28/09/06

Following the high-profile £62.9 million purchase of Ottakar’s by Waterstone’s parent company HMV Group in July, Waterstone’s, the UK’s largest specialist bookseller, is significantly boosting the print run of its hugely successful in-store magazine BooksQuarterly from 100,000 to 150,000 copies as part of a major push for the title.

Published by Square One, BooksQuarterly will be made available in both Waterstone’s and Ottakar’s - the second largest specialist bookselling chain prior to the takeover - hitting the combined 331 UK stores this week.

The frequency of the quarterly magazine will also change in order to create a more advertising-friendly annual schedule. The magazine - first launched in May 2001 - previously hit stores in January, March, May and September but will now go out in January, April, June and September to give a more even yearly spread.

In terms of future ad strategy, Square One Publishing Commercial Director, Sean King, has revealed plans to open up to select third-party advertisers in order to support current publisher advertising spend.

Announcing the print run increase, King said: “Square One Publishing is very pleased to be working with Waterstone’s at a time of exciting development for the company and for BooksQuarterly. The magazine continues to evolve alongside Waterstone’s offering, and we're proud to announce a 50% increase to the print run as a result of this.”

Sandra Adar, Waterstone’s Head of Marketing, added: “The magazine has gone from strength to strength since Square One took over production in 2004 and the print increase reflects the growing customer demand.

“The push ties in beautifully with Waterstone’s new loyalty card trial, with cardholders receiving copies of the magazine together with special offers on books, invitations to seasonal shopping evenings and book reviews.”

In addition to the extra copies printed, Waterstone’s is trialling a new cover price of £1 (down from £2.50) across its entire store portfolio, in order to increase the number of copies purchased rather than given away with sales.

BooksQuarterly includes features by literary editors of national broadsheet newspapers, such as Robert McCrum and Suzy Feay, high-profile authors and reviews from expert booksellers.

Legendary travel author Bill Bryson features on the cover of the latest issue, which hits bookstores this week and features books by Simon Schama, J.G. Ballard, Daniel 'Lemony Snickett' Handler, William Boyd, Joseph Stiglitz and Michael Cox.