Balancing the books: how Waterstones came back from the dead

The chain of booksellers has announced its first profit in years – thanks in part to a bold decision to run each branch like a local bookshop Late on Thursday afternoon, would-be wizards across the UK dropped what they were doing to join the professors of Hogwarts for Harry Potter night. At 6pm in the basement of Waterstones’ six-storey London Piccadilly building, staff were scurrying around with bowls of jellybeans and bottles of raspberry lemonade, but the Harrys and Hermiones were nowhere to be seen.A couple of elderly customers looked faintly disgruntled to find their favourite section shut for a private party. Two young sisters, Alex, 11, and eight-year-old Polly, fidgeted by the closed door clutching a box of quidditch balls, while Yang, a 22-year-old physics student from Korea, appeared baffled. Related: A Twitter love story: the woman who wed @WstonesOxfordSt Related: Waterstones children’s book prize 2016 shortlists - in pictures Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'

[ The Guardian | 2017-02-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Going West festival is back with new books and writers for 2016

West Auckland's most well-attended literary festival back this year with a fresh line up of local and international writers. Continue reading at Stuff

[ Stuff | 2016-08-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Boris Johnson 'backs out £500k book deal' with Hodder

Boris Johnson has reportedly backed out of a £500,000 book deal with Hodder & Stoughton to write a biography of William Shakespeare. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-07-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #hodder stoughton #boris johnson


Leia Gets Her Badassery Back in the New Star Wars Book

In Claudia Gray's new novel, Bloodline, Princess Leia—sorry, Senator Organa—fights to keep the Senate from crumbling (again). The post Leia Gets Her Badassery Back in the New Star Wars Book appeared first on WIRED. Continue reading at Wired

[ Wired | 2016-05-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Baileys pop-up 'book bar' at new Waterstones

The Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction is opening its first-ever pop-up "book bar" at Waterstones’ new Tottenham Court Road store from Monday 16th May. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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London Book Fair 2016: LBF Opens with Wind at Publishers' Backs

After years of sales declines in the U.K., the London Book Fair opened Tuesday with U.K. sales on the rise. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstones opens 'Harpenden Books'

Waterstones has opened Harpenden Books, the third shop in the company’s portfolio to be named after the town it is based. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Fantastic Beasts': From Book to Film and Back Again

Warner Bros. Consumer Products has announced its global publishing licensees for the November 18, 2016, feature film release 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them,' and its sequels. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-03-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #fantastic beasts #warner bros #consumer products


'Diverse' Waterstones Children's Book Prize shortlist revealed

Fiction books reflecting the “concerns and issues” of modern day children and teenagers have been highlighted in the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2016 shortlist. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #waterstones children


Waterstones reveals New Year Book Club titles

Two Weidenfeld & Nicolson titles and the Desmond Elliott Prize winner are among the eight novels to have made it onto the Waterstones New Year Book Club, commencing in January. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Shareholders Back Anderson Offer for Books-A-Million

At a special meeting held Tuesday afternoon, shareholders of Books-A-Million voted overwhelmingly to accept the $3.25 per share offer from the Anderson family to buy all the shares in the retailer that they didn’t already own. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-12-08 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Google-backed Lost My Name has sold 1m children's books in two years

British startup has shipped to 160 countries, based on its mantra of being ‘a technology company that happens to make physical books’British startup Lost My Name has sold more than 1m of its personalised picture books for children since launching its first title two years ago.The company’s The... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-12-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Children's 'elegant fable' wins Waterstones Book of the Year

Children’s book The Fox and the Star by aPenguin cover designer Coralie Bickford-Smith has beaten Harper Lee and Paula Hawkins to be crowned The Waterstones Book of the Year 2015. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-12-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstones’ Buy Books for Syria campaign surpasses half-way mark

Waterstones has hit the half-way point in its Buy Books for Syria campaign, having raised £500,000 through book sales to help those affected by the conflict in the Middle East. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #buy books #book sales #middle east


Advisory Firm Backs Bid for Books-A-Million

Ahead of a December 8 vote on the proposal by the Anderson family to take Books-A-Million private, an advisory firm recommended that shareholders vote for the offer. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-11-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstones reveals 'richly diverse' Book of the Year shortlist

The shortlist for the Waterstones Book of the Year 2015 has been revealed, featuring a list that would  "not have been produced by an algorithm,” the chain's m.d. James Daunt has said. The eight-strong selection nominated by Waterstones booksellers across the UK encompasses four novels, three... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Jane Friedman on bringing books 'back to life'

Jane Friedman, c.e.o. of Open Road Integrated Media, on ebooks, backlist and drinking "the Kool-Aid very early on digital". Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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US court backs Google book scanning

Google can continue to scan millions of books without violating copyright laws, a US court had ruled. Continue reading at BBC World

[ BBC World | 2015-10-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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E-book VAT 'holds back small markets'

Charging VAT on digital books is “holding back the development of the ebook market in general, and especially in non-English and small-language markets”, the International Publishers Association’s (IPA) José Borghino has said. A global survey of VAT rates, conducted by the IPA and the... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harry Potter Book Night back in 2016

Bloomsbury Children’s Books has revealed plans for a second Harry Potter Book Night in 2016. The event, which will take place on the 4th February, will again include events and activities based on the seven Harry Potter books penned by J K Rowling. More than 10,000 schools, libraries,... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #bloomsbury children #revealed plans #4th february #include events #activities based


Waterstones Summer Book Club titles revealed

Two novels from Pushkin Press have made it onto the Waterstones Summer Book Club collection. The chain retailer has revealed the 10 titles it will champion by recommending to customers over the summer, with Pushkin Press’ One Night Markovitch by Ayelet Gundar-Goshen and The Brethren by Robert... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-06-23 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this | News stories tagged with: #pushkin press #chain retailer #ayelet gundar-goshen