Gisborne’s Paper Plus triumphs at Aotearoa book industry awards

Paper Plus Gisborne owners Anita Kingston and John Graham are all smiles after winning the Paper Plus Book Retailer of the Year award at the Aotearoa New Zealand Book Industry Awards.

Paper Plus Gisborne has won Paper Plus Book Retailer of the Year at the Aotearoa New Zealand Book Industry Awards.

Owner Anita Kingston was extremely proud to receive the award.

“It’s wonderful to be recognised here in Tairāwhiti. So many retailers are doing it tough right now, and the punches keep coming, but we are still here, thanks to our supportive community who continue to shop local,” she said.

“We are a destination store, where everyone is welcome. Since Covid, ‘Shop Local’ has been a catchcry here in Gizzy, and we love to shout from the rooftops that we are local. We are owned by locals, employ locals and in turn, spend locally ourselves.

“Our team is very diverse. Our youngest is 13; our oldest is our ‘creativity queen’ at nearly 70.”

The judges were looking for consistently high standards, commercial success and all-round excellence in the business.

The 88 Paper Plus shops nationally were judged on criteria such as operational excellence, commercial sustainability as well as service and the physical shop.

Judges said Paper Plus Gisborne demonstrated an understanding of community and how books and associated material had a role to play in unifying a population.

“Being part of a national chain is not a guarantee for success, particularly in Gisborne, which has been disrupted significantly in the past year and a half. Gisborne Paper Plus has cemented its place as a defacto community hub as well as a great place to buy books.”

Booksellers Aotearoa New Zealand association manager Renee Rowland was delighted for each of this year’s winners in what has been a challenging year for booksellers.

“Booksellers, like most retailers, are impacted by the softening in sales across the motu. The winners celebrated this evening have all pushed the boat out, working extremely hard, as all our bookseller members do, to ensure success now and in the future. On behalf of the association, I thank and salute you all,” Rowland said.

Untouchable Girls: The Topp Twins Story by Jools and Lynda Topp won the Nielsen BookData NZ Award for the bestselling New Zealand title at the awards.

Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt by Lucinda Riley and Harry Whittaker (Pan MacMillan) won the Nielsen BookData NZ International Bestseller Award.

These awards were among 15 honours presented to booksellers, publishers and book trade stalwarts for excellence, success and innovation in work carried out in the industry between April 2023 and March 2024.

The awards have been running for over 20 years.