| Juliet at the entrance of her new bookstore XO Book Co |
A long-held dream to open a romance specific bookstore has come true for Juliet Gengenbach. We ask her how it came about.
A kākāpō might seem an unlikely mascot for a romance themed bookshop, but as owner Juliet Gengenbach says, “They’re just out there looking for love, too”. Juliet is owner of one of Te Whanganui-a-Tara’s newest businesses, XO Book CO on Willis St. One month to the
day after opening the doors, WCL settled down on the instore couch in front of the fire to chat with Juliet about how it was going.
WCL: Tell us who you are and what you do
JG: I'm Juliet Gengenbach, and I'm the owner of XO Book Co, a romance bookshop. I opened the doors a month ago.
WCL: A new business is always exciting - what experience do you bring to this role?
JG: Well, I have been a romance reader since I was a teenager. My love of reading, and specifically my love of the romance genre, inspired me to study English literature and publishing at university. After I graduated, I went on to work in publishing with a focus on romance books. Romance books are quite often overlooked by the publishing world, but romance books are a very strong economic driver in publishing. For decades romance has been, if not the top-selling genre, then certainly in the top five.
When I was working in publishing, there were a few romance-specific bookshops popping up around, but in the last ten or fifteen years, we've really seen a great expansion. Now there are about five hundred all around the world, most of them being in the States.
So, I had the thought to open a romance bookshop, but it wasn't quite the right time. I bounced around between marketing jobs and fundraising jobs and then finally this last summer, I decided it was time for me to take the leap and chase my dream of opening a romance bookshop. And here we are.
WCL: Opening a business, particularly a niche bookshop in the current economic climate, seems very optimistic. Why are you doing this to yourself?
JG: This has been my dream for a long time, and I don't know if I think that there's ever a perfect time to open a business.
When the economy is doing great, I think there are other factors such as rents are higher, or there's greater competition. However, the facts and the data behind romance books specifically really bucks the trend in the world of publishing.
Romance as a genre has seen a massive increase in sales and revenue since Covid. With the rise of people on Tiktok (or “Booktok”) talking about romance books specifically, the growth in romance is completely counter to what we might be seeing in the rest of the book world. The growth that romance books have seen in the last few years is in the double digits easily and continues to grow and continues to contribute a greater proportion of overall publishing revenue over the last few years.
What I'm focused on really is just trying to make my shop and the selection of books that I offer as best as it possibly can be to cater to romance readers that we know are very devoted, voracious readers.
WCL: Do you think, with this growth in the last few years, that it's a bit of a woman's quiet backlash against the whole toxic manosphere thing? You know, they're just quietly reading this fantasy world where relationships are much nicer to have?
JG: Something that I love about the romance genre is that it's incredibly empowering to women. I think that women are really hungry for media in general that shows women winning, that shows women going after what they want. And getting it. And so what I love about these books in general and what I love about the space that I've created is that it is very much a women's place. And I think that that's beautiful.
WCL: What makes a romance novel? Because the genre is quite diverse. There’s contemporary, erotica, historical. You’ve got the traditional pink and fluffy Barbara Cartland and Mills and Boon. Then there’s queer and fantasy. When you're selecting, what do you look for?
JG: Romance as a genre has two inviolable rules. The first is that the plot must centre around a romantic relationship. And the second is that it must have a happy ever after or a happy for now, basically a happy ending.
Within that, as you noted, there's a whole diverse range of subgenres and ideas that can be explored. But those are the two main things that classify a romance within different genres of books.
WCL: It used to be girl meets boy, sparks flew. Misunderstanding. They got back together. Happy ever after. But you talk about the diversity. How has it changed?
JG: Well, I would say that romance has come a long way from the bodice rippers that our moms and grandmas read. They're no longer this sort of submissive fantasy of relationships. In most, if not all, of these books that we have here in the shop, it features a female character going after something that she truly wants and she wins in the end. And I think that's amazing.
I think that there's this kind of lingering perception that these are chick lit or beach lit, and there certainly are some like that. But I would argue that just like with literary fiction, for example, there's a spectrum that exists. I have read so many beautifully written, life-changing, thought-provoking romance books just the same as I've read some that are great vacation reads that don't leave a huge impression.
