Visiting local pubs to unearth their history, talk to publicans and customers and of course sample some of the beers hasn't exactly been a tough job for the Central Goldfields local who has run a pub magazine for 15 years.

Mr Gilbert teamed up with friends Hugh Wayland and Tess Brady to shine a spotlight on 10 operating hotels throughout the region.

Many were built during the gold rush and survived the Victorian government's liquor licence reduction board, who decided which hotels would be allowed to continue operating and which would be closed down. The board's operations peaked in the region between about 1916 and 1920.

The pubs featured in the book, launched on Friday March 22 as part of the Clunes Booktown Festival, all have their own rich histories as vital community meeting points and more.

The trio visited 10 pubs, taking trips to Talbot, Lexton, Waubra, Learmonth, Ascot, Creswick, Kingston, Smeaton, Campbells Creek, and their home town of Clunes, to compile the guide which they hope will spur visitors to travel widely across the region.

"The hotel at Waubra, the Springs Hotel, was dormant for many years and reopened but that's the only one I'm aware of in our research that reopened after a period of closure - the others have been trading right through," Mr Gilbert said.

But the Lexton Pyrenees Hotel, which is profiled in A Thirst for Gold, recently closed and a community campaign is underway to organise a buy-out of the pub and reopen the much-loved institution.

"These pubs still represent a town gathering place," Mr Gilbert said.

"They have been used for years as places of public meeting, where miners and farmers discussed latest news in early times, they have been used as entertainment venues, law courts, bank agencies and as a town meeting place.

"When a hotel goes you lose that meeting place."

The book delves into the history of the Central Goldfields district, the reason the town and pub were established in that location, and the history of the pub. Some started as little more than tents before more permanent structures were built.

Many were built because of the towns that sprang up during the gold rush, others as railway towns, some in the days of Cobb and Co horse-drawn transport,

The launch of the book as part of this weekend's Clunes Booktown Festival is fitting for the trio, who all live in the town and met through Clunes Neighbourhood House, which runs a thriving publishing business. They are also involved in the organisation and running of Clunes Booktown.

Mr Gilbert has been involved with Booktown since 2008 including as president and chairman in the past, and as part of Clunes Booktown 2024 this weekend will be part of a panel Politics, Pleasure and Stigma: Drinking in Australia at 3pm Saturday in Clunes Town Hall.

Bill Garner will moderate the panel discussion involving social historian Alex Ettling, sociologist Sarah MacLean and Mr Gilbert as they discuss the ways that alcohol has shaped our lives.

Sue Beal, chief executive of Creative Clunes which organises Clunes Booktown, said the 2024 event would look slightly different to previous years with Fraser Street remaining open and book sellers spread throughout the town.

Entry to the Booktown festival is free, with tickets required for panel discussions and some other events.

"It's free so people can come along, see the free music program, do all the kids events and browse through the book sellers. All the marquees this year are in the parkland and around town hall, and the Wesley Bluestone site, so it's spread out to make the town more part of the experience," Ms Beal said.

The decision to make entry free and to spread out the booksellers throughout town rather than along their traditional Fraser Street home came down to finances.

"We got a bit less funding than we have had and it ended up being cheaper to not close the (Fraser) street and a number of shop keepers had expressed concern about having to keep the road closed on Thursday and Friday while we set up because that impacts their sales," she said.

"And last year we noticed families were a bit down. We think interest rate rises have impacted disproportionately hard on families so we are trying to give them a fair crack as well this year."

There will be more than 90 book sellers in town ranging from self-published authors to large scale vendors.

"We noticed last year that we had a lot of individuals who were selling their own published works so what we did this year is made it slightly cheaper for them. They were having to take a large space and only needing a little table and chair so we made it cheaper for them and as a result we've got got more book sellers this year," Ms Beal said.

With more self-published authors attending, organisers have also offered a panel from Readalot for individuals looking to publish their own work.

Ms Beal said while about half of the panels have sold out but there were still many interesting panel discussions with availability for the weekend, along with music and other free events.

Clunes Booktown takes place on March 23 and 24.