Publishers report good footfall and buzzy atmosphere at Waterstones BookFest

The Waterstones BookFest kicked-off yesterday (16th August) at the retailer’s Piccadilly store with publisher stalls, panels and other events. The two-day festival continues today (17th August) with a focus on YA fiction, in collaboration with Penguin Random House Children’s House of YA.

Publishers reported good footfall and a buzzy atmosphere as customers travelled between the floors of the store getting their books signed by authors, filling tote bags with new reads and having their make-up done at the stalls, which even featured a fortune-teller. “It was a hugely successful day, buzzing with enthusiastic readers keen to hear all about new and upcoming publications from attending publishers and authors,” a Waterstones spokesperson said. 

Pan Macmillan, HarperCollins, Bloomsbury and Faber were among the many publishers who had stalls at the event. Others included Hachette Children’s, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster UK, Hodder, Orion, Bonnier and Vintage.

The day started with merchandise giveaways and chances to win books, quizzes, photo-booths and book-themed activities. Along with craft activities and workshops, all morning events were free for customers and unticketed. Waterstones said this meant they could not finalise numbers on how many people attended. 

The organisers of online book review blog @candidbookclub, which is run by five women of colour, hosted a drop-in session on how to grow a brand using social media. This was followed by a well-attended, book club-style discussion of Emily Henry’s Happy Place (Viking).

A fantasy panel was held after the discussion, featuring Shanghai Immortal (Hodderscape) author A Y Chao, Godkiller (HarperVoyager) author Hannah Kaner and Sabaa Tahir, author of A Sky Beyond the Storm (HarperVoyager/Razorbill). The panellists talked about their creative processes, fantasy characters and world-building, as well as how much influence they had over deciding the covers of their books. 

This year’s event was more interactive than last year’s BookTok Festival, featuring discussions with publishers, and was less focused on proof giveaways, according to Elle, a TikTok creator posting on the account @ellereadsbookslike. The event in 2022 featured various stalls that were giving away free book proofs, which Elle said became the focus of the day. 

Although at this year’s BookFest customers still had the opportunity to win books, Elle explained that the focus was not solely on acquiring proofs. “It felt less like The Hunger Games,” Elle said. “There’s more opportunity to chat to publishers and get the conversation going.” 

The Bookseller also heard from BookTokkers that this year’s event was more accessible. El, a TikTok and Instagram creator who posts under the username @ermreading, said: “We all came to the event last year and I think it was so much better organised this year. I think they’ve really found their feet and they know what they’re doing. 

“I like how they had all the signings today as well. Things were a bit more a bit spread out so it was a little less hectic than it was last year. We got some great books, I’m very excited to dive into some of these.” 

El, who has a physical disability, explained that staff at the Piccadilly Waterstones store had helped accommodate them, storing the bags of books in a safe place so they did not have to carry them throughout the day.

A spokesperson from Waterstones explained that “the Piccadilly team has shaped today’s event in part with last year’s constructive feedback in mind to create an accessible and enjoyable experience for creators and customers alike".

The evening ended with an event featuring Chloe Gong, who discussed her book Immortal Longings (Hodderscape), the opening instalment of the Flesh and False Gods series. A second BookFest day will be held today, 17th August, in collaboration with PRH Children’s House of YA, featuring author panels, signings and workshops.