For tourists and book lovers alike, a trip to Port Fairy should include a visit to Blarney Books and Art. Don’t be fooled by the somewhat ordinary outside of the ’60s brick building. Entering is ‘like walking into a rainbow’ as one young visitor has described it.

In 2004, Jo Canham was a young graduate with a dream of opening a bookshop in the country. She and her partner did exactly that. Their choice of Port Fairy for their enterprise turned out to be brilliant.

The bookshop is pumpkin coloured, has fairy lights, strobe globes, billowy curtains, comfortable old couches, nooks and corners. And of course books everywhere. Behind her desk Jo is a serene, friendly presence, always ready to talk books, art or anything at all. Need I add that cats, dogs and kids are most welcome. As second hand as well as new books are available one can often pick up bargains and hard-to-find gems.

Books range from coffee table heavy weights to paperbacks. Australiana, Philosophy, Art, travel tales, environment, history, contemporary fiction, the best of children’s stories are all there to browse through. Prominently displayed are regional and local writers. She flies rainbow pennants and has a large shelf of LGBTQI writers and their stories represented. Jo is also happy to provide display space for all kinds of local talent. Strewn around Blarneys are bright and cheerfully upholstered chairs, the kind that would be perfect to curl into in one’s own reading nook. These are by Liz Gannon. She re-upholsters old chairs in quirky ways, bringing to life well-loved stories with inserts, embroidery and recycled fabric. The charming Alice in Wonderland chair is to die for.

When the bookshop first opened Jo had lots of damaged ‘vintage’ books, long past their read-by dates. Nothing if not inventive, she introduced the ‘Biblio Art’ prize in 2009. The prize encouraged innovative ways of using these old books in art. Biblio Art has since become an important event in the Art world. The 2020 competition initiated the referencing in art of contemporary fiction. Entries were received from all over Australia and overseas, including New Zealand, The U.K. and the U.S.A. The dedicated gallery space now hosts exhibitions throughout the year.

Book launches, poetry readings, author interviews, workshops, musical gigs and more are now on offer on a regular basis. Visiting authors have included Helen Garner, Geoffrey Robertson, Bruce Pascoe and Abe Nouk. Brian Nankervis, Reg Mombasa, Shane Howard and Mick Thomas have performed at Blarney’s. Leunig the cartoonist and Richard Weatherly the birdlife artist, are both due to appear here this March.

With passion, imagination and hard work, in a little under two decades Jo’s dream has come full circle. Blarney Books and Art has become a much-loved icon and cultural hub for this little country town and is getting known well beyond the South-West and Victoria.