New chapter for beloved landmark as Nairn Bookshop welcomes new owner
The beloved Nairn Bookshop will start a new chapter this month, with a new owner lined up.
Mavis Macdonald announced in April she would retire from her business – which she has been running for 14 years.
Now, she is welcoming former philosophy lecturer and barrister Samantha Holland (51) to take on the business.
“I was really looking for a way to be more present in Nairn,” said Ms Holland, who decided to become a permanent resident of the area after her mother – originally from Aberdeen but who had spent the last 25 years living in Nairnshire – passed away four years ago.
“It was exactly at that time, when I was thinking of a business idea or a way to connect with the local community, that I saw Mavis’s announcement about the bookshop, and it just felt like the perfect opportunity.”
After being selected from around 20 people interested in becoming the new owner – of which around six made the final interview, according to Mavis – Samantha is now looking forward to get in the business and learn the tricks of the trade from Mavis, who will be supporting her in the first few months, alongside loyal members of staff whose roles will all be maintained under the new ownership.
Samantha said: “I don’t have plans to change the shop. There might be, of course, some minor changes in terms of stock as I learn what people are interested in reading and in general with new books being published, but people can be reassured that I am not thinking of making any major changes to the bookshop. Mavis and the former owners did a great job in making the bookshop the popular business it is today and it’s great for me to be able to take on something which is already well-known.
“I am very lucky that Mavis and the staff, who are all very passionate about their job, will be there to help me at the start.”
Samantha has been a freelance editor for publishers for years. After a life spent travelling, studying and working around the world – from the US to the Galapagos, as well as Sheffield and Aberdeen – she is also a former lecturer in film and audiences.
“That’s something I am really interested in, how people read a text, what they want to read, and this side of working in a bookshop will be very interesting,” she said.
Mavis said that among the contenders who approached her to take on the bookshop, she was pleased that Samantha was very aware of the less ‘romantic’ side of owning a bookshop.
Mavis said: “I had a good feeling, from our first emails she was very open – for instance, she told me she would have to be away for a few weeks – and that’s great for me, I can work around that.
“It just felt like the right time to leave. I didn’t expect the interest that my first tweet sparked online. A bookshop has some kind of magic appeal to it and many don’t realise that this is not all about sitting among books and reading all day.
“I am an emotional person and will surely shed some tears when I leave, but I am sure I have made the right decision.”
A farewell/welcome event is planned for July 22 – from 10am-4pm. Mavis will be saying goodbye to loyal customers on her last day as owner while introducing them to Samantha, who will officially be in charge of the bookshop from July 24.
