Matt Bates to leave WH Smith after 31 years

Influential WH Smith Travel fiction buyer Matt Bates is leaving the company after 31 years to return to education. He will be studying English Literature and Creative Writing at Birkbeck, University of London, something he has "always dreamed of doing".

Bates will leave WH Smith in mid-June and the company is currently recruiting for his replacement.

Bates joined WH Smith in 1987, aged 16, directly after school. He began his career working in a store in Enfield, North London. A year later he was made a department manager and he then worked across various stores in London including Watford, Wood Green and Victoria Station.

Bates joined the Head Office team in London in the late 1990s following his time in Victoria Station store and was appointed non-fiction and children's book buyer. He has been fiction buyer for the past 12 years.

A statement from WH Smith said Bates hopes his commitment and passion for books and bookselling over the years has had a positive impact on the travelling public's reading, and he is most proud of the Fresh Talent promotion that WH Smith Travel has run for the past four years. He's also proud of the collaborative work across the industry that he has been involved in, including judging for the Costa and BA Awards, inputs into publishing, and working with organisations such as the Romantic Novelists Association.

Bates said: "I will miss WH Smith greatly and thanks to them for the amazing career I've had and the opportunities the role has given me. Although I'm sad to be leaving, I am very excited about the new direction and the future."

Mike Roberts, trading controller of books at WH Smith, added: "Matt has been an integral part of the Books Team at WH Smith Travel since the very beginning. His passion for literature is second to none and his reputation within the industry is outstanding. We wish him every success in the future."