 | |
| Formerly |
|
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Retail Bookshop |
| Founded | Old Brompton Road, London, 1982; 43 years ago (1982) |
| Founder | Tim Waterstone |
| Headquarters | London, England, UK |
Number of locations | 317 shops[2] (2024) |
Area served | United Kingdom, Ireland, Belgium, Netherlands |
Key people | James Daunt (MD) |
| Products | Books, stationery |
| Revenue |  £528.4 million (2024)[3] |
| £32.8 million (2024)[3] | |
Number of employees | 3,641[2] (2024) |
| Parent | Elliott Management Corporation |
| Website | www |
Waterstones Booksellers Limited,trading asWaterstones (formerlyWaterstone's), is a Britishbook retailer based inLondon, England, owned by the American investment groupElliott Investment Management. It operates 317 shops, mainly in the United Kingdom and other nearby countries.[4] As of 2024[update] it employed over 3,600 staff in Britain and Europe.[4] The average Waterstones branch sells a range of approximately 30,000 individual books,[5] as well asstationery and other related products.
Founded in 1982 byTim Waterstone, the bookseller expanded rapidly until being sold in 1993 toWHSmith.[6] In 1998 Waterstones was bought by a consortium of Waterstone,EMI, andAdvent International.[7] The company was taken under the umbrella ofHMV, which later merged theDillons andOttakar's brands into the company.[6] Following several poor sets of results for the group, HMV put the chain up for sale. In May 2011 it was announced that A&NN Capital Fund Management, owned by the Russian billionaire businessmanAlexander Mamut, had bought the chain for £53.5 million[8] and appointedJames Daunt as the managing director.[9] The company is incorporated inEngland and Wales asWaterstones Booksellers Ltd, with its registered office at 203–206Piccadilly, London (which is also the location of itsflagship shop).
Waterstones also ownsHodges Figgis (the oldest bookshop inIreland, founded in 1768),[10]Hatchards (the oldest bookshop in Britain, founded in 1797),[11] andFoyles (a chain of seven bookshops in England).[12]
In April 2018 the American investment-management firmElliott Management Corporation bought a majority stake in the company.
The bookseller hasconcession agreements withPaperchase and previously had ones with the coffee chainsCosta Coffee andStarbucks in some shops, but since 2012 has introduced its ownCafé W brand.[13] For a time, Waterstones solde-readers, including in 2012 partnering withAmazon to sell theAmazon Kindle,[14] but has since pulled out of this market for commercial reasons.[15]
Waterstones administers and supports various literary awards, including theChildren's Laureate award[16] and theWaterstones Children's Book Prize.[17]
The chain was founded in 1982 byTim Waterstone after he took a[18][19] £6,000 redundancy payout from WHSmith. He set up his first shop inOld Brompton Road,Kensington with the ambition of creating a "different breed of bookshop", using techniques he had seen in the United States.[18] He used literary authors in front-of-shop displays and employed highly literate staff.[20]
The model proved successful and the chain set about expanding its shop portfolio. In 1990 WHSmith took a strong minority stake in the chain, and ten years after its birth, by 1992, Waterstone's had grown to be the largest bookseller group in Europe. WHSmith[20] then acquired the company in 1993 at an enterprise value of £47m, paying £5.27 a share on 8.1m 10p shares, a 53x multiple for the early-stage investors.[21] Under WHSmith, Waterstones pursued international expansion, opening its first US shop inBoston in 1991,[7] as well as further domestic expansion—opening its 100th UK shop in aformer chapel in Reading.[7]
The chain was part of the eventual dismantling of theNet Book Agreement, when in 1991, following a promotion by then-rivalsDillons, the company decided to pursue its own discounting promotion on selected titles.[22] By 1997, the agreement had collapsed and been declared illegal.[23]
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WHSmith sold the Waterstones chain for £300 million to HMV Media plc (later HMV Group)—a joint venture between EMI, Advent International and Tim Waterstone.[7] This included high-street brandsHMV and rivalDillons, creating an international entertainment retailer. Waterstone was appointed chairman of the group but stood down in 2001, citing "concerns for the way the company was being run",[21] and was replaced byAlan Giles.[24] A year later, all Dillons shops were rebranded as Waterstones, with some sold to rivalOttakar's, making the brand defunct. The chain had also begun pulling out of its US overseas venture.[25]
