Bookoccino’s Sally Tabner Wins National Bookseller of the Year Award

Bookoccino’s Sally Tabner has been named the 2025 Bookseller of the Year by BookPeople– a respected industry award that recognises the vital role individuals play in sharing stories, ideas, and knowledge in their communities across Australia.

Sally is the heart and soul of Bookoccino, the much-loved bookstore and café nestled in Sydney’s Northern Beaches. A true community hub, Bookoccino has flourished under Sally’s vision, leadership and deep love of literature. A voracious reader and brilliant book matchmaker, Sally is equally at home recommending debut novelists as she is reading stories on the floor to toddlers every Tuesday during StoryTime.

“Sally has been instrumental in creating a vibrant hub for conversation, reading, discussion and debate that has enlivened the community”, says Michael Robotham, the best-selling crime fiction writer who lives in Avalon. “We all know that books are magical things, but bookselling is a tough business. Sally is proving there is a future for this wonderful profession and for small independents
like Bookoccino.”

Founded in 1992 in the quiet surf village of Avalon, Bookoccino was revived and reimagined in 2018 by Sally Tabner and former New York Times journalist Raymond Bonner. They moved the store to a larger space and engaged an award-winning architect to help them seamlessly blend literature, community and style. In just a few short years, Bookoccino has become a place where friendships are formed over coffee and chai, and where conversations about books, ideas, politics and life happen every day. As one customer put it, “Bookoccino is the literary and intellectual centre of Sydney’s Northern Beaches.”

Whether coordinating sold-out author events with luminaries such as Julia Baird, Geraldine Brooks, Gina Chick, Trent Dalton, Richard Fidler, Richard Flanagan, Ben Macintyre, Viet Thanh Nguyen, or curating Bookoccino’s annual Summer Reading Guide — now a beautifully designed collector’s item — Sally leads with creativity, warmth, and tireless dedication. She is supported by an exceptional team of booksellers and baristas she has personally nurtured and trained.

With the BookPeople Text Publishing Bookseller of the Year Award, the national industry has formally recognised what Northern Beaches locals already know— that Sally is a remarkable curator of stories and community spirit.

BookPeople, formerly the Australian Booksellers Association, is the national association dedicated to supporting Australia’s bookshops and promoting a love of books and reading.
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For media enquiries, images or interview requests, please contact:
Katie Breden 0428 273 336 or katie@bookoccino.com.au