Unity Books Wellington

Alan Preston opened Unity Books in 1967 in a Wellington space four feet wide at its narrowest, in the old Empire Building on Willis Street. He was a cricket and soccer player who turned to philosophy after his brother was killed by a cricket ball in 1960. The stock he chose reflected that turn, running to history, classics, philosophy, politics. The shop moved four times in Wellington before settling at 57 Willis Street in 1998. An Auckland branch opened on High Street in 1989, and a children's shop called Little Unity followed next door in 2018. After Preston died in 2005, the Wellington and Auckland shops were re-incorporated separately under staff ownership. Tilly Lloyd co-owns the Wellington shop, which has been managed since November 2024 by Susanna Andrew, formerly editor of North and South. The shop runs roughly forty-five author events and launches a year, and its September calendar alone lists book launches on four separate evenings. Booksellers keep a staff picks wall and take special orders, including imports. Unity states its own position plainly on its about page, describing a space where anyone can sit and think in public without being pressed to buy.