Despite a mammoth effort to remain open, one of New Zealand’s smallest bookshops has been forced to close after more than six years and more than 200,000 books sold, while the future of its sister shop in Timaru remains uncertain.
Twizel Bookshop owner Renee Rowland made the announcement as she introduced author Ruth Shaw, who owns the country’s smallest bookshop, at a public speaking event in Timaru this week.
The news came just weeks after Rowland announced the future of her 12m² Twizel bookshop, located in the Mackenzie town’s CBD was on the line as the cafe it is located within had been sold, and the new owners had asked the business to vacate by November 5.
What ensued was a desperate search to find new premises, with every option available investigated, she told The Timaru Herald.
“But in the end we couldn’t secure anywhere.’’
Shaw’s public speaking event in Timaru was one of many literary-inspired events Rowland has organised for the town. Shaw also visited the bookshop on the day while promoting her new book Bookshop Dogs.
Esther Ashby-Coventry/Stuff
Twizel Bookshop founder Renee Rowland in 2020.
The Twizel business will close Sunday.
Rowland said she had made the decision to share the news at the public event, not to steal any mana from Shaw, but in solidarity as a bookseller and as the fellow owner of a “very small bookshop”.
“We are both booksellers, and we are both in contest for the title of smallest bookshop in New Zealand,’’ Rowland told the crowd gathered at Hector Black’s.
“It’s the two wee bookshops in Manapouri [owned by Ruth] vs the Twizel Bookshop, and after this weekend Ruth will rightly claim the crown, as the Twizel Bookshop will be closing after six years.’’
Rowland also owns Timaru Booksellers which may be impacted by the closure, she said.
“We’re unsure at this stage [with the Timaru store].
“We have amazing books arriving every day and absolutely stellar events lined up in the next month, so we are enjoying every moment and have a lot to look forward to.
“The future is very uncertain, but we are enjoying the present.’’
A third bookseller had been hired for the Twizel store just days before Rowland learnt the business had to vacate the cafe.
“So three booksellers have lost their jobs.’’
Sharn Siataga/Supplied
Author Ruth Shaw signs copies of her new book Bookshop Dogs at Timaru Booksellers on Tuesday afternoon.
During the store’s time in Twizel, Rowland won the Booksellers New Zealand Scholarship to the American Booksellers Association Winter Institute, and a two-week internship at Greenlight Books in New York.
She said she had come back to town full of ideas and inspiration following the trip.
When she opened the shop in August 2017, she had about 500 books on-site, and the first to sell was Roald Dahl’s Boy.
While her plans to open a second store in Timaru were delayed by Covid, she persevered and, in July 2020 Timaru Booksellers was launched.
Rowland said she was proud that the Twizel bookshop’s best sellers over the six years were two self-published works – Diesel, Dust, Men and Machine by Kevin Freeman and The Pants of Perspective by Anna McNuff.
“As well as selling hundreds of thousands of books, we’ve had some magic events with over 40 book club meetings and many authors we’ve bought to town,’’ she said.
They included Jo Morgan who wrote Dancing with the Machine, Ruth Low, The Shearers, McNuff, Max Quinn, Adventures in Antartica, and Chris Long, The Boy From Gorge River.
Esther Ashby-Coventry/Stuff
The Twizel Bookshop opened in August 2017, with about 500 books, and the first sold was Roald Dahl’s Boy.
While the shop had a range of booksellers and book lovers as part of its team, under the helm of Jane Brophy it had come back from the uncertainty and inconsistency that Covid wrought, Rowland said.
“Jane’s patience, curiosity, enthusiasm, diligence and, of late, her stoicism has made such an impact on the little shop and me, and we are so sorry that we are having to cut her bookselling career short.
“Many people have a dream of working in a bookshop, but it’s not until you do that you realise how difficult it is to do the job well.’’
Rowland said in the past few weeks there had been messages from people throughout New Zealand, and the world, sharing stories of their moments and memories in the Twizel Bookshop.
She encouraged people to continue to support independent bookshops and thanked those that had made the choice, and effort, to support the Twizel Bookshop.
“It was magic while it lasted.’’
JOHN BISSET/Stuff
Timaru Booksellers has hosted a number of literary events in the past, including a Word Salad poetry event in August. Preparing for the evening are gallery collections curator Hamish Pettengell, left, and Timaru Booksellers’ Renee Rowland.
