A reading renaissance: Wellington welcomes two new indie bookshops
Wellington’s bookshop drought is being well and truly broken by two new indie stores opening this winter.
Wellington’s Willis Street is now home to not one but two indie bookshops and soon will be making room for a third. Last weekend there were lines out the door and down the street for romance bookstore XO Book Co’s opening day. And hot on XO’s heels is Aurelia Books, which will open just over the road in July (precise date TBC). Together with indie stalwart Unity Books, Willis Street is turning into something of a booklover’s mecca.
XO Book Co is Juliet Gengenbach’s first bookshop but has been a long-held dream, simmering for 15 years while she worked in the publishing industry, specifically in the romance genre. “It’s a category that I love very much, and I’ve read since I was a teenager,” she says. “But I feel that romance books are often dismissed in terms of literary merit.” Gengenbach’s passion led her to ditch her job in fundraising in December last year to give indie bookshop ownership her best shot.
Over the past few years bookstores dedicated to the romance genre have proliferated alongside the rise and rise of romantasy (including fairy smut) and #BookTok which catalysed during Covid. Gengenbach says there are around 250 romance bookshops around the world including Auckland’s Enamoured Books. The store that started the movement is The Ripped Boddice in Brooklyn, New York, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary.
But is now a good time to plunge into retail? The news is riddled with stories of Wellington’s economic slump and over the past decade we’ve seen the closure of VicBooks and Good Books as financial realities bullied bottom lines. Through it all, Unity Books on Willis St has been a beloved and consistent bedrock of indie book culture. It seems a natural move for new bookshops to nestle in close proximity to such a successful example. “I’m not sure there’s ever a perfect time to start a business,” says Gengenbach. “Certainly there’s a bit of worry, but my focus is on making the bookshop a beautiful, inclusive, welcoming space that people want to come and hang out in, and hopefully purchase some books.”
Location is everything for retail and it took a lot of schlepping around Wellington viewing empty spaces before Gengenbach landed on the perfect spot of 140 Willis Street, a four minute walk from Unity Books which resides at number 57, where Bello, a home goods store used to be (Bello is now online). Part of the appeal was its proximity to other businesses that serve mostly women, who she says will form her primary customer base. “Plus the florist next door is called Juliet – how perfect is that?”
It’s poetic that XO Book Co’s brand is helmed by a lush illustration of a kākāpō by artist Dani Bradford. Earlier this year when Gengenbach was searching around for ideas for the visual identity, Aotearoa’s lusty kākāpō were enjoying a particularly randy time thanks to an abundance of rimu berries. As a sex symbol and the embodiment of resilience, the plump bird is a feathery nod to the enduring appeal of the humble bookshop: “they’re just looking for love,” says Gengenbach.
Brodie Joyce (Kāi Tahu, Pākehā) is also stoked that their bookshop Aurelia Books will be joining the Willis Street coven in July. Joyce was “intentionally picky” about the location and considered Old Bank Arcade, Cuba Street and Lambton Quay before settling on 109, almost right across the road from XO and a three-minute walk from Unity. “It was the best fit for a bookshop because of the layout and the ability to be open in the evenings.” Joyce is planning to run events in the shop to serve Pōneke’s close-knit book community and publishing industry. The space has an auspicious history to it too: “It wasn’t until after I signed the lease that I found out Unity Books used to operate there as well, quite a while ago. That solidified for me that I’d chosen the right location.”
The name Aurelia means “the golden one” and is, says Joyce, “a nod to a hopeful renaissance of reading”. Joyce wants customers to feel welcome to come in, sit down and escape the business of the outside world by luxuriating in a good book. Aurelia is going to be a generalist store that will stock favourites such as Sally Rooney and Kazuo Ishiguro as well as classics such as Austen, Wilde and Dostoevsky. It will also stock Joyce’s personal favourites such as Rebecca F. Kuang, Tracey Deoonn and Martha Wells, as well as art books and children’s books.
Like Gengenbach, Joyce is optimistic about the economic climate. They did the market research, financial forecasting and had a mentor to help them assess risks. “The data (genuinely sexy) on the book industry this year is looking OK given the economic state of Aotearoa – and the world,” they said. “Not to say it won’t be tough and a lot of hard mahi, but the risk of the dream is worth it to me, and just one more book in the arms of someone and their reading of a book in general is a win. I’d rather try and fail, than not try at all.”
There’s also nowhere else in the world that Joyce would rather be than in the heart of Wellington. Joyce grew up in Kāpiti and moved to Te Whanganui-a-Tara for university in 2016: “I’ve never wanted to leave. This city is home and while, yes, it needs a little spruce-up – it’s special.” Joyce loves the buskers on Cuba Street, the saxophone-playing tree man, and the iconic chicken mee goreng at Little Penang.
Like Gengenbach, Joyce is no stranger to the industry even though Aurelia Books is their first bookshop. Joyce completed the Whitireia Graduate Diploma in Publishing in 2025 and used to work at the recently-closed Minerva on Cuba Street. Until Aurelia opens next month Joyce is interning at Huia Publishers in their sales and marketing team. “Aurelia Books is a way for me to hopefully give back to the book and publishing industry, as well as the Pōneke community; especially my fellow LGBTQIA+ peeps,” says Joyce.
Find out more about XO Book Co here, and Aurelia Books, here.