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 Guild Slams 'Inadequate' E-book Royalty

The Authors Guild is asking bestselling authors to push back against the industry's reigning 25% ebook royalty rate "on behalf of all authors, as well as themselves.” Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-09 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Nonprofit House Partners with Authors

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Free school visits ‘one of the worst things an author can do’

Following the debate over whether authors should be paid to appear at festivals, children’s writers have warned that fewer schools are now offering to pay for author visits. Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Cote denies class certification in Authors Solutions case

A lawsuit accusing Author Solutions of seeking to make money from authors, rather than for authors, has been denied class certification by a judge in the US. New York-based law firm Giskan Solotaroff Anderson & Stewart filed a class action lawsuit against Author Solutions in New York in... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-07 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Court Denies Class Action in Author Solutions Case

In a 30-page written opinion, Cote ruled that the plaintiffs failed to produce evidence to back up their fraud claims. Continue reading at Publishers Weekly

[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-06 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Taylor: Waterstones’ focus is on conversations

Waterstones has more than tripled sales of its Fiction Book of the Month in volume terms in the past two years, the company’s head of events and PR Sandra Taylor revealed. She said its Book of the Month choices were “consistently making bestsellers because we are hand-selling better”. Giving... Continue reading at The Bookseller

[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-04 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple Loses E-book Appeal—Now What?

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[ Publishers Weekly | 2015-07-03 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Author seeks Refuge for Books donations

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[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Don't buy gun-shaped cellphone cases, authorities implore

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[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple loses ebook price fixing appeal

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[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Facebook steps up competition with YouTube with ad-supported videos

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[ The Guardian | 2015-07-02 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Harkable's Francis: 'authors must take up challenge of social media'

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[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple loses ebook price-fixing appeal on same day as Apple Music launches

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[ Silicon Valley Business Journal | 2015-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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UK Sends Young Authors to 2015 Guadalajara Book Fair

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ The Bookseller | 2015-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ PC World | 2015-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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[ Los Angeles Times | 2015-07-01 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Apple To Pay $450 Million In Settlement For Price Fixing E-Books

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[ Fast Company | 2015-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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Russian Gov’t Offers Support for Bookstores

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[ Publishing Perspectives | 2015-06-30 00:00:00 UTC ]
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