The launch of World Book Night 2012 has been delayed, moving from Frankfurt Book Fair next week to Waterstone's Piccadilly on 24th October.
The announcement of the 25 titles chosen by WBN's editorial selection committee to be given away on World Book Night 2012 was due to take place at a press conference on 12th October at the Frankfurt Book Fair, but has been delayed by almost two weeks.
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By: Emma Barnes,
on 9/25/2011
Surprising numbers of children have eaten dog food.
This was the unexpected finding of my first bookshop signing. Determined to have plenty of interesting things for kids t
o do (and to avoid ending up behind a table bleating “Please buy my book!”) I had compiled a quiz on childhood misdoings. A sort of survey, if you like. As the heroine of my book, Martha, is a real “little stinker” I thought it would be fun to find out how many other little stinkers there are out there. So I compiled a list and handed it out.
Well, it turned out they were a pretty well-behaved bunch in Waterstone’s. However much they enjoyed reading about naughty characters, and chuckling at their exploits (they were good enough to chuckle loudly at 
Martha’s) they scored low on the naughtiness index. A more polite, obedient, considerate bunch I have seldom met. Maybe this is a sign that reading books makes for a well-behaved child? (And is yet one more reason to reverse those library cuts?)
Except when it came to eating dog food. Then it was a different story.
A little girl came up to me. Did cat food count, she wanted to know?
Certainly, I replied.
Include cat food, and everyone seemed to have tucked into their pet’s dinner, one time or another. One parent revealed that the family cat could only be fed when her son was elsewhere; another waxed nostalgic about the childhood joys of nibbling Whiskas.
Hmm. I grew up with a family dog – and somehow I never once felt like sharing his supper.
Anyhow, it certainly broke the ice, and the signing went with a swing. There were ups and downs, of course. I had brought too few colouring sheets. A friend of mine went dashing onto the street in search of photocopiers: thank you, Thomas Cook, who gallantly responded to his plea and ran off extra copies! Thank you everyone who did so much to help in different ways.
So here you go (be honest now):
Waterstone's has floated the idea of introducing differential book pricing across stores in the UK in its discussions with some publishers.
The chain is considering marketing books at different prices across different branches, according to its type of demographic. The concept is also believed to have been considered by Waterstone's previous management under the HMV Group, before current m.d. James Daunt and Russian owner Alexander Mamut took over in July.
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Waterstone’s has extended its children’s book prize to include teen fiction and picture books, in addition to books for five to 12 year olds.
Waterstone’s spokesman Jon Howells said: “The children’s award had done very well for us in its previous eight years of existence but it was time to see how we could take it to the next level and make it more inclusive across the breadth of children’s publishing.”
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Waterstone's is thought to be organising the management of its stores into groups of bookshops with similar profiles, following a structure akin to that of Daunt Books.
M.d. James Daunt is thought to be splitting Waterstone's bookshops, which number about 300, into 40 smaller groups, categorising them according to size and the socio-economic status of their customers. Waterstone's is currently organised into large regional blocks, and it is not clear if the physical location of shops will play any part in the new structure.
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Publishers and trade figures have broadly reacted positively towards the scrapping of Waterstone’s 3-for-2 promotion.
As The Bookseller revealed earlier today [31st August], the offer is expected to be scrapped in September and replaced by discount off individual books. It marks the end of arguably the most recognisable book offer, which has been part of Waterstone's for more than a decade.
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Waterstone's is bringing its iconic 3 for 2 offer to an end, with plans to implement money-off deals across individual books.
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Waterstone's concession in Harrods is to close, with the last day of trading understood to be 17th September.
Around 25 members of staff currently work at the store. Waterstone's is currently in talks with staff and a spokesperson said it would find positions for those who wished to stay with the company.
The space will be taken by W H Smith, with Waterstone's to be completely out of Harrods by 27th September.
Waterstone's has been trading in the central London retail institution for around 20 years.
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Waterstone’s branches in Enfield and Walthamstow have been closed to trading today after a wave of looting swept London over the weekend.
A spokeswoman said police had cordoned off the area to shoppers after the unrest, which began in Tottenham on Saturday following a peaceful protest outside a police station over the fatal shooting by police of local resident Mark Duggan on Thursday. Trouble spread through Wood Green, Enfield, Walthamstow, Oxford Circus and Brixton on Sunday.
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Sony has listed its e-book readers as out of stock on its website, raising speculation it could be on the verge of launching a new digital device.
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Waterstone's is reintroducing central buying for both new books and replenishment but m.d. James Daunt insisted store staff would be able to order the books they want, when they want.
Managing director James Daunt made the announcement to staff in an email this afternoon, seen by The Bookseller. The announcement is understood to have been brought forward because of a story set to appear in the print version of this week's The Bookseller on Friday morning.
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James Daunt's tenure at the helm of Waterstone's is likely to be about "revolution not evolution" as he begins his leadership of the company, according to a source close to the situation.
The new m.d. of the high-street bookseller took control of Waterstone's on Wednesday (29th June), as previous m.d. Dominic Myers exited the company. On the same day, the HMV Group announced the official completion of the sale of the chain to Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut's A&NN Group.
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Waterstone’s today begins its first day under the ownership of Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut’s A&NN Group as previous m.d Dominic Myers officially leaves the bookseller.
