Jan 14, 2019

James Daunt is Managing Director of the Waterstones chain of bookstores in England. Has been since 2011.

We met at the Piccadilly store in London to talk about, among other things, J.P. Morgan, New York, silver spoons and begging bowls, genuine passion, store energy, author event programs, bookshops as social places, a...

Sep 7, 2018

Bill Samuel is the grandson of the founder of Foyles bookstore and was long-time Vice-Chairman of the company. Samantha J Rayner captures the spirit of the enterprise when she writes "[Foyles] emphasised that trial and error was an integral part of learning what makes for success. Foyles is not just a bookshop – they...

May 4, 2018

Kris Arnett is the proprietor of Kona Bay Books which is located in Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. She also owns Hilo Bay
Books in, you guessed it, Hilo, which is located on the other side of the Big Island of Hawaii. 

I met with Kris recently at the Kona location to discuss bookstores. Among other things we talk...

Oct 5, 2012

In 1927, Ben Bass opened Strand Book Store on Fourth Avenue, home of New York’s legendary Book Row. Named after the famous publishing street in London, the Strand was one of 48 bookstores on Book Row, which started in the 1890’s and ran from Union Square to Astor Place. Today, the Strand is the...

Jul 18, 2011

Whilst in the Lone Star state, Texas, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with Kathy Doyle Thomas, Executive Vice President at Half Price Books in Dallas. The company has been in business now for almost 50 years and has enjoyed considerable success, some say at the expense of independent used bookstores. I met with...