Carole Beu, owner of The Women's Bookshop

11:11 AM, 24 January 2024

I’ve been doing it for 35 years & have no intention of retiring. I love it! I’ve done a long stint on the Board of Booksellers NZ and the Auckland Writers Festival and am now happy to stay put in the shop. It's a very special feminist environment in which to spend my days.

I review regularly on RNZ and have chaired many events at AWF.

We’re still the bookseller for AWF but my brilliant staff Tanya Gribben and Rachel Cooper now take full responsibility for that huge undertaking.

They, along with our very cool young part-timers, especially Pepper Taylor-Rose and Erin Rogatski, read avidly and love talking about books with our customers. Most of our customers are loyal regulars and many comment on our warm, friendly atmosphere and our outstanding service.

Covid was kind to us. We experienced a huge surge in online sales and that has kept going.

First job in the morning is always to deal with the online orders before our lovely Courier Post guy arrives.

We support the LGBTQI+ community and for many years have taken tables in a tent to Coyle Park in Pt Chev for Big Gay Out. It’s fun to be in that colourful atmosphere and we sell heaps of books.

Our biggest event of the year is our famous LADIES’ LITERA-TEA. We line up a dozen NZ women writers with recently published books, give them 20 minutes each, and stop in the middle for a lavish afternoon tea. Nearly 300 women, including audience, authors & workers, gather at the Raye Freedman Arts Centre at Epsom Girls from 1pm to 5.30pm on a Sunday at the end of October. Tickets sell out fast and we all relish the stimulation of brain and body!

Three or four years ago I was awarded an MNZM for services to the literary industry and the LGBTQI+ community – woohoo – for doing what I love!