Tomlinson to retire after 13 years at The Book People

Karen Tomlinson, head of adult books at The Book People, will retire in September after 13 years with the company. 

With almost 40 years in the industry, Tomlinson has worked across all areas - in retail for W H Smith, Hatchards and Dillons, online bookselling with Barnes and Noble and ultimately direct bookselling at Index and subsequently The Book People before taking on the role of head of adult buying in 2016 across all The Book People’s channels.

C.o.o. Sarah Walden said “Karen has been a pivotal member of the buying team at The Book People for many years and her positivity, dedication and hard work would be difficult to replace.  On a personal level, it has been wonderful to work with someone with such passion and enthusiasm for the industry and for books and we will miss her hugely.”

Tomlinson will leave at the end of September. Gaynor Allen will replace her in a slightly different role as head of merchandising and adult buying. Currently head of trading at The Book People, Allen has been in post for four years. Prior to that she worked at Baker & Taylor and was children's buyer at Tesco.