In 2001, Waterstones launched theWaterstones Books Quarterly magazine, containing book reviews and author interviews. In the same year, the booksellers' online operation, Waterstones.co.uk, was franchised toAmazon.com, with the company expressing a desire "to concentrate on its high street and campus shops". The move resulted in the loss of 50 jobs.[26] In 2003, Waterstones announced it was supportingDyslexia Action as its chosen charity, helping to raise awareness and understanding for dyslexia.[27]
In 2006, Giles stepped down from his position and was replaced by Gerry Johnson as managing director of Waterstones[28] andSimon Fox as group CEO.[29] In April 2006, following two bids byPermira for the group, Tim Waterstone attempted to buy back the company from HMV for £256 million,[30] but later withdrew his offer, specifying that the conditions set by HMV were "too punitive" to accept.[31] A strategic review in September saw Waterstones pull out of its franchise agreement with Amazon to re-launch its online business,Waterstones.com, independently.[32] The chain also began to pilot aloyalty programme in South-West England and Wales. The scheme was successful, launching nationally asThe Waterstones Card across its entire shop portfolio.[33]
Waterstones piloted a brand refresh exercise in selected shops, beginning withManchester's Arndale Centre in 2007.[34] On 19 November 2007, the chain closed its first branch on Old Brompton Road.[35] Following a consultation, the company's supply chain was overhauled in 2008, with the implementation of a 150,000-square-foot (14,000 m2) warehouse and distribution centre inBurton-upon-Trent. Existing direct-to-store deliveries from suppliers were replaced by a centralised warehouse capable of receiving merchandise and sorting an estimated 70 million books per year, and 200 staff were made redundant by the process.[36][37] In September 2008, Waterstones began selling theSony Reader in an agreement that saw the booksellers' branches andSony Centre shops stock the reader exclusively for two weeks after its release. Waterstones.com began to supplye-books in the.epub format.[38] In November 2009, Waterstones moved into second-hand bookselling in a partnership withAlibris setting up an online reselling tool calledWaterstones Marketplace, part of Waterstones.com.[39]
In January 2010, HMV Group announced that Waterstones like-for-like sales over the Christmas period were down 8.5 per cent on the previous year. This culminated in the resignation of managing director Gerry Johnson, with immediate effect.[40] He was replaced by development director Dominic Myers, who was managing director of the British academic bookselling chainBlackwells until 2005.[41] Myers joined HMV in 2006 to oversee the integration of Ottakar's into the chain. In response to the decline in sales, he implemented a three-year plan in which branches were tailored to their local market alongside a 'rejuvenation'[42] of the company brand and an increase in range. As part of these changes, Waterstones implemented new branding in May 2010, developed by agency VentureThree.[43] The company also moved to support theRainbow Trust, which provides support to children with life-threatening and terminal illnesses and their families, in the same year.[44]
After an announcement that profits would be at the lower end of analysts' forecasts due to falling sales and a share price fall of 20%, HMV Group indicated its intention to close a number of Waterstones branches in January 2011.[45][46] These shop closures, including two inDublin, Republic of Ireland[47] and nine others across the United Kingdom occurred in February 2011.[48] Further branch closures inLuton,Dorking,Lancaster University,Harrods,Gateshead and Norwich Arcade were completed by the end of 2011.[49]
In May 2011, HMV Group announced the sale of Waterstones to A&NN Capital Fund Management, a fund controlled by Russian businessmanAlexander Mamut for £53 million.[50] The takeover was welcomed by publishers as "a step forward to re-establishing a proper physical presence".[51] On 29 June 2011, the sale of Waterstones was completed and approved by the vast majority of shareholders at an emergency general meeting.[9] Mamut appointedJames Daunt, founder ofDaunt Books, as managing director[52] and, in October 2011, a board of directors was announced, including Miranda Curtis as chairman.[53] In September 2011, the bookseller announced that it intended to drop its 3-for-2 deal on books after a decade.[54] The offer was replaced with a "bespoke offer", based on branches choosing their own pricing structures from available discounts.[55]
