Bruce McKenzie Booksellers Ltd

About

Our store is regularly praised for its traditional bookshop character. “Independent” means were booklovers - we handpick books we think you’ll enjoy.

Story

Bruce started Bruce McKenzie Booksellers for the love of books. His shop first opened in 1996 under the new public library on the south side of the town square in Palmerston North, New Zealand. It was a 60'th birthday present to himself and the fulfillment of a lifetime's dream of owning his own bookshop. That's where it started and that's where you can still find it today.

Bruce was a reader and a book collector as a child and a teen. When he obtained a part time job in a bookshop at university, it lead to him returning to his home town to a full time job in a big family bookshop. He stayed there for 26 years eventually being the principle book buyer and ultimately the general manager. When he left to join Allen and Unwin New Zealand, a new publishing venture, he was considered a knowledgeable and influential force in the New Zealand bookselling world. For four fruitful years as the sales manager of this company he became familiar with bookshops around New Zealand. Then Allen and Unwin, the parent company was sold to Harper Collins and Bruce became a rep for them for ten happy years.

In 1996 the architect Ian Athfield adapted the beautiful 1930 Rosco Department Store building into the spectacular new Palmerston North City Library. When Bruce saw the space planned for a bookshop and how it faced the interesting back street as well as being part of the library... he knew this shop had to be his and not somebody else's.

After all of those years working with books Bruce McKenzie Booksellers is still his life. Now managed by himself, his daughter and a small staff of friendly booksellers he keeps alive the "real bookshop" ethics of service, knowledge and good humour.

Products

Independent Booksellers