Why it belongs in ORBIS
Hanoi's first English-language bookshop, opened in 2001 by Australian author Pam Scott as an expat book exchange; Vietnamese owner Hoang Van Truong took over in 2006.
The Bookworm opened in Hanoi in August 2001, founded by Australian author Pam Scott as the city's first and only English-language bookshop, built initially as a book exchange for the expatriate community. In 2006, the store passed to Hoang Van Truong, a Vietnamese reader whose Australian foster parents had run it, and who took over full-time. The shop holds roughly 15,000 titles, about 40 percent of them new stock imported from the United States and United Kingdom, with the rest secondhand copies bought or exchanged with customers. Its customer base splits roughly three ways: about 40 percent foreign residents, 30 percent Vietnamese readers, and 30 percent travelers passing through. The store operates a buyback program for used English-language books and offers same-day delivery within Hanoi. Located in the Ba Đình district, it remains one of the few dedicated English-language bookshops in Vietnam, serving both the long-term expat community and visitors looking for reading material during their stay.