In January 2012, the company announced that it would be moving away from the branding developed in 2010 by agency VentureThree,[43] and reverting to its original logo.[56] This involved the removal of the apostrophe from its name because, James Daunt argued, "Waterstones without an apostrophe is, in a digital world of URLs and email addresses, a more versatile and practical spelling".[57] This decision received media coverage, in which the company was subject to criticism. John Richards, of theApostrophe Protection Society, said that the change was "just plain wrong" and "grammatically incorrect"[58] while the move sparked outrage onTwitter, involving debate on whether the move was grammatically incorrect or not.[58] LinguistDavid Crystal on his blog added: " ... if Waterstone's wants to become Waterstones, that's up to the firm. It's nothing to do with expressing possession or plurality or anything to do with meaning."[59]
In the same month, Waterstones confirmed plans to open aRussian-language bookshop in its Piccadilly branch, intending to stock 5,000 titles, with the shop being entirely staffed by Russian-speaking booksellers.[60] The concession, namedThe Russian Bookshop, opened in March 2012.[61]
Following a decision in late 2011 to scrap ane-reading offer in-branch,[62] it was announced in May 2012 that Waterstones would be selling theAmazon Kindle across its estate. James Daunt launched the new agreement withAmazon stating that Waterstones would be offering "e-reading services and offer Kindle digital devices" throughout the company's branches and on its website, with an intention to "make the Kindle experience better".[14] This announcement was received with surprise across the book industry as it had been suggested that Waterstones was developing a partnership withBarnes & Noble to launch theNook in the UK, or that the company was developing its own device, but Daunt "ultimately rejected" other avenues as Waterstones "would have been out of the market" before their implementation.[63]
It was also announced in May 2012 that the company would begin a refurbishment plan, with Mamut "investing tens of millions of pounds" to fund the refit of a planned 100 shops before the end of the year. The plan saw the introduction of wi-fi into shops,[64] reorganisation of shop sections and space[65] dedicated areas for Kindle devices, and a number of own-brand coffee shops calledCafé W.[66] The Café W brand was trialled in theSutton branch, with an expressed aim for around 130 shops over a three-year period to be fitted with a café.[67] The announcement also noted the introduction of a "click-and-collect" service.[65]
The Amazon Kindle officially launched in-branch in October 2012 with an "outdoor and press advertising campaign" promoting the launch, with theKindle Fire andKindle Paperwhite model going on sale for the first time in the UK along with older models.[68] The Kindles were tailored with Waterstones screensavers, which led to some complaints and customers attempting to return their devices.[69] The release of the Kindle coincided with a relaunch of the company's brand in the same month, pushing the message that the chain was the "nation's leading bookshop" and producing an exclusive anthology, theWaterstones Red Anthology, to help promote the shops.[70]
By the end of 2012, the Waterstones estate had shrunk to 288 shops,[71] with "commercial reasons" given for the closure of branches inBromsgrove,[72]Stevenage,[72]Watford,[71]Fleet Street,[71]High Holborn[71] andEpsom[73] among others, with staff being redeployed where possible. In 2012, Daunt stated that future expansion was being considered, based on the performance of the company.[66] The accounts for the year to 2012 showed Waterstones, prior- and post-acquisition had made losses of £37.3 million.[74]
