Mastodawn

Quiz books surge in sales to their best year ever, while nonfiction takes a slide

The success of TV spinoffs such as The 1% Club Quiz Book shows a growing market for puzzles as readers crave escape from the news cycle and endless doom-scrolling While watching University Challenge or Only Connect, the impulse to shout out the answers comes down to a simple “human urge”, says publisher Richard Green. That compulsion to “know useless trivia or show off knowledge” has been noticed by the publishing industry, which has met the desire by coming up with a range of products that resulted in quiz and trivia books having a bumper year in 2025 , the best since records began in 1998. Continue reading...
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2026/mar/11/quiz-books-surge-in-sales-nonfiction-takes-a-slide

#Books #Quizandtriviagames #Publishing #Waterstones #Substack

Quiz books surge in sales to their best year ever, while nonfiction takes a slide

The success of TV spinoffs such as The 1% Club Quiz Book shows a growing market for puzzles as readers crave escape from the news cycle and endless doom-scrolling

The Guardian

IndieAuthors.Social News Feb 27

Elliott Advances IPO Plans for Barnes & Noble and Waterstones

Elliott Management advances plans for multibillion-pound IPO of Barnes & Noble and Waterstones, with London listing favoured and bank appointments expected early 2026.
The post Elliott Advances IPO Plans for Barnes & Noble and Waterstones appeared first on The New Publishing Standard.
https://thenewpublishingstandard.com/2026/02/27/elliott-barnes-noble-waterstones-ipo-2026/

#BarnesAndNoble #UK #USA #Waterstones #BarnesAndNobleWaterstonesIPO

Elliott Advances IPO Plans for Barnes & Noble and Waterstones - The New Publishing Standard

Elliott Management advances plans for multibillion-pound IPO of Barnes & Noble and Waterstones, with London listing favoured and bank appointments expected early 2026.

The New Publishing Standard

William Swiftfoot Feb 24

*It seems thoes water stones had some extra too them as the two friends are now flippered friends.*

Art from the last Sketch Stream with @wizlicos in which Will and Licos come accross some extordinary water stones and find themselves becoming seal pokemon with Will become a Sealeo and Licos becomes a Dewgong! Reactions to such differ hehe!

Art by and Licos the Dewgong of @wizlicos
William the Sealeo of @WilliamSwiftfoot

#Art #ArtShare #Pokemon #Sealeo #Dewgong #WaterStones #Transformation #Sneakysmile #Cute #WizLicos #WilliamSwiftfoot

northcape Feb 14

I got a book for Christmas that was printed backwards in error (the last page at the front!). It was actually from #Waterstones anyway, but they just offered to replace it with something else no questions asked, didn't even ask for proof of purchase :)

ConnectionWithWonder Feb 6

I was storytelling at the Waterstones book festival in Dundee today #photo #waterstones

LordWoolamaloo Dec 8

Delighted to see lovely fellow Indie bookshop Argonaut posting that Waterstones have decided *not* to open right across the road from them on Leith Walk. So glad they got so much support from near and far on this.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DSAkGHUjDGq/?igsh=Nm41YXQxNnBzZHN5

#Edinburgh #Edimbourg #books #livres #Waterstones #IndependentBookshops #bookstodon #ArgonautBooks

Argonaut Books on Instagram: "Thank you all for your patience with us these last few weeks in waiting for an update. It has been an anxiety inducing month but we are so happy to be able to come to you with good news. Following a positive meeting with the company just under two weeks ago, we have now received confirmation that the planned development of the Waterstones next door to us in the Newkirkgate Centre will not be going ahead. We firmly believe that without the support of our local community and beyond that we would not be giving you this update. Your care, your passion, and your support kept us going and brought us here to the end. We can never hope to truly repay you all but we will be here every day, doing what we do, whenever you need us. To the friends, old and new, that we have made along the away we thank you all. To the readers, authors, publishers, bookshops, festivals, magazines, indie businesses, politicians, councillors, and local media your support has meant the world. For the local shops that this would have affected, we believe that this outcome allows us all to go into 2026 hopeful. You have given us all so much and we will keep doing our best to live up to it. Thank you all again. We’ll see you in the bookshop soon 🧡"

685 likes, 63 comments - argonautbooks on December 8, 2025: "Thank you all for your patience with us these last few weeks in waiting for an update. It has been an anxiety inducing month but we are so happy to be able to come to you with good news. Following a positive meeting with the company just under two weeks ago, we have now received confirmation that the planned development of the Waterstones next door to us in the Newkirkgate Centre will not be going ahead. We firmly believe that without the support of our local community and beyond that we would not be giving you this update. Your care, your passion, and your support kept us going and brought us here to the end. We can never hope to truly repay you all but we will be here every day, doing what we do, whenever you need us. To the friends, old and new, that we have made along the away we thank you all. To the readers, authors, publishers, bookshops, festivals, magazines, indie businesses, politicians, councillors, and local media your support has meant the world. For the local shops that this would have affected, we believe that this outcome allows us all to go into 2026 hopeful. You have given us all so much and we will keep doing our best to live up to it. Thank you all again. We’ll see you in the bookshop soon 🧡".

Instagram

Book Dec 5

Waterstones would stock books created using artificial intelligence, the company's boss has said, as long as they were clearly labelled, and if customers wanted them.

However, James Daunt, a veteran of the bookselling industry, said he personally did not expect that to happen.

"There's a huge proliferation of AI-generated content and most of it are not books that we should be selling," he said, but added it would be "up to the reader".

From the BBC.

#Waterstones #Bookshop #AI

Fardels Bear Dec 5

#Waterstones is one bookshop to avoid when shopping for Christmas.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpvdkw4xgewo

Waterstones would sell books written by AI, says chain's boss

James Daunt says booksellers instinctively have "disdain" for AI but it could be sold if clearly labelled.

BBC News

IBBoard Dec 5

Waterstones boss says he's willing to sell slop if there's profit in it for them.

He does at least say that it should be clearly labelled. And that "we as booksellers would certainly naturally and instinctively disdain it".

And, if you think about the quality of a lot of published content by "celebrity authors", would we ACTUALLY be able to tell the difference in some cases?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cpvdkw4xgewo

#Waterstones #GenAI #Slop #BookShops