for a literary escape.

Set to open its doors to the public on Saturday 24 October, owner Tayanah O’Donnell says that it felt like the “right time to write another chapter” for Paperchain by opening a sister bookstore in the inner north.

“These are difficult economic times, and retail is challenging at the best of times. But Paperchain Manuka has reinforced for me that people still deeply value physical bookstores,” she explains.

“They aren’t simply places to buy books: they are places to browse, discover something unexpected, exchange ideas, and connect with other people. I believe those sorts of places are sorely needed, and worth investing in. I hope Canberra agrees.”

Located on 18 Lonsdale Street in Elouera Court – next to Eighty/Twenty – the new Paperchain is a booklover’s dream. Not only in close proximity to caffeinated beverages, but the 100m² floor area offers plenty of room for books.

And books there are.

Selling the latest new releases, Australian stories (including fiction and non-fiction), international fiction, biographies and memoirs as well as all the classics, Tayanah says that the Braddon store might be roughly half the size of Manuka but will still pack a mighty punch.

“It will unmistakably be Paperchain, but it already has a Braddon personality. We’ve designed a beautiful, warm space with thousands of carefully selected books and lots of room to discover new things,” she explains.

“The Paperchain DNA will be the same: excellent contemporary fiction and non-fiction, classics, children’s books, politics, history, art, design and beautiful books you want to pick up. But the mix will inevitably evolve as we learn what Braddon and inner north readers want. One of the joys of independent bookselling is that the shelves can respond to the community around them, and we curate the stock. So, there will be special and unique things to discover in each store.”

Describing Canberra as “an incredibly literate and curious city”, Tayanah hopes that the Braddon store will become a third space for book lovers.

Designing it to encourage people to stop and stay – including creating a dedicated children’s area with a reading nook – she says that like the Manuka store, Paperchain Braddon will also host plenty of bookish events.

“We already run a busy program of launches, author conversations and other events at Manuka, and we’d love Braddon to develop its own program too. We’ll let that evolve with the community, and we welcome ideas for what our inner north community would like to see.”

Welcoming bookworms from 9 am, those popping into the new Braddon store will enjoy giveaways, free coffee from Eighty/Twenty, author drop-ins and more.

Excited to bring a second store to the Canberra community, Tayanah says that ultimately, she is doing it “because buying and reading physical copies of books is so important”

“Every time somebody buys a book from an independent bookstore, they’re also supporting local jobs, authors, publishers, events and a place where people can come together. I hope people in the inner north and across Canberra will come in, have a wander, tell us what they want to read, and make Paperchain Braddon their own.”