Waterstones

We are the last remaining chain of specialist bookshops on the high street, and with more ways to read than ever, as well as competition from things like computer games and the sheer mass of information in the digital space, we are challenged with making our shops welcoming and interesting places to browse and explore, offering outstanding service, and an unrivalled array of bookshop events.

They are staffed with passionate, knowledgeable booksellers, selling the right range of books for the local market, and who are ready to recommend that book that you didn’t know you wanted.

The local aspect is hugely important to us, and the “one size fits all” approach is firmly in the past. No two Waterstones bookshops are the same, with each shop tailoring its range to reflect the trends and interests of their local market, as well as the big national bestsellers that are in demand across the country. The local approach also extends to our Café W locations across the UK, where we bring you the best produce from local suppliers to cut down on food miles and support the local business community.

And it’s all about the books. Our Books of the Month and Waterstones Book Club, as well as things like the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize are used to champion the best new books across a range of genres and subjects with notable recent successes including The Miniaturist, the most successful debut novel of recent years, the phenomenal nature memoir H is For Hawk by Helen Macdonald, and John Williams’ Stoner, a quiet, intense novel that we turned into a bestseller forty years after its original publication.

On this new, improved website you will also be able to find a shop page for your local Waterstones, and have the option to nominate your local Waterstones and take advantage of our hugely successful Click & Collect service, where you can order from our website at the online price, and pick it up from your local shop. We have also vastly improved our online availability, and now have around 250,000 titles available within 24 hours, which greatly increases your chances of getting the book that you want, when you want it.