Waterstones says it can't pay living wage, as 1,300 authors support staff appeal

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 ]
News tagged with: #sally rooney #val mcdermid #david nicholls #michael rosen #living wage #book chain #james daunt #spare time

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Authors United asks DOJ for Amazon probe

Campaign group Authors United has written to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) to ask it to investigate Amazon, which it says has “gained unprecedented power over America’s market for books”. The letter, signed by 575 authors including Scott Turow, Nelson DeMille and Nora Roberts and submitted... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-22 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Staff Pick: Weird Realism: Lovecraft and Philosophy

Senior reviews editor Peter Cannon recommends Weird Realism, a philosophical exploration of Lovecraft and his use of language Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors on the Air August 21, 2015: General Ann Dunwoody

General Ann Dunwoody, author of 'A Higher Standard, Leadership Strategies from America’s First Female Four-Star General' (Da Capo Press, 9780738217796), will appear on CNN’s 'The Lead with Jake Tapper' on Friday, August 21. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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TurnRow Book Company Staff Takes to the Stage

For years, the booksellers at TurnRow Book Company in Greenwood, Miss., have been obsessed with David Mamet’s Pulitzer Prize–winning play Glengarry Glen Ross. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-21 00:00:00 UTC ]
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The State of US Illustrated Book Publishing (Part 1)

PP Exclusive: The first in a series looking at the increasingly competitive and innovative illustrated book publishing market in the United States. The post The State of US Illustrated Book Publishing (Part 1) appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-08-20 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Faith Ed.' Author On Teaching Religion in Schools, Not Preaching

Linda K. Wertheimer, author of "Faith Ed.," explains how educating today's children about world religions could heighten tolerance. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Soup’s On, For a Cause: Big Time Authors Unite for Syrian Refugee Food Relief

Anthony Bourdain, Alice Waters, Mark Bittman, and Yotam Ottolenghi are among the cookbook authors who contributed recipes to 'Soup for Syria: Recipes to Celebrate Our Shared Humanity.' Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-17 00:00:00 UTC ]
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'Solid' Quarto half-year revenues rise 1%

The chief executive of The Quarto Group, Marcus Leaver, said the company achieved a “solid” set of results in the first half of the year, with revenues rising 1% compared to the same period a year earlier.   For the six months ending 30th June 2015, revenues totalled $66.2m (£42.4m), 1% higher... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Staff Pick: Fairy Quest

Assistant editor Drucilla Shultz recommends Fairy Quest, a Kickstarter comic that really jumps off the page. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Diana Kimpton: A manifesto for author-publisher relations

In his call for Your five-minute manifesto for FutureBook, The Bookseller editor Philip Jones wrote that part of the planning of our FutureBook Conference this year (4th December at The Mermaid) is "to take this recent history of the book business and reflect on the job still to do." To that... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-14 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Outrage as Birmingham Libraries appeal for book donations

Birmingham Libraries are reportedly asking the public to donate books published in the last 12 months because of budget cuts.   On Facebook, BBC West Midlands (BBC WM) posted a picture of a leaflet that says: “Books required! Due to public saving cuts we are no longer purchasing any new books... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Waterstones to open three storey shop on Tottenham Court Road

Waterstones is set to open a new three storey bookshop on London’s Tottenham Court Road in October. At 7,000 sq foot, the shop will be the largest Waterstones to open in the capital since the Oxford Street Plaza branch in 2009 and will stock the largest selection of new fiction titles in London... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Periscope's live streaming video reaches nearly 2 million users daily

Now that Facebook is getting into streaming (soon for non-celebs too) and even Google/YouTube is taking notice, the folks at Twitter-owned Periscope are publishing some stats to let us know where the bar is for live video apps. In a blog post on Me... Continue reading at Engadget

[ Engadget | 2015-08-13 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Down, Up, Down Again: The Diary of a Debut Author

UK author Andrew Shantos tracks the elation, frustration and quantification of the first two months of publication of his debut novel, Dead Star Island. The post Down, Up, Down Again: The Diary of a Debut Author appeared first on Publishing Perspectives. Continue reading at Publishing Perspectives

[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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iBooks Bestsellers: Hawkins Back at #1

Paula Hawkins’s 'The Girl on the Train' regained the lead on Apple’s iBooks bestseller list, for the week ended August 10 Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Slant: a publishing platform built on pay-per-click content

Pay-per-click compensation is one topic staid journalists love to hate on. Slant, a new platform-publisher site, has made the model core to its approach, which it hopes will attract writers who might shy away from publishing on platforms that compensate them in exposure rather than cash. The... Continue reading at Digiday

[ Digiday | 2015-08-12 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Tickets for Waterstones Pratchett event sell out fast

Tickets for Waterstones Piccadilly’s midnight opening for the launch of Terry Pratchett’s final Discworld novel The Shepherd’s Crown have sold out, only hours after going on sale.   Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Russian publisher prints books about Putin under names of western authors

Writers consider legal action against Moscow publishing house after discovering series about president circulated in their names. The Moscow Times reportsA Russian publishing house has printed a series of books about Vladimir Putin under the names of prominent western analysts and journalists –... Continue reading at The Guardian

[ The Guardian | 2015-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Twitter: Programmatic Pays More When It's 'Personal'

Twitter’s mobile ad exchange has found that publishers make a lot more money if they just get more personal. Instead of holding an open auction for every bit of ad space, app publishers should forge special relationships with some buyers to ... Continue reading at Editor & Publisher

[ Editor & Publisher | 2015-08-11 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Authors on the Air August 10, 2015: Kay Wills Wyma

Kay Wills Wyma, author of 'I’m Happy for You (Sort of…Not Really): Finding Contentment in a Culture of Comparison' (WaterBrook Press, 9781601425959) will appear on 'Chris Fabry Live!' on Monday, August 10. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-08-10 00:00:00 UTC ]
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