Know thy shelf

Tilly Lloyd

UNITY BOOKS, WELLINGTON

Tilly Lloyd pops a book into a paper bag for a happy customer and smiles. A bookstore, she later tells Woman, is much more than just a shop. The one she co-owns is Wellington’s Unity Books, one of the biggest indie bookstores in New Zealand.

Unity is an oasis; a bustling place which connects readers, writers, publishers and booksellers in one happy space.

With her peroxide mane and tortoiseshell glasses, Tilly is one of the most recognisable booksellers in New Zealand – so much so that Unity’s new general manager, Adrian Hardingham, sometimes brings her back to work in store even though she’s in her mid-sixties and trying to retire. When Tilly’s not behind the counter or buying books to stock, her other life is in Paekākāriki, where she has a garden and building project with her long-term partner Gloria Hildred, a musician.

Tilly has been serving loyal Unity customers since she began working in the store about 30 years ago. We meet not long after she has won a prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from the NZ Book Trade Industry – the equivalent of the Booker Prize in bookselling.

She says, in typical modest Tilly style, “I’m really flattered. I think it’s amazing that my peers would do that, but in fact a lot of people make Unity Books. The best stuff often just comes out of everyday bookselling and steerage – all that traffic and vibe is truly a collective effort from everyone who ever worked here.”

Tilly doesn’t like talking about herself and was reluctant to be part of a profile. “I’ll talk about the bookshop, that’s what is interesting,” she says.

Not true. Her life makes a gripping read. Born Eileen Freda, she