I think there's room for all of those within the genre just in the same way that we recognize that not every book in the library is going to win the Booker prize.
But I think because of the way that society at large tends to view things that are mainly enjoyed by women, romance kind of labours under this misapprehension that it's all about, like you say, fluffy and sort of formulaic. Boy meets girl. They have a misunderstanding and then they wrap it up and they have a happy ever after.
That’s certainly one plot scaffolding that you can find in romance. But there are heaps beyond that. And I would love to invite anyone who thinks that about romance to come in and let me change their mind.
WCL: What about the growth of queer fiction as well. The girl meets girl plot line?
JG: We have a significant queer section that is only going to grow over time. And it's been incredibly popular in the month that we've been open, which I'm so excited about.
I've heard from customers coming in that it's hard to find those queer stories represented in more traditional bookstores. It's really important to me to offer all kinds of love stories in my shop.
WCL: There's also a few men who sneakily like a little bit of romance. Are they welcome here?
JG: We've definitely had some men in here. It's always exciting to have men come in here curious about the genre, interested in reading something new.
I'm happy to help anyone who comes in the store find a book that they're going to love.
Photo supplied. Photography by Catherine Adam
WCL: Are you targeting a particular demographic or are you targeting everyone? A lot of your advertising is on social media, that is a certain demographic to some degree. But do you also have stuff for Nana as well as young adults?
JG: We're not doing heaps of YA. We're really kind of focused on the eighteen-plus demographic because romance does tend to be on the spicy side for the most part.
We do have some low-spice books and some young adult books in here, but really we are focusing on adult romance books here. With that said, I believe that I can find something for anyone, whether they're looking for super spicy, no spice, high school-aged protagonists or forty-year-olds. I believe that we've created a great breadth in the selection here that can appeal to anybody who walks in looking for something to read.
WCL: Your frontage appeal is wonderful - the way you've got everything laid out, and the use of colour creates a beautiful visual appeal to pull people in.
JG: Thank you. I really wanted it to be a cozy and welcoming and inclusive space. And I also wanted it to feel like a serious bookshop because I take these books very seriously as a reader and as someone who has an interest in English literature.
Despite what people might think, this is literature. You know someone did sit down and write these books and put in the hard yards to make a story that was entertaining and meaningful. So I wanted it to feel like a serious bookshop, but with a romance edge and with a little bit of a Wellington edge as well.
WCL: And the balance of in-store shopping versus online and hard copy versus audio - how do you see that playing out?
JG: It's been mostly people coming physically into the shop to buy books. We are shipping around New Zealand, and we've certainly gotten some online orders.
We've gotten feedback that some books within the romance genre are a bit hard to find and people prefer to support a small local business instead of say, Amazon. We're excited to be able to offer these books around New Zealand.
There's an element, too, that a lot of these books are beautiful objects, and there's certainly a lot of customers who might have already read these books but they don't own them and they want to have them on their shelf. We've got these special editions that have gorgeous sprayed edges and foil covers and things like that. People want to have it as an object in their home and that's really lovely.
WCL: Do you plan to hold events eg author talks, and the like, in due course?
JG: Absolutely. We've already held our first monthly book club meeting and plan to have little events sprinkled throughout the month. We've got heaps of ideas that I'm really excited to bring to life.
We’ve just had a PowerPoint night where people make PowerPoint presentations on our chosen topic such as our top book crushes. We've got a book launch slated for September with a Kiwi author. I'm hoping to cultivate not only a fun and beautiful shopping experience but also a community of romance readers here within Wellington through the shop.
WCL: What's the local romance writing community like? Will you stock independently published books?
JG: We have certainly stocked some independent writers. We're sold out of them at the moment, but we're getting more in. I definitely want to be a platform for local writers to get their books in the hands of readers. Our opening week response was enormous. And I've had to do some scrambling to restock the shelves.
WCL: That's a nice segue into the recent report from the Booksellers industry and the frustration many of the indie booksellers are experiencing at the moment with supply chain challenges. A book may be written by a New Zealand author, but it's actually probably printed in China, and it's shipped from Australia at the closest. There are these massive delays at times along with increasing costs. Have you experienced any of that?
