Today we profile The Underground Bookstore, a collective of Wellington-based authors passionate about promoting and celebrating New Zealand writers and giving them the recognition they deserve. Here, Vanessa Evetts tells us about TUB’s origins, successes, and goals for the future.
Give us a one-paragraph history of your shop.
The Underground Bookstore was established in 2018 by a handful of Wellington authors in partnership with Your Books NZ. Our goal is to connect local readers and writers and to increase the profile of NZ authors. We are a collective, with a small team of volunteer organisers. Every month, we facilitate 15+ authors in the Wellington region to attend local markets where we sell our range of 80+ titles directly to readers. We launched our online store in 2021 and have now expanded to provide authors from around NZ with a virtual space to sell their books. Our authors receive 100% of the sale price!
What are you recommending this month?
We’ve got a handful of new books and authors who have come on board in the last month, including Christopher Candy, Lynda Tomalin, Georgia Peterson and Anne Moir. We’ve also got some fabulous historical fiction. Jump on www.theundergroundbookstore.nz to check out our range.
What new releases are you looking forward to over the next few months?
Helen V Fletcher will be releasing the final instalment of her Reactive Magic Series, Explosive, in March. In April, prolific Author Rodney Strong will be releasing a collection of Cozy Mystery short stories, 12 Hours of Murder.
Every month, we facilitate 15+ authors in the Wellington region to attend local markets where we sell our range of 80+ titles directly to readers
What do you wish was selling better?
Young adult books outside the fantasy genre are tricky to find an audience for. We’ve got some incredible YA books! Broken Silence and Underwater by Helen V Fletcher, Thanks for Coming by Rodney Strong, and Scars with Sharp Edges by Vanessa Evetts are all stunning reads which would make excellent books for high school senior reading programmes or gifts for those who like books with a bit of a punch.
What’s a nice story you have about matching a book to a customer/reader?
There are so many! There have been a few instances where readers have come to the stand and started raving about one of the books on the table—to discover they are talking to the author of that book. We also get to connect young writers with TUB authors like Denika Mead, who released five fantasy novels between the ages of 14-19, or author and writing teacher Helen V Fletcher. Watching that spark of belief come alive is so special! And being able to autograph books for buyers just makes them that much more personal, whether they are keeping the book or giving it as a gift.
What do you wish publishers would publish?
We want publishers to be as passionate about our local authors as they are about the big names. NZ authors are so talented, we need more of a spotlight on our work, more events, more articles, more opportunities to get our books into the hands of readers nationally and internationally.
We want publishers to be as passionate about our local authors as they are about the big names
What unique challenges/opportunities do you face as an organisation?
There is a lack of awareness of how many talented writers there are in Wellington, let alone in New Zealand. Forging a valued space for NZ authors who’ve chosen to self-publish or have not been discovered in a commercial market is a massive challenge, but one we’re willing to take on. We are volunteers, we are all authors, we are teens or parents or employees and we are all passionate about writing books that readers will love.
Is there anything else you’d like to tell our readers about things you care about, events you have planned, new initiatives, complaints, compliments, anything?
As we continue to expand, we’d love to see more buzz around NZ books, grassroots and commercially—if you LOVE an NZ book, rave about it! Check out our website, visit and support your local independent bookstores, request more NZ books in your local libraries, and write reviews!
We’d love bookstores and media to get behind NZ authors wholeheartedly—not just those who have got publishers, agents, media and awards behind them. How amazing would it be if independently-published authors could send books to major or independent booksellers for them to send out to trusted readers, and make a judgement call from there? Then the booksellers can display chosen books in a place of value in the store! Imagine if every NZ bookstore had an NZ author table in prime position; imagine if NZ bookstores had regular LOCAL author events in which independent authors and readers could attend and interact; and imagine if authors didn’t have to fight so hard to get their books into their local libraries. We want to get more NZ books into the hands of readers, whatever it takes!
We’d love bookstores and media to get behind NZ authors wholeheartedly—not just those who have got publishers, agents, media and awards behind them
We’ve got some incredible book giveaways coming up in the next few months, so make sure you follow us on Facebook @wgtnundergroundbooks and Instagram @the_underground_bookstore, or join our mailing list on www.theundergroundbookstore.nz for monthly updates of new authors, new releases, events and book giveaways.
Vanessa Evetts
Vanessa Evetts has loved being a part of The Underground Bookstore since 2019. She’s authored four gutsy contemporary novels which are captivating stories of courageous women overcoming extraordinary circumstances. When not writing, you’ll find her in the wild, gleaning inspiration from life’s adventures.
The TUB exec is made up of four phenomenal and committed local authors—Vanessa, Rodney Strong, Susan Holt and Helen Vivienne Fletcher.