A GROUP OF writers have come together to launch a last-ditch effort to save the bookshop that featured prominently in the film ‘Notting Hill’.

The Travel Bookshop, which is located in London’s plush Notting Hill area, faces closure after more than 30 years in business, reports the Kensington & Chelsea Chronicle.

The shop is  currently holding a two-week, half-price closing down sale but a group of book lovers and writers are fighting to keep the iconic store open.

They have reportedly offered to work for free, one day a week, if an investor comes forward to buy the business.

Olivia Cole, a literary editor at GQ Magazine, has led the campaign, which has started to attract media attention. She is due to appear on BBC radio this morning with Vanessa Feltz and Twitter is abuzz with support for @travelbookshop.

“We [are] hoping to rally writers and poets and volunteers to the idea,” the 30-year-old poet and journalist told the Guardian. “The thought that you could run into a poet or writer while doing your book browsing would also add to the appeal.”

She also told the local media that “a volunteer staff would make the bookshop a much cheaper prospect for a potential new owner”.

The property has been up for sale since May but no buyers have come forward, despite its Hollywood history.

The actual location where the unlikely pairing of a Hollywood actress (Julia Roberts) and bumbling travel book store owner (Hugh Grant) fell in love in the 1999 movie ‘Notting Hill’ has made the shop into a tourist attraction.

According to the Chronicle, the current owner lives in France and his children do not want to manage the family business.

The Telegraph also notes that the company made a post-tax loss of more than £18,000 last year.

The bookshop played its own significant part in the 1999 film. Watch one of its ‘scenes’ (courtesy of Movieclips.com):