An overhaul of the company's business strategy started in 2012, with centralised decision-making giving way to shop-based decisions and a renewed emphasis on traditional bookselling techniques.[75] Waterstones embarked on a major restructuring of staffing levels, with a company-wide consultation with 560 managerial staff to subsequently reduce roles within the company.[76] This consultation led to Head Office staff departures[77] and around 200 branch and regional managers leaving their posts.[78] Waterstones launched a number of new partnerships through the year, including with theUniversity of Derby to launch a professional qualification programme for its staff,[79] with theFolio Society to extend customer reach and stock selection in London-based bookshops,[80] and partnering with a new charity,BookTrust.[81] By the end of 2013, Waterstones had cut its losses to £12.2 million, opened 12 further Café W outlets, and embarked on a capital investment in its shop portfolio of £29.5 million.[82]
In 2014, they opened new shops in Ringwood,Blackburn[83] and Southwold, its first branch to be without Waterstones branding,[84] as well as closing shops inEastleigh andSt Neots.[85] Continued business strategy change saw further departures from head office in brand communication and PR[86] and a renewed agency contract for Waterstones' digital marketing with Epiphany.[87] The retailer overhauled its business technology with new algorithms on its website to help personalise the online shopping experience,[88] updated point-of-sale IT[89] and by introducingcontactless payment in its shops.[90] The retailer partnered withAirbnb to hold a one-off "sleepover" for customers in its Piccadilly branch in October 2014 after a customer was accidentally trapped in theTrafalgar Square branch after closing.[91] Accounts for 2014 saw operating income losses narrow to £3.8 million, but sales slip by 5.9%.[92]
The ongoing strategic changes made to the way the business operates[93] included the decision in October 2015, after three years on sale in shops, to remove the Kindle from its offer following "pitiful" sales and handing the retail space over to books.[15] This was followed, after a failed attempt to buyBlinkBox books fromTesco in January 2015,[94] with Waterstones announcing it had sold its e-book business to RakutenKobo Inc. in May 2016,[95] subsequently directing customers who had purchased e-books through the retailer to access their e-books via Kobo's eBook site.[96] This sale represented an exit from the e-book and e-reader market for Waterstones after eight years and multiple platforms.[97]
The company partnered withOxfam in 2015 to raise £1 million for those impacted by theSyrian civil war crisis through a nationwide campaign called "Buy Books for Syria".[98] Further changes to shops were made in 2015, with the closure ofWimbledon[99] andBirmingham New Street,[100] the opening of The Rye Bookshop[101] and a return toWelwyn Garden City.[102] The company reported an operating income of £5.4 million and a further narrowing of losses to £4.5 million from £18.8 million the previous year.[103]
In a 2016 interview, Daunt stated that Amazon "defines how Waterstones acts"; further, while Waterstones could not compete with the internet retailer digitally, it could offer a credible alternative, believing there was "a future in physical bookselling".[104] Waterstones continued to look at "fixing the basics" during 2016, such as adjusting shop opening hours and harnessing data from the loyalty card[105] as well as the refurbishment of physical shops, including the Canterbury branch,[106] and work on its e-commerce routes through improvements to product ranking.[107] Shops inOxford Street Plaza,Edinburgh George Street[108] andReading Oracle[109] were closed,Harpenden Books,[110]Glasgow Fort[111] andTottenham Court Road[112] were opened and Wimbledon[108] andWatford[113] were reopened in new sites. The newly opened shops benefitted from a refreshed brand look, widely welcomed by the book trade.[114] The retailer renewed its partnership with Oxfam to continue to raise money for the Syrian crisis, donating £5 for each "Book of the Month" sold in-shop during November 2016.[115] Daunt made public his concern that theUK EU referendum was likely to impact on company sales due to an expected retail downturn following a 'no' vote.[116] He later noted that sales had remained "buoyant" following the decision to leave the European Union, but remained pessimistic for the future.[117]
