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About the business
Waterstones began in 1982 under the aegis of its founder, Tim Waterstone, intent on revolutionising a then somewhat staid British bookselling landscape. Dedicated to bringing books back into the cultural conversation, Waterstone’s fusion of literary range, author events, iconic bookshops and gifted booksellers transformed the idea of what a bookshop could be. In tandem with the steady growth of strong contemporary fiction and narrative non-fiction, the company moved from strength to strength, later under the direction of CEO James Daunt successfully fending off the threat of aggressive online competition and the brief rise of eReaders.
Now trading across the UK, Ireland and Europe in over 290 shopping locations, Waterstones continues to thrive, each year actively pursuing a programme of new bookshop openings. Online at Waterstones.com, we meanwhile mirror the essence of our bookshops, further showcasing the unique enthusiasm and knowledge of our booksellers. Via initiatives such as our Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize, we take enormous pleasure in being custodians of the new, whilst with our carefully-curated range we recognise our role as ambassadors of the past. Our Waterstones Children's Book Prize has become an important mainstay of children’s publishing, its winners becoming superstars in their field (you can get a sense of the impact a win makes here), and our Waterstones Book of the Year is the highpoint of our publishing calendar, our chance to bring the widest possible readership to the books we most love.
