A brief history of UNITY AUCKLAND

19 High Street, Auckland
09 307 0731
Auckland@unitybooks.co.nz

Shop Hours:
Monday - Thursday 8:30am-7pm ~
Friday 8:30am- 9pm ~
Saturday 9am-6pm~ Sunday 11am-6pm

1989 saw a dearth of interesting fiction in Auckland (really it was the same all over the country, apart from Wellington, where Unity Books was already established (we're incredibly modest)) which meant that the opening of the Auckland branch of Unity was welcomed with open arms by those wanting something different. Those wanting the same old fiction and those wanting to supply the same old fiction were a touch uneasy, but what can we say? We've been challenging the status quo from the get-go.

Jo McColl (current owner of Auckland) and Nigel Cox (dearly loved, deeply talented and sadly departed) were given free rein by the then owner Alan Preston (1932-2004) to interpret the Auckland market. This resulted in a veritable wonderland of local fiction and non-fiction, gay, philosophical, scientific and religious literature, children's titles, big and gorgeous coffee table books and (of course) truly great international fiction.

In an era where the internet didn't exist a great many authors remained unknown if they weren't represented by an Australasian publishing house. This was obviously unacceptable so Jo and Nigel fought the good fight to bring the world of literature to Auckland; thus Unity Auckland became a haven for the different, for the obscure, for the unique and this it has stayed. Still owned and run by Jo McColl, Unity Auckland continues to push boundaries, to rely on human memory as a catalogue of our stock, to question norms and to cater to those marching to beat of their own drum. In Nigel's immortal words:

If every bookshop tells a story...

If bookshops are compared to a summer's day, which one comes up
smelling of roses? If bookshops were horticulturalists, which one knows its
onions? If bookshops supported literary magazines, it'd make a big
difference. If your choice of bookshop could make a difference, which
bookshop brings you the small town closures? If small is beautiful, Unity is
still very attractive. If God does not play dice with the universe, which
bookshop keeps Wild Swans in the pet section? If you can keep your head
when all about you are losing theirs, meet me by the philosophy shelves. If
Jeffery Archer was trading inside, which bookshop would you be outside? If
Dorothy Parker shopped at Unity, I wouldn't be surprised. If a picture's
worth a thousand words, that's a hundred and twenty-eight of them and
are you getting the picture?

UNITY BOOKS

If you care about books...