UK Book Chain Waterstone’s Sold to Russian Billionaire

In What's the Buzz by Hannah Johnson

By Hannah Johnson Waterstone’s parent company HMV announced this morning that it would sell the UK book chain to Russian billionaire Alexander Mamut’s company, A&NN Capital Fund Management, for GBP 53 million. In a surprising move, The Bookseller reports that Waterstone’s current Managing Director Dominic Myers will be replaced by James Daunt to run the bookstore chain after the deal …

Lonely Planet’s Ranking of the World’s Greatest Bookshops

In What's the Buzz by Edward Nawotka

By Edward Nawotka Lonely Planet has put out a top ten list of the world’s greatest bookshops, which is led by San Francisco’s City Lights Books. The top three are rounded-out by Librería El Ateneo Grand Splendid in Buenos Aires and Livraria Lello in Porto. Also on the list, are several stores which we’ve covered here, including London’s Daunt Books, Shakespeare & Co. in …

Do Booksellers Promote Too Many Titles at Once?

In Discussion by Edward Nawotka

By Edward Nawotka Today’s lead story describes some of the bookselling strategies of London’s Daunt Books. One focus of the piece is the fact that the bookstore displays just one or two titles in the windows per week, a move that has led to significant sales of certain titles. A carefully edited and curated selection of titles can be a …