'Huge relief' as PRH and Waterstones resolve dispute

Agents say they are relieved after Penguin Random House and Waterstones returned to “business as usual” following a dispute that saw the bookseller limit the visibility of PRH titles in its stores.

Waterstones had stopped including books from the publisher in its promotions, leaving them on shelves rather than displaying them prominently. Its Book of the Month selections had not included any PRH titles since before the turn of the year, while its recent Children's Book Prize did not include any PRH UK titles in the 18-book shortlists.

The dispute followed a limit placed on its credit by the publisher in the final quarter of 2020, which the chain said meant it had to carefully manage its stock of PRH titles. PRH admitted last month a credit limit had been introduced “at a very significant level” but claimed there were “no practical restrictions on trading now”.

However, in a joint statement issued late on Friday (4th June), the companies said the dispute had finally been resolved. The firms said: “Penguin Random House UK is pleased to have returned to business as usual with Waterstones and both companies look forward to continuing to work together closely as partners.”

Waterstones staff were told about the dispute's end in an email on Friday, seen by The Bookseller, declaring "the obduracy of PRH's finance department is over", acknowledging some authors - particularly debut ones - had been "caught in the crossfire", but saying the mood was now one of "welcome reconciliation".

Earlier this week, authors and agents told The Bookseller the row was “incredibly disheartening”. Puffin author Adam Kay said writers and customers were “suffering” as a result, while agent Clare Alexander, of Aitken Alexander, said it risked causing "serious damage" to author income.

News of the dispute reached the wider national press on Friday, which focused on Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, potentially being affected with her children's book for Puffin, The Bench, out tomorrow (8th June).

Agents contacted by The Bookseller said they were very happy with news the dispute had ended. Caroline Michel of PFD called it a "huge relief" while Sam Copeland of RCW said it was "about bloody time".

Alexander commented: "I am so thrilled and relieved with the news from PRH and Waterstones and grateful to all parties that they have been able to resolve their differences in time for what we hope will be a bumper summer of reading, with so many great books to choose from across all publishers’ lists.

"I also hope that there might be opportunities to be found to pick up on some of the PRH books that were published into the last weeks of lockdown and re-opening during the period of the dispute, as there are many authors whose sales will have been adversely affected."

Jonny Geller, of Curtis Brown, tweeted: "Welcome news on many levels but not least for the simple reason that it is the job of everyone in publishing NOT to get in the way of the authors and their books. We are here to PROMOTE them."