Accounts show that in the year ending April 2016, Waterstones made its first profit in seven years, of £11.7 million.[118] This included increased profits in Ireland, with sales rising 7% over the year,[119] with the company expressing a desire to open more shops in Ireland.[120] The management board was reduced from seven members to three in August 2016, with the departure of Miranda Curtis and a statement that the future composition was under review.[121] Waterstones announced it had raised £300,000 for BookTrust in three years since partnering, and would continue the partnership for a fourth year.[122]
In April 2018, hedge fundElliott Management Corporation bought a majority stake in the company, leavingAlexander Mamut's Lynwood Investments with a minority holding.[123] The sale completed in early June 2018.[124] Daunt remained as chief executive.[125]
In 2021, an article inThe Bookseller reported that Waterstones were planning a collaboration with Next to have Waterstones within some Next stores.[126] In April 2022, a new Waterstones within Next inMartlesham,Ipswich, was announced.[127]
In 2022, Waterstones purchasedBlackwell's, the largest independent bookstore in the UK, for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition was done under US hedge fund Elliott Investment Management.[128]
Acquired in 1995 by theThorn EMI group,Dillons was the UK's second-largest bookseller behind Waterstones and was the bookselling arm of EMI's retail division, which includedHMV.[129] Dillons had acquiredHatchards. Following the demerger of Thorn andEMI in 1996, the retail arm was divested from the EMI portfolio within a year and spun off into the HMV Media Group, an investment venture between EMI Group andAdvent International private equity group.[7] This venture included HMV, Dillons and Waterstones (the latter bought fromWHSmith for £300 million), combining to make an international entertainment retailer of more than 500 shops.[129] Following a rebuffed takeover attempt in 1997 of WHSmith, Tim Waterstone became part of the deal and by May 1998, following the £801 million-deal completion became chairman of the group.[129] All Dillons shops were incorporated within the Waterstones brand by 1998.[130]
In September 2005, HMV Group began attempts to buy rival book chainOttakar's. This alarmed publishers and authors,[131] who hoped theOffice of Fair Trading would refer the takeover bid to theCompetition Commission. In March 2006, the Competition Commission cleared Waterstones for takeover of the Ottakar's, stating that the takeover would "not result in a substantial lessening of competition", and is "not likely to affect book prices, range of titles offered or quality of service". Through extensive research, they also found that "contrary to widespread perception, Waterstones, like Ottakar's, operates a book-buying system which mixes central and local input on stock selection."[132]
On 31 May 2006, Waterstones announced that it had successfully negotiated the takeover of Ottakar's. HMV chief executive Alan Giles said: "A combined Waterstones and Ottakar's business will create an exciting, quality bookseller, able to respond better to the increasingly competitive pressures of the retail market." Ottakar's chairmanPhilip Dunne said: "Over the last year the book market has undergone a significant change with new levels of competition from the supermarkets and online retailers impacting all specialist booksellers and in particular those with insufficient scale to compete on equal terms."[133]
Following the takeover, HMV announced that they would be rebranding every branch of Ottakar's as a Waterstones. In July 2006, a conversion programme was initiated and within four months, every Ottakar's shop had been relaunched as a Waterstones and had seen the loss of 100 jobs.[134]
In August 2008, the now-defunctBorders chain agreed to sell eight Books Etc. shops to Waterstones for an undisclosed sum. The takeover, which represented 34,000 square feet (3,200 m2) of retail space and incurred no staff losses, increased Waterstones' presence within London to almost 50 shops, "crucially [in] areas that are not represented by Waterstones bookshops". The shops, inFleet Street, London Wall,Holborn,Wandsworth,Uxbridge,Finchley Road andCanary Wharf, were rebranded and merged into the Waterstones chain by September 2008.[135]
In September 2018, Waterstones confirmed it would buy 115-year-oldFoyles, with seven stores, while retaining the brand. James Daunt said the purchase would help "to protect and champion the pleasures of real bookshops in the face of Amazon's siren call".[12]