JG: I think it's the beauty and the curse of living in a remote island country like New Zealand. Most of the books that I stock come from Australia. They come here by boat.
And they can take four to eight weeks to arrive. But I do find that most customers are aware that it can sometimes take some time for things to get here.
As a bookseller who's trying to keep my shelves full all the time, it can be slightly challenging. But it's my job to keep on top of that and to make sure that I'm planning ahead six, eight weeks down the track.
WCL: What other challenges do you face in retail at the moment?
JG: I mean, there's a lot of global uncertainty right now. New Zealanders, and people all around the world, are struggling with the cost of living. We're all feeling that uncertainty about the future, but I do feel encouraged knowing that romance books are oftentimes a bit of an escape from real world cares and worries. I love to escape into a great book.. So I think making sure that I've got the best selection at a good price is something that is helping me feel more confident going into those uncertainties.
And Wellington is a book town. I think of how huge the crowds were when the library re-opened, how busy the library continues to be. We've got Unity, which is always heaving. And we've got a new bookshop opening across the street called Aurelia. I'm excited to be a part of that.
WCL: It is interesting that two new bookshops are opening across from each other on Willis St, with Unity down the street. Do you see the sort of some power in your proximity and the potential of working together in a way to start a romance festival or something like that?
JG: Absolutely. I think the sky is the limit. If we put our heads together and put our hearts into it there's so many opportunities that we could take advantage of and so many things that we could do to really solidify Wellington as a book town.
WCL: Do you think the move to New Zealand and, in particular Wellington, has given you some freedom to pursue your dreams? Do you think you would have taken this step if you’d remained in the States?
JG: My family came to Wellington almost five years ago. We came here because we felt that we could give our little boy a better life here than we could in the States. And so far, that has been true. My family is here for the long haul. We have a very happy life here. I think this bookshop grew out of that overall happiness that we had in being in New Zealand and being immigrants in a country that we found so welcoming.
WCL: The hard question for a brand new business but where do you see yourself long term?
JG: I’ve made it to one month, then I'll be happy to make it to a year. I'll be happy to make it to five years. So far I'm having just the joy of my life seeing this dream come true. I’m getting to put romance books into the hands of readers. I love to spend all day yapping about my favourite things in the world. Aside from being a mom and being married to my husband, reading, and specifically reading romance books, is my favourite thing. I would love it if this business could make it to the one year mark and then the five year mark. I'm doing my absolute best to make that happen. Aside from that, as long as it stays being just this fun, I'll be thrilled.
WCL: Having fun while you're doing it is a very important factor in a business.
JG: It's also a lot of work. I'm a one-woman show here. I don't have business partners or backers. I'm certainly experiencing that learning curve of being a first-time business owner. I pinch myself, like, “Did I really create this shop? Is this really my life? Is this really what I get to do every day?” Every time I get a shipment of books, opening every box is exciting and it feels like Christmas because I get to hang out with these books all day long.
WCL: Tell us about the significance of the kākāpō in your logo because it doesn't scream romance.
JG: I have a very dear friend who's a graphic designer in the States. We were working out the graphic design for the bookshop over the summer, and the big news this summer, of course, was the banner year for kākāpō mating season.
I was telling her about this because I love kākāpō and think they're adorable. I said something like “They're just out there looking for love,” and she was like, “Wait, kākāpō as a mascot!” Originally we were going to do a kākāpō somewhere. But then she drew this gorgeous kākāpō heart. It was one of those synergy moments where it all perfectly came together. And so the kākāpō is our mascot because they're just looking for love, too. And the feedback I've gotten from a lot of people is that they love the kākāpō heart.
WCL: Last one - favourite recommendations or is there just too many?
JG: There are so many great books here, but my favourite recommendationis a Kiwi author named India Bolton. She lives near Auckland and she writes these gorgeous genre-bending books. They're part historical romance, part fantasy romance. They're zany and funny, they’re not terribly spicy and I think they're really easily accessible for anyone wanting to kind of try a romance who has never tried it before.
I love to promote local authors and she's been lovely to work with. She actually sent us some signed bookplates to put in all of our books of hers so people can get a signed book from her as well.
Courtesy of Wellington Libraries
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