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''The Bookseller'' is a British magazine reporting news on the
publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
industry. Philip Jones is editor-in-chief of the weekly print edition of the magazine and the website. The magazine is home to the ''Bookseller''/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year, a humorous award given annually to the book with the oddest title. The award is organised by ''The Bookseller''s diarist, Horace Bent, and had been administered in recent years by the former deputy editor, Joel Rickett, and former charts editor, Philip Stone. ''We Love This Book'' is its quarterly sister consumer website and email newsletter. The subscription-only magazine is read by around 30,000 persons each week, in more than 90 countries, and contains the latest news from the publishing and bookselling worlds, in-depth analysis, pre-publication book previews and author interviews. It is the first publication to publish official weekly bestseller lists in the UK. It has also created the first UK-based e-book sales ranking. The website is visited by 160,000 unique users each month. The magazine also produces approximately a dozen specials on an annual basis, including its Books of The Year and four "Buyers Guides". ''The Bookseller'' also publishes three daily newspapers at the annual
London Book Fair The London Book Fair (LBF) is a large book-publishing trade fair held annually, usually in April, in London, England. LBF is a global marketplace for rights negotiation and the sale and distribution of content across print, audio, TV, film and di ...
, in April, the
Bologna Children's Book Fair The Bologna Children's Book Fair or La fiera del libro per ragazzi is the leading professional fair for children's books in the world. Since 1963, it is held yearly for four days in March or April in Bologna, Italy. It is the meeting place for al ...
and the
Frankfurt Book Fair The Frankfurt Book Fair (German: Frankfurter Buchmesse, FBM) is the world's largest trade fair for books, based on the number of publishing companies represented. It is considered to be the most important book fair in the world for internationa ...
, in October.


History

''The Bookseller'' was founded by Joseph Whitaker, the first editor of the magazine, in January 1858, and was marketed as "A Handbook of British and Foreign Literature". His sons, Joseph Vernon Whitaker and George Herbert Whitaker took over editorship of ''The Bookseller'' in 1875 and 1895 respectively, with George Herbert Whitaker taking the decision in 1909 to move the magazine from a monthly to a weekly publication. However,
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
severely disrupted publication and it was not until the late 1920s that the magazine resumed its weekly schedule. In 1928, ''The Bookseller'' entered troublesome years, with the magazine entering joint editorial control between both
The Publishers Association The Publishers Association (PA) is the trade organisation serving book, journal and electronic publishers in the United Kingdom, established in 1896. Its mission is to strengthen the trading environment for UK publishers by providing a strong voic ...
and the Booksellers Association. It was edited by the Publishers Association president Geoffrey S. Williams and became known as ''The Publisher and Bookseller''. However, the decision proved less than successful, and in 1933 the decision was reversed, with editorship being awarded to Edmond Segrave – 28 years old at the time. He remained in charge for almost 40 years. In 1945, he hired Philothea Thompson as his personal assistant, and when Edmond Segrave died in 1971, she took over stewardship of the magazine until 1976. David Whitaker joined his family magazine in 1977 for little over two years, with Louis Baum assuming editorial responsibilities in 1980. Under Baum, the magazine saw radical change, with numerous design changes, culminating in the decision to become a full-colour publication in the late 1990s. The self-named "legendary diarist", Horace Bent, made his first appearance during this time (although "his" ''Bookseller''/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year began in the late 1970s), while the magazine also began to feature the first Nielsen BookScan bestseller lists. In 1999,
Nicholas Clee Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the name and its ...
became editor, months before the magazine was sold to a division of
Nielsen Business Media Nielsen Holdings plc is an American information, data and market measurement firm. Nielsen operates in over 100 countries and employs approximately 44,000 people worldwide. The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and use ...
. In 2004, ''
Retail Week Retail Week is a London-based news website, data service, events producer and magazine covering the retail industry, primarily in the United Kingdom. History and profile Founded in 1988 by financial journalist Patience Wheatcroft and her husban ...
''s Neill Denny arrived and oversaw another major redesign, which included the controversial decision to move its "Publications of the Week" information online only. Denny was succeeded as editor in 2012 by Philip Jones.


Modern day

Following the demise of ''
Publishing News Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
'' (1979–2008), ''The Bookseller'' is the only paper magazine reporting on the UK publishing, bookselling and library industry on a weekly basis, although the magazine also includes frequent stories, features and columns from the international scene. Many individuals from the UK book trade have contributed to the magazine via the opinion columns, including
Kate Mosse Katharine Mosse (born 20 October 1961) is a British novelist, non-fiction and short story writer and Television presenter, broadcaster. She is best known for her 2005 novel ''Labyrinth (novel), Labyrinth'', which has been translated into more ...
and
Anthony Horowitz Anthony John Horowitz, (born 5 April 1955) is an English novelist and screenwriter specialising in mystery and suspense. His works for children and young adult readers include ''The Diamond Brothers'' series, the ''Alex Rider'' series, and ''T ...
, while the website provides a forum for anyone to voice their opinions on news and features concerning the trade. In 2010, ''The Bookseller'' was acquired from Nielsen by its then Managing Director, Nigel Roby. In August 2020, the magazine was purchased by The Stage Media Company Ltd., the publishers of ''
The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...
'', with the two publications expected to run independently of each other. ''The Bookseller'' now administers the annual
British Book Awards The British Book Awards or Nibbies are literary awards for the best UK writers and their works, administered by '' The Bookseller''. The awards have had several previous names, owners and sponsors since being launched in 1990, including the Nationa ...
(or "Nibbies"), which were launched in 1990 to celebrate the best books, bookshops, and publishers, as well as achievers in other categories of the industry, "recognising that a book's success is not down to just one factor".


See also

* ''Bookseller''/Diagram Prize for Oddest Title of the Year


Notes


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bookseller, The 1858 establishments in the United Kingdom Literary magazines published in the United Kingdom Weekly magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines published in London Magazines established in 1858 Professional and trade magazines