In February 2022, Waterstones acquired Blackwell's for an undisclosed sum.[136]
Tim Waterstone and James Daunt have been critical of tax avoidance byAmazon in the British press.[137][138] Amazon has received sustained scrutiny for the amount of its overall sales that are reported by its UK subsidiary, in comparison to those "processed offshore inLuxembourg to avoid UK tax".[139] In the 2012–13 financial year, Amazon paid £3.2 million in tax on sales of £4.2 billion and received £2.5 million in grants from the government.[140] In the same period, it was revealed that Waterstones paid £11.9 million in tax, despite an operating loss of £25.4 million and sales of £410.4 million.[141][142]
In a report on tax avoidance in the book industry, the magazineEthical Consumer argued that A&NN Capital Fund Management, Waterstones' parent company inBermuda, "likely to be for tax avoidance purposes".[143] In response to this, Waterstones issued a clarification on their website reading "As a UK registered and domiciled business, Waterstones fulfils all its tax obligations. This will include both the payment and reporting of all necessary UK taxes, as set out under UK tax legislation."[144] In the 2013–14 financial period, the first full year under A&NN, Waterstones reported sales toCompanies House of £398.5 million and an operating loss of £12.2 million.[145]
Waterstones opened its first non-branded shop inSouthwold,Suffolk in July 2014 called Southwold Books.[146] The company decided not to use its branding as it wished to 'fit in' with the town's high proportion of independent retailers, but this move drew anger from local residents at the time as they viewed the move as "dishonest" and said that local shop rents were being increased because of retail chains moving in and this subsequently was "changing the character of the high street".[146]
Non-branded Waterstones became an issue again in 2016 at a national level, following newspaper reports about not only Southwold Books but two further shops, The Rye Bookshop inSussex and Harpenden Books inHertfordshire, being opened and local residents not realising the connection with the retailer.[147][148] Commentators were split on the ethics of the decision to open unbranded shops,[149][150] but it was noted that at no point had attempts been made to hide the connection to the retailer.[151] In interviews, James Daunt denied any "subterfuge" and said he wanted for the shops to behave as independent retailers do and have their own identity. He further stated that more unbranded shops were likely to open in the future.[152]
Waterstones has worked with theBritish Safety Council to consider its environmental impact, including factors beyond its carbon footprint. After a 2008 audit, the Council awarded Waterstones three out of a possible five stars for environmental impact.[153]
As of March 2019[update], Waterstones does not pay the "real living wage", as recommended by theLiving Wage Foundation, and a rate significantly higher than the officialNational Living Wage. More than 1,300 writers backed a campaign to ask Waterstones to pay the "real living wage". In response Waterstone managing director James Daunt said the company was "simply not profitable enough" and that "there's a long gap between wanting to do something and it being remotely sensible". Waterstones said that onlyIkea,Majestic andLush or other similar large retailers pay the "real living wage".[154]
Waterstones maintains and supports various literary awards, including theWaterstones Book of the Year, theWaterstones Children's Book Prize,[17] theWaterstones Debut Fiction Prize, Waterstones Irish Book of the Year, the Pushkin House Russian Book Prize,[155] and theWaterstones Children's Laureate,[16] as well as now-defunct awards including theWaterstones 11[156] and theGuardian First Book Award.[157]
The prize, which has been running since 2012, sees booksellers from across the company select a shortlist of books from any category, published at any time, before the winner is chosen by panel.[158]
| Year | Author | Title | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Russell Norman | Polpo | [158] |
| 2013 | John Williams | Stoner | [159] |
| 2014 | Jessie Burton | The Miniaturist | [160] |
| 2015 | Coralie Bickford-Smith | The Fox and the Star | [161] |
| 2016 | Sarah Perry | The Essex Serpent | [162] |
| 2017 | Philip Pullman | La Belle Sauvage: Book of Dust Volume One | [163] |
