Who is behind unity?
It’s been quite a journey until Unity’s project.
For the story, I hold a degree in Book Trades and have over eight years of experience working in bookstores across France, Belgium, Canada, and Scotland, as well as in English-language bookstores in France. My trips have taken me through a wide range of establishments, from small independent bookshops to large commercial and cultural retailers.
In recent years, I’ve focused on section management: reorganizing shelves, highlighting personal favorites, negotiating front-of-store displays, meeting with publishers’ representatives, and organizing themed bi-monthly Story Hours for children to spark literary curiosity and explore contemporary topics. I’ve also curated events pairing French wines with literature in translation and worked as a bookseller at several literary festivals.
These diverse experiences are ones I’m eager to channel into my own bookstore-bar venture. I also bring prior entrepreneurial experience: for three years in Glasgow, I co-founded an online bookstore and wine bar during the Covid crisis.
Cheerful, community-minded, and with several years in the hospitality industry, I’m deeply committed to supporting independent bookstores, and I’m excited to bring my passion, experience, and energy to the success of Unity Bookshop.
Who are the helpers?
Nothing could have been done without Kate & Josh!
Tills Bookshop is an iconic second-hand bookshop located in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded in 1985 by Rick and Ann Till, it is one of the oldest second-hand bookshops in the city.
In 2019, Kate and Joshua McNamara took over the establishment, breathing new life into it while preserving its original charm.
Located at 1 Hope Park Crescent, this small bookshop is nestled near The Meadows park, on the outskirts of the University of Edinburgh. This 60m² shop offers a wide selection of books covering various genres: contemporary and classic literature, science fiction, history, biography, philosophy and sociology.
The collection focuses mainly on novels, science fiction and social sciences, as well as rare and antique books.
Here they are, 3000 books out of their collection is now at Unity, constitutive of the initial stock. Like taking some cuttings of a successful friend’s plant.
Have a look at their website!
Why is the bookshop called unity?
There’s always a story behind, and we love narratives right?
Established in 2006, the Unity Centre has long been a grassroots, volunteer-run hub offering practical support, solidarity, and advocacy for marginalized people—especially migrants, refugees, people facing destitution, or those threatened by detention or deportation. Aurore spent five years volunteering in this amazing hub of resistance.
One of Unity’s core functions has been to operate as a *safe space*—a place that is open, welcoming, non‑judgmental, and secure. In this capacity, it has provided emotional, social, and informational support to people in precarious immigration or housing situations.
The “safe space” aspect isn’t just about physical shelter—it’s about dignity, trust, agency. It means offering a space where people aren’t criminalised, ignored, or made to feel less than human. Unity’s safe space has been a haven for vulnerability and activism: supporting legal needs, welfare, resisting unjust policy, and standing up for people’s rights.
Unfortunately, after the long period of Covid and despite a long time running this space after, the collective had to decide to close its door by December 2023.
Since then, Aurore decided that her bookshop would be partly a revival of The Unity Centre, not only by its “safe space” legacy, but also with its name.
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