After staring down apocryphal predictions of the end of the printed word, the arrival of the e-book and the Australian start-up of Amazon, one of Australia's leading independent booksellers, Pages & Pages, said it was a looming recession that drove its decision to shut its doors at the end of August.

In news that sent chilly winds through the heart of the book industry and retailing, the Mosman bookshop said it would not renew its Military Road lease in September after concluding that trading conditions were only likely to worsen.

Jon Page's Pages & Pages bookstore in Sydney's Mosman will be closing at the end of August. Credit:Louise Kennerley

The family-owned book store had been trading for more than 20 years. Started by Chris and Phil Page in Belrose, it shifted premises to main street Mosman in 1999, where it has been managed by son Jon; a vocal champion of booksellers as a former chief executive officer of the Australian Booksellers' Association.

"It's been tough for a while," Jon Page said. "We've fought the good fight but it's just continuing to get tougher out there and with the lease expiring in September it gives us a way to exit without getting into more financial trouble or getting to a point where we can't pay bills or suppliers."