| 2018 | Sally Rooney | Normal People | [164] |
| 2019 | Charlie Mackesy | The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse | [165] |
| 2020 | Maggie O'Farrell | Hamnet | [166] |
| 2021 | Paul McCartney | The Lyrics | [167] |
| 2022 | Katy Hessel | The Story of Art Without Men | [168] |
| 2023 | Katherine Rundell | Impossible Creatures | [169] |
| 2024 | Asako Yuzuki withPolly Barton (trans.) | Butter | [170] |
Waterstones continued the Ottakar's Children's Book Prize under its own brand and since 2005, the Waterstone's Children's Book Prize has attempted "to uncover hidden talent in children's writing" by awarding authors with no more than two previously published books (adult or children's fiction).[171]
| Year | Author | Title | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Stuart Hill | The Cry of the Icemark | [172] |
| 2006 | Julia Golding | The Diamond of Drury Lane | [173] |
| 2007 | Tom Becker | Darkside | [174] |
| 2008 | Sally Nicholls | Ways to Live Forever | [175] |
| 2009 | Michelle Harrison | 13 Treasures | [176] |
| 2010 | Katie Davies | The Great Hamster Massacre | [177] |
| 2011 | Sita Brahmachari | Artichoke Hearts | [178] |
| 2012 | Jonny Duddle | The Pirates Next Door | [179] |
| 2013 | Annabel Pitcher | Ketchup Clouds | [180] |
| 2014 | Katherine Rundell | Rooftoppers | [181] |
| 2015 | Rob Biddulph | Blown Away | [182] |
| 2016 | David Solomons | My Brother is a Superhero | [183] |
| 2017 | Kiran Milwood | The Girl of Ink and Stars | [184] |
| 2018 | Angie Thomas | The Hate U Give | [185] |
| 2019 | Onjali Q. Raúf | Boy at the Back of the Class | [186] |
| 2020 | Nathan Bryon withDapo Adeola (illus.) | Look Up! | [187] |
| 2021 | Elle McNicoll | A Kind of Spark | [188] |
| 2022 | Hannah Gold, illus. by Levi Pinfold | The Last Bear | [189] |
| 2023 | Nadia Mikail | The Cats We Meet Along the Way | [190] |
| 2024 | Pari Thomson, illus. | Greenwild | [191] |
| 2025 | Mikey Please | The Cafe at the Edge of the Woods | [192] |
Waterstones is also the main sponsor ofThe WaterstonesChildren's Laureate, previously sponsored by Ottakar's. The 2011–2013 role saw the position carry the Waterstones branding for the first time, with the company stating it was 'up weighting [its] activity' and 'supporting the role in shops and online in different ways throughout the year and beyond.'[193] Holders of the role during sponsorship includeJulia Donaldson,Malorie Blackman and the current holder,Chris Riddle.[194][195]
The Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, established in 2022, is an annual literary award presented to the bestdebut fiction published in the previous 12 months.[196]
| Year | Author | Title | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Tess Gunty | The Rabbit Hutch | [197] |
| 2023 | Alice Winn | In Memoriam | [198] |
| 2024 | Ferdia Lennon | Glorious Exploits | [199] |
| 2025 | Lucy Steeds | The Artist | [200] |
| Year | Author | Title | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Michael Magee | Closer to Home | [201] |
Set up in 2011, theWaterstones 11 was created to promote debut literary fiction from new authors being published in the year ahead.[156] Books were chosen from a list of 100 submitted by publishers, and were announced in January 2011 with in-shop and online support, as well as a media campaign for the final 11.[202] The inaugural 11 included theOrange Prize winnerThe Tiger's Wife byTéa Obreht,Man Booker Prize nomineePigeon English, byStephen Kelman and theEdinburgh International Book Festival First Book Award winnerWhen God Was a Rabbit bySarah Winman.[156] The last list was announced in January 2013.[203]
Waterstones has high-street shops throughout the UK.[204]
Flagship superstores
Its flagship shop onPiccadilly, formerly theSimpsons of Piccadilly department store and notable for its 1930s-Modernist architecture, is the largest shop in the Waterstones estate and claimed to be the largest bookshop in Europe.[205] The main academic branch, formerly the flagship shop ofDillons, is located on Gower Street, betweenUniversity College London and theStudent Central, and promoted as Europe's largest academic bookshop.[206] Aside from these branches, Waterstones operates a number of large shops which are set over multiple floors. Waterstones refers to these shops as 'superstores':[5]
Shops of architectural and historical interest
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