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Pottermore has responded to retailers' frustrations over being unable to sell the Harry Potter e-books, saying the idea was to "ensure ease of availability across all reading devices".
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Waterstone's has joined forces with Grazia magazine to launch a book club featuring 10 titles.
One Grazia Book Club title will feature in the magazine every week from the next issue, allowing readers to claim 50% off the r.r.p. of the chosen novel in Waterstone's stores and online.
Among the selected titles are this year's Orange Prize for Fiction winner Tea Obreht's The Tiger's Wife (Weidenfeld & Nicolson).
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Managing Waterstone's will be a challenge in the current market and its new Russian oligarch owner is not going to support the chain with a large chequebook, the chain's new m.d., James Daunt, has said.
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Waterstone's booksellers are relieved over the chain's acquisition by Alexander Mamut, with one saying: "The staff will be behind [new managing director James Daunt] 100%." Fears remained, however, over possible bookshop closures.
One bookseller said news of the deal was "gratefully received". "There is not total calm yet as everyone is still waiting to see what will happen. While Daunt is a confidence-booster about the future of the stores after a worrying few weeks, we still don't know what will happen when he comes in," he said.
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The safeguarding of Waterstone's future will secure the midlist of history and science writing, literary fiction and memoir, the m.d. of Faber has said. Stephen Page, writing in the Guardian, said if the Waterstone's acquisition by Alexander Mamut goes ahead, it would be "tremendous" news for readers and writers. He said: "Despite all the noise about e-books and online marketing, bookshops are still at the heart of creating audiences for books."
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Simon & Schuster has defended its publication of Will & Kate’s Big Fat Gypsy Wedding as “fun” and “gently humorous” after Tesco withdrew the book from sale, following complaints.
The supermarket pulled the title after the Romany Women’s Union (RWU) claimed the book is racist towards the travelling community. However, other retailers are continuing to sell the book, which ridicules the royals by depicting the royals as gypsies and is a spoof of the Channel 4 television series My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding.
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The takeover of Waterstone's by Alexander Mamut is cause for celebration among the publishing industry, Faber c.e.o. Stephen Page has said.
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By: Lucy Coats,
on 4/26/2011
By: Leila Roy,
on 1/30/2007
From the Guardian:
The novel, inspired by film noir, fantasy and a fascination with the seamier side of the 19th century, is aimed at children between the ages of nine and 12. It tells the story of a boy, Jonathan Stirling, who discovers a parallel world filled with vampires and werewolves. This alternative reality has a distinctly Victorian air, and is ruled by a descendant of Jack the Ripper. Soon bounty hunters from the other side begin searching for Jonathan, who finds himself driven into their world.
Oooo. Sounds fun. Anyone read it?
Many years ago, my grandmother caught me sharing the dog's 'scraps'. No obvious ill effects.
Your event sounds like great fun. I was the shy quiet girl at school but I was always best friends with the naughty daredevils (still am). I never exactly sold my brother - it was more like an extreme swap!!
I ate cat food. I decided the cat was more interesting than my baby brother so I would be a cat, thank you. I ate his food, I balanced on dangerous ledges he walked along (with some ill effects) and tried to go in and out through the cat flap.
Some years ago I worked in Child Protection. Met a woman who, as a child, had looked after the family from the age of 11 - and was abused by her father. She regularly made him stews of dog food, the only way she could think of to get back at him.
She was now a wonderful, feisty, woman!
An "extreme swap" Lynda...I must remember that handy euphemism.
Love the idea of small child wedged in cat flap, Stroppy!
Ah well, we seem to have survived. And maybe those meaty chunks did us good.
Sounds like a great idea to make a signing more entertaining!
They were pink. And intended for a corgi. So I don't think it really counts. Besides, I only ate 3. And I didn't even touch the green ones. I mean, that would be totally disgusting.
We have a small-dog flap, and grandson Max loves using it, though at almost 4 he's getting a bit big for it.
I ate dog chocs when I was a kid, when there was nothing more interesting in the cupboard. I can still remember the way they didn't melt properly, but lay claggily against my tongue. It was the only time I ate them. I've never been a great one for any kind of tinned meat, so dog-food wouldn't appeal. And I loathe offal.
My bruv and I 'stole' (my parents' word) food from the larder, raisins, and so on, and were regularly called to account, with great severity.
I always told my own kids they were welcome to help themselves if they were hungry, especially when they'd just come home from school. They have both turned into extremely slim adults.
Me and my sister tried dog choc drops once when we were desperate for a chocolate fix. Taste of nothing although smell good. Otherwise we led boringly blameless lives.
I do stilll occasionally try the wippitties biscuits to see what they're like. And I have a really good recipe for peanut butter oatie doggy crunchies that taste much better than the usual commercial jobbies ... feel free to pop round for coffee and cookies if you're in the area and want to relive a misspent yoof ...
Dog choc drops...they have a very particular kind of smell...
Neat idea for a book signing. I think you were wise to have yes/no questions - open-ended on something like "what's the most revolting thing you've ever eaten?" could have been just a little bit too much info...
By the way, How To Make Bad Children Good is an excellent book! I have just finished reading my copy of it and it cheered a weary evening. Book soon to be on on its way to seven-year old Daisy.