Managing director says book chain ‘simply not profitable enough’, as Sally Rooney, Val McDermid and other authors write to protestMore than 1,300 writers including Kerry Hudson, David Nicholls, Sally Rooney, Michael Rosen and Val McDermid have backed a campaign for Waterstones booksellers to be paid the living wage.The support follows a petition from staff at Waterstones, signed by more than 6,000 people, which calls on the book chain’s managing director, James Daunt, to pay booksellers a starting living wage of £9 an hour, or £10.55 for the Greater London area. “Working for a rate of pay that is below the living wage results in booksellers who are stressed, preoccupied and who have little spare time and energy to devote to buying books, reading them, and keeping up with news and trends in the industry – all of which activities are undertaken outside contracted hours, and which many staff consider to be (and are encouraged to view as) integral to their role,” says the petition. Related: Balancing the books: how Waterstones came back from the dead Continue reading... Continue reading at 'The Guardian'
[ The Guardian | 2019-03-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
Leading publishing figures, including Waterstones m.d James Daunt, chair of Penguin Random House UK Gail Rebuck, author Philip Pullman and poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, have signed a letter to say they believe leaving the European Union would "severely weaken" the UK's creative industries. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-05-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At the ABA town hall, booksellers raised a range of issues, from paying a living wage to whether cover prices should be removed from books. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly
[ Publishers Weekly | 2016-05-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Amazon “defines” how Waterstones behaves, James Daunt, m.d. of Waterstones has said, but he added that a really good high street bookshop was "addictive" and could not be replicated online. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Writers David Mitchell, Ali Smith, Cathy Cassidy, Nick Hornby and David Nicholls are among the top names who have signed an open letter supporting the occupiers of Carnegie Library and condemning the proposed changes to the Lambeth library service. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-04-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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From Brexit (no) to bookstore social space (yes) Waterstones' managing director James Daunt is certain about one thing: He wants 'to sell more books.' The post Waterstones’ James Daunt: ‘Student of Bookshops’ appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives
[ Publishing Perspectives | 2016-03-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstones must sustain three years of consecutive profit-making before the company can “stand on its own two feet” and not rely on the “charity” of its owner, the chain’s m.d. James Daunt has said. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-15 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The UK’s possible exit from the European Union, looking likely to be the subject of a summer referendum, would be a disaster for the book trade, according to industry figures such as Waterstones m.d. James Daunt, Bonnier Publishing c.e.o. Richard Johnson and Alma Books m.d. Alessandro Gallenzi. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The support for National Libraries Day, which took place on Saturday and saw communities across the UK participate in more than 850 events, was "truly inspirational" and featured endorsements from authors and illustrators Sir Quentin Blake, Michael Rosen and Sarah McIntyre. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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At some point back in 2013, I asked a senior publisher if they had a contingency plan for a world with fewer high street bookshops. It was a period when ebook sales were growing ever bigger, taking chunks out of print fiction’s market share; Amazon was revelling in its recent victory over those... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2016-02-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstones is on course to make a small profit this year but it is “all to play for” over the next few weeks, the chain’s m.d James Daunt has said. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-24 00:00:00 UTC ]
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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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Accent Press founder Hazel Cushion has called on the industry to end “morally wrong” unpaid internships and improve diversity by signing up to pay the Living Wage to staff. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-05 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Over 40 authors including Alan Gibbons, Cathy Cassidy and Michael Rosen have backed a protest against the current UK school system following the "deeply disturbing" findings of a poll which suggested more than half of teachers are thinking of quitting. Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-11-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Michael Rosen answers questions about the new Laugh Out Loud Book Prize (the Lollies). Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-27 00:00:00 UTC ]
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In a week when The Bookseller reported that James Daunt was removing Kindle devices from most of Waterstones’ shelves, one wonders if the ever-pragmatic boss of the high street chain was simply making room for Super Thursday books. Last year the trade contrived to release 300 hardbacks... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-10-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Channel 4 is set to broadcast a 30-minute animation based on Michael Rosen and Helen Oxenbury’s bestselling picture book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt. The channel’s chief executive officer Jay Hunt and head of drama Piers Wenger commissioined the programme, striking a deal with Walker... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-26 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Paula Hawkins’ bestseller leads a crop of psychological thrillers, in a top 20 dominated by womenDark psychological thrillers dominate the list of the year’s bestselling ebooks unveiled by Amazon, with MP Nadine Dorries making it into a line-up composed almost entirely of female writers.The... Continue reading at The Guardian
[ The Guardian | 2015-08-25 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Booksellers say they are enjoying a “bumper summer”, with the release of Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman encouraging people to “re-engage with books and bookshops again.” James Daunt, m.d of Waterstones, said the release of the William Heinnemann title last month had injected life into the... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The proposed rise in the Minimum Wage announced by chancellor George Osborne in his recent budget will “hit indies hardest”, booksellers have said. Osborne said the Minimum Wage for people aged 25 and over would rise to £7.20 per hour in April 2016 (it is currently £6.50 per hour for those aged... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-28 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Established authors Ann Cleeves and Peter James and newcomer Paula Hawkins were among the winners of the inaugural Dead Good Reader Awards. The awards, given out on Friday 17th July at the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, were voted on by readers and members of... Continue reading at The Bookseller
[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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