Manifesting with... Jessie Hilton

Open Book started as a dream and is now a beloved independent bookshop in Mosman Park.

Not only is Open Book aesthetically pleasing, with its octopus garden, greenery, and fairy houses, but it’s also a place of events, recommendations, and friendly staff - and, of course, a beautiful selection of books.

I feel like most passionate readers at some point in their lives, have fantasised with the idea of opening a bookstore (I certainly have, it was going to have a literary-themed cafe and everything) but few of us actually turn that dream into a reality. Jessie Hilton (

Jessie's Substack

) shares how she turned her love of books into a family business.

What is your reader journey, and what books should people read to get to know you?

Wow I have an eclectic reading taste so I’ll give you a birds eye view. I think the core of why I have always loved literature is the element of escapism books can give you - so a lot of my favourite books are stories where the escapism has been so powerful that I’ve been able to forget I’m reading. 

The first thing that comes to mind is Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. I love this book because I have always been obsessed with romance, mystery and ghosts of lovers' past and Rebecca has all of that. It’s so haunting and always manages to scare and delight me. 

Another book is Ingo by Helen Dunmore. It’s a YA novel about a girl called Sapphy whose father has just died, and she one day finds her brother talking to a mermaid and disappearing for long periods of time. She’s grappling with grief but she’s also being introduced to this whole new world under the sea. It is so brilliant and atmospheric. I read it whenever I need a taste of that childlike magic. This and Harry Potter - which I re-read every few years. 

Finally, my favourite memoir of all time is Hourglass by Dani Shapiro. Dani is my ultimate literary hero. When I read Hourglass it felt like everything was coming through to me on a vibrational level, like I had lived everything she was writing about. I am so in awe of the way in which Dani takes on the smallest of moments and makes them about much bigger ideas. It’s about time, memory and marriage and I want to cry every time I think about it. 

When did you decide to open a book shop, and what was that process like?

I’d say I decided to have my own bookshop when I was about eight years old. But I think the idea only really became a conscious one when I’d come back from Los Angeles in the middle of the pandemic. 

I was six months pregnant and desperately trying to claw back to myself which in some ways felt like survival. I’d been following my husband around the world for about seven years at that point and had had a lot of time to think about what lit a fire in me. I found myself becoming really jealous of his passion for his job and the embers that kind of danced around him because of that passion and I wanted the same for me. 

Becoming a mother gave me a job to hide behind whilst I decided what I wanted my ‘real’ job to be. I was like a sponge listening to other creatives talk about their desires and dreams whilst also tapping into the parts of me that were jealous. I’d ask myself hard questions like - what are you jealous of? Would you like to be doing that too? The jealousy was a compass, and it eventually (after years) led me to this hidden dream I hadn’t allowed myself to consider. 

In that time, I’d been posting a lot of book reviews on my Instagram and my friends had begun saying ‘You should be getting a commission for this’ and I don’t think it had ever crossed my mind that this could be something I could DO as a living. Not at all. 

Were there any moments where it all felt too challenging? How did you get past them?

I think once you’ve had children everything else feels like a cake walk. That’s been the greatest blessing. I used to be so fearful as a child that I would never be good enough and nothing I’d do would ever be important enough to matter. The biggest gift I have been given is the gift of permission to fail as well as the permission to succeed. I wanted to create a space that was not only my safe haven but other peoples too and I think once you believe in yourself and can tell the story in a meaningful way people really start to listen. They want to support you and come along for the ride. I’ve never felt alone in this journey and that’s what bolsters me. 

I’ve intentionally hired an all-female team because I truly believe that women have this innate capability of looking after one another and I wouldn’t be able to solve any problem without their guidance and care. 

It would also be remiss of me not to mention I had a nanny, a supportive husband and family. 

What’s something about owning and running a bookstore that you think would surprise most people?

There’s a lot of admin. It is not like the movies. No one is sitting at the counter reading. It’s totally un-glamorous but that’s also the joy of it. Marijke and I love sitting in the back eating pastries and talking garbage. They are the happiest of days when we get to do that and call it work. 

What advice do you have for people trying to manifest their creative dreams?

Get really granular. 

I have ADHD so the minute my brain starts thinking about all the tasks I need to get done in order to complete a project I get too overwhelmed and give up all together

The tool I found so helpful was vision boarding and finding images that sparked ideas for me. And then I’d ask the question - how do I make this a reality? Then I’d give myself little tasks every day to move things forward. Even if it was sending one email a day. 

I think also being realistic about where your strengths and weaknesses are is important. There are experts in every field. Ask the experts or pay them to help you get something done that you are not so confident in. It makes THE WORLD of difference.