News from Unity Books
Wellington book-lovers broke sales records at Unity Books again this year with sales 1-24 December up 2.4% on the same dates last year. The growth is attributed to the mix of stellar publishing and the enthusiastic localism, both on the street and Unity Books Online (up 25%).

Manager and co-owner Tilly Lloyd said the book trade “had a bumpy year not helped by slow EQ recovery in the Wellington region, expressway bypasses especially in Paraparaumu, and a nationwide December melt downs in freight and courier infrastructure”.

It’s been 11 years since Christmas Day fell on a Monday, and the sales pattern was exactly the same as in 2006, with peak traffic on Friday 22nd.

Wellington authors triumphed in the bestseller list. The bestselling NZ nonfiction was Drawn Out: A Seriously Funny Memoir by Tom Scott, published by Allen & Unwin. Top NZ novel was Baby by Annaleese Jochems, published by Victoria University Press. For children’s books, Kate De Goldi and Susan Paris’ Annual #2 anthology self-published by Annual Ink nipped close to the heels of Philip Pullman’s La Belle Sauvage #1 Book of Dust Trilogy published by David Fickling. Both are cross-over titles, appealing to adults as well as teens.

George Saunders’ Man Booker winner Lincoln in the Bardo published by Bloomsbury cleaned up fiction sales. Top LGBTIAQ title was Women and Power by Mary Beard published by Profile.

Unity Books is closed 25th and 26th December and 1st and 2nd of January.
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The shop will be short-staffed on Thursday 28 December while staff attend trade icon Paul Greenberg’s funeral in Palmerston North.

That's a wrap! Thank you Wellington, and everyone who shopped online with us. Merry Christmas! See you on the 27th! 🎊 https://t.co/NcsCyGztsj pic.twitter.com/Gq9jXhjozK

— Unity Books WGTN (@unitybookswgtn) December 24, 2017