All About Us

Beattie & Forbes Booksellers

Napier's iconic independent bookshop

Beattie and Forbes Booksellers started life as The Office Supply Company, Napier. Opened by Tom Sullivan in 1924 on the corner of Hastings and Tennyson Streets. When the Earthquake struck in 1931 the shop was open. Tom and one of his assistants, Aline Buckley, got out, but tragically his other assistant, Nellie Rolls, was killed. Aline then worked in the store (by now on the opposite corner) for about 50 years. When she finally retired the store had become Beattie and Forbes Booksellers, so named by Graham Beattie and Barry Forbes in 1968.

Since then the shop has changed hands a couple of times and is now owned by James and Megan Landon, both bibliophiles and from retail, (James) and academic (Megan) backgrounds. We are ably supported by Kathleen who has been with Beattie and Forbes for 20 years, Adele and Emma (our Saturday helper), both booklovers (see below for more detail).  The store relocated to a large bright site at 70 Tennyson St in October 2009 after 5 years in Lower Emerson Steet.

With a reputation for great service and still Napier’s only Independent Bookseller we hold a broad range of fiction, non-fiction and children’s books. We specialise in Art, Art Deco, Fashion and Architecture as well as having an extensive range New Zealand History, Maori History and Culture. We also carry a comprehensive selection of New Zealand fiction and poetry.

If you do not see what you want on this site please contact us, we are importers of books from around the world. We also offer a rare and second hand book search service for those hard to find treasures. We are happy to gift wrap your book free of charge and have a best selection of cards in Napier to personalise that gift before sending in NZ or around the world.

We have the most generous loyalty scheme on the high street and a lay-by service. Please ask in store for details.

Whilst we try carry a large range there are items which we carry but are not always in stock. You may still order these items, we will ensure that your order is placed quickly and will keep in touch with you until your order is fulfilled. If you cannot find what you want please do ask - we order online from around the world importing stock every week. We are able to get stock from the USA within a week and are able to do this without passing on large postage costs as we do it in bulk. This represents great value for money at the moment.

 Basically: the answer is yes - now what was the question?

Meet Megan, James and the fantastic team

Megan - Bookseller since 2005, prior to that I was involved in research and lecturing in Environmental Epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. I am loving living in Napier with James and our boys.

James - Started in bookselling when we bought the business, but being an experienced retailer and book lover meant that bookselling was a great fit.  It has also proved a good way to for find the time for a spot of fly fishing.

Kathleen - The stalwart of Beattie & Forbes she has been with the shop for over 20 years. The source of much knowledge and a passionate book lover. Kathleen has seen a great many changes over he years with the way we source, order and communicate to our customers as well as the three owners of the business she has loyally worked for. Kath reads a great deal of crime and contemporary fiction.

Adele - An internationally published Children's author and booklover Adele has joined our team to deliver an excellent school service advising and assisting our school librarians wherever possible. Adele is a great reader and is able to recommend the best books for students - in these times of restricted budgets we think a very useful service. Adele also looks after our Children's section and runs our Tweens Bookclub once a month and hosts our Writers club also held once a month.

Emma - is our Saturday girl - and our Christmas wrapping fairy