How one woman's reading spiral became a bookshop
Written by Anastasia – founder, book obsessive, and the person responsible for this whole beautiful mess.
The Grimoire started, as many sensible business decisions do, with sleep deprivation, emotional overwhelm, and a complete loss of control around books.
During my pregnancy with my first son, I developed antenatal depression. After he was born, I was trying to find my feet as a new mum, caring for a beautiful baby boy with colic, and then, at just seven weeks old, he got sick and needed surgery. So I escaped into reading.
I have always been a reader, but I had not read like that in years because I know what I'm like. Once I start a book, I need to know what happens, and both sleep and work would become optional. Four months later, I had read 122 books.
Then I discovered special edition books and, well, the ship had well and truly sailed.
Sailed, caught fire, turned into a dragon, and started demanding sprayed edges.
Living at the bottom of the world makes it harder than it should be to get our hands on the beautiful books we see the rest of the world casually showing off. Signed editions, exclusive covers, foiled hardbacks, limited runs – all the good stuff that seems to arrive everywhere except New Zealand.
After talking to a few bookstores who were not particularly helpful, nor especially bothered by my very real and very dramatic conundrum, my husband eventually said:
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— Aaron, Willing Co-conspiritor & long-suffering husband
"For f***'s sake darl, just do it yourself."
The business plan. In its entirety.
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So, unfortunately for my bank account and dangerously for your bookshelves, I did.
The Grimoire exists because I know how frustrating it is to want a specific book, in a specific edition, with the correct ISBN, the correct cover, the right sprayed edges, the right publisher, and preferably without needing to sell a kidney to get it shipped to New Zealand.
I spend hours confirming ISBNs, comparing US versus UK editions, checking publisher details, tracking special features, and getting into the tiny, ridiculous, beautiful details that matter when you are buying a collector's edition. Because when you order a special edition, you do not want "close enough". You want the one.
And the cool thing about being a small independent bookshop is that sometimes we can move faster than the big guys. We can source straight from publishers, wholesalers, and distributors, and occasionally beat the bigger bookstores to market because we are small, obsessive, and running on caffeine and spite.
Since starting The Grimoire, I have also ended up with two darling sons. So now my bookshelf displays my beautiful books alongside Hot Wheels cars, diggers, chainsaws, fire trucks, and whatever unidentified object one of them has decided is emotionally important that week. It is a perfect mix of my love for books and the small, chaotic joys that come with being a mum.
— So, what actually is a Grimoire, and how do you pronounce it without panicking? —
We often get asked, “The Grimoire – what does that mean? And how on earth do I say it?” A grimoire, pronounced grim-wah, is known as a book of magic. Fitting, right?
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pronounced
grim-wah
noun
Book of Magic
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The word has roots in French and is linked to the word “grammar”, which feels wildly appropriate for a bookshop and also slightly threatening if you have ever feared being corrected by someone online.
Grimoires show up often in fantasy books, games, and magical worlds. If you read fantasy, play fantasy games, or have ever become emotionally attached to a morally grey character with a sword and a tragic backstory, you have probably come across one. So yes, The Grimoire is a little dramatic. But honestly, so are most of the books we sell.
— The very serious job title —
One thing people often miss is my job title. When I started The Grimoire, I had to decide what I was going to call myself. CEO? Director? Owner? All technically fine, but also a bit much for a tiny bookshop that began with me obsessing over ISBNs and trying to source pretty books from overseas.
So, like all good fruit loops, I went outside the box and landed on: Bibliophile.
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official job title
Bibliophile
noun
A person who deeply loves, reads, and often collects books.
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And if that is not damn near exactly what The Grimoire is about, then dress me up in red and call me Santa.
— Special editions, rare finds, and the kind of covers that make people lose all financial discipline —
The Grimoire specialises in special and limited edition books. That means signed editions, exclusive covers, sprayed edges, foiled hardbacks, collector's editions, deluxe versions, box sets, and books that make you say, "I absolutely do not need this," while adding it to cart anyway.
We focus on sourcing the editions that are harder to get in New Zealand – the books that are easy to see online, easy to want, and often deeply annoying to actually get your hands on from this side of the world. We care about the details because collectors care about the details.
The right edition matters. The right ISBN matters. The right cover matters. Whether it is the US edition, the UK edition, the exclusive edition, the signed edition, or the one with the edges that make your soul briefly leave your body – we get it.
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We are not here to sell you "a version" of the book. We are here to help you get the version you actually wanted.
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— Indie authors, women authors, and the absolute legends writing the books we cannot stop screaming about —
One thing The Grimoire has grown into, and something we are incredibly proud of, is supporting indie authors and women authors.
We have had the absolute privilege of working with women indie authors on book launches, signed editions, and special releases, as well as bringing signed editions from both indie and traditionally published authors to our customers.
There is something pretty special about helping connect readers with authors directly – especially when those authors are building worlds, writing characters we become unwell about, and creating books that deserve to be held, collected, displayed, and screamed about in group chats.
Working with authors to bring signed books, exclusive editions, launch events, and special releases to readers has been one of the best parts of The Grimoire so far. And honestly, we are just getting started.
— No, we do not only sell Romantasy. But also… look, Romantasy is having a moment —
We often get asked if we only sell Romantasy. The short answer is no.
The slightly longer answer is: we sell across all genres, but we specialise in special editions – and right now, a lot of the special edition market is very romance, fantasy, and Romantasy heavy.
That does not mean we only stock those genres. Since opening, we have stocked thrillers, general fiction, fantasy, sci-fi, contemporary romance, romantasy, dark romance, literary fiction, and plenty of books that refuse to sit neatly in one category.
It just so happens that a large chunk of the special edition world is currently giving the girlies, the fantasy readers, the romance readers, and the "I can fix him" community an absolute feast. And we are not mad about it.
Not all of our readers are women, and not all of these books are "for women", but many of the editions we source are created with a strong collector and female readership in mind. Beautiful design, high emotion, dramatic stakes, morally questionable love interests – you know, literature.
At the end of the day, if it is beautiful, collectible, hard to get, or likely to cause a minor emotional collapse, we are interested.
— Warehouse chaos, book launches, signings, and whatever else we accidentally commit to —
So, where to next? With our warehouse fit-out due to be completed in September 2026, we are working towards hosting book launches, signings, open days, book club meetings, movie screenings, and other bookish events in-house.
Basically, we are building the kind of space we always wanted to exist. A place where readers, collectors, authors, and book people can come together, talk books, discover new favourites, meet authors, browse special editions, and be surrounded by people who understand that "I bought another book" is not a confession. It is a lifestyle.
There are some very cool things coming, and we cannot wait to see where The Grimoire ends up.
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coming september 2026
Book launches, signings, open days, book club meetings, movie screenings, and other bookish events — in house.
A space we always wanted to exist.
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Welcome to
The Grimoire
A bookshop for collectors, romantics, fantasy addicts, special edition gremlins, and anyone who has ever said "just one more chapter" and ruined their own life.
We are so glad you found us.
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The Grimoire is a New Zealand-based independent bookshop specialising in special, limited, signed, exclusive, and hard-to-find editions. We are here for the readers who care about the details. The collectors who know exactly which edition they want. The people who love beautiful books, chaotic characters, dramatic plots, and shelves that are already full but somehow still accepting new residents.
