Best independent bookshop in the land

BOOK-TASTIC: With its forest-green walls, quirky cards and massive magazine selection, Nelson's Page & Blackmore Booksellers isn't your average book shop. It's the best.

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With its forest-green walls, quirky cards and massive magazine selection, Nelson's Page & Blackmore Booksellers isn't your average book shop. It's the best.

Being named as the Independent Bookseller of the Year at the Thorpe-Bowker 2010 New Zealand Book Industry Awards has stunned its four owners.

"We sat at the table with our mouths open," said co-owner Tim Blackmore of the moment the award was announced at the Booksellers NZ Annual Conference in Auckland.

The Trafalgar St store is owned by Tim and Susi Blackmore and Peter and Ann Rigg and managed by Stella Chrysostomou.

Mr Blackmore said the store had a huge loyal customer base. "The real reason we do well is because of the people of Nelson who support us."

Mr Rigg had a pre-written speech for the awards, thinking the store would be named the regional bookshop of the year for a third year in the row.

The store wasn't the runner-up or the winner and Mr Rigg was expecting another bookstore to take out the Independent Bookseller of the Year award. "We were stunned. It took a minute before we even went up," Mr Rigg said.

The shop had beaten about 100 other independent bookshops.

Mr Rigg said Ms Chrysostomou did a great job promoting books through interesting competitions and author tours. As well as its four owners, the store employs two fulltime and two part-time staff.

Regular customer Jann McPherson said she visited twice a week. "The staff are great and it's easy to find things in here. They seem to have everything even though it's not massive."

The store is the only bookshop in New Zealand to have naming rights for a book festival – the Page and Blackmore Readers and Writer Festival which is part of October's Nelson Arts Festival.

- © Fairfax NZ News