Empty Chairs & Costly Affairs: The Truth About Book Events

What 2024's sales data reveals about author events, plus why we need to reimagine the traditional bookshop reading

Well hello Scribblers,

It’s taken us almost seven years of being in Manchester to secure a Manchester Deansgate Waterstones launch, and we are so READY. An evening celebrating short fiction hosted by yours truly, Garland's spellbinding short story collection explores extraordinary people defying expectations, blurring natural and supernatural. Meanwhile, Campbell gives voice to the extraordinary (never ordinary) men and women of Manchester. Tickets

In celebration of Rosie and of magical realism as a genre, we’ve created a Bookshop.org list here of our faves - authors I’d recommend to anyone looking for some escapism and wonder!

We had a beautiful proof arrival… If you’re familiar with Donna Moore’s feminist take on Victorian Scotland from ‘The Unpicking’, or if you’re not, but you’re curious about the first policewoman in Scotland teaming up with an all-female crime gang, you’ll want to preorder ‘The Devil’s Draper’!

As 2025 gets rolling and I'm finally shaking off the last dregs of flu, I've been deep in reflection mode about one of publishing's eternal mysteries: book events. You know the ones - those occasions that either pack the house or leave authors sharing awkward glances with their publicist and their mum (we've all been there!).

What Our 2024 Data Tells Us

I've been crunching numbers lately, analysing why some of our 2024 books soared while others struggled to break even. One pattern emerged clearly: well-crafted events, when matched with the right audience and genre, often marked the difference between success and... learning experiences.

Speaking of learning experiences, let me share a candid moment: