PRESIDENT

Nic Bottomley

MR B’S EMPORIUM OF READING DELIGHTS

My wife Juliette and I opened Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights in Bath in 2006. We had blind faith on our side though, having come to the industry as a career change, and a desire to spend our lives working with and around books. 12 years on and we now have a team of 10 brilliant booksellers helping us run our labyrinthine and sometimes eccentric shop, our website and our various reading gifts. And we get to do all that in the midst of a resurgent indie sector with bookshops looking well placed to be lynchpins in our redefined high streets.
 

VICE PRESIDENT

Maria Dickenson

DUBRAY BOOKS

I’m Managing Director at Dubray in Ireland, a family-owned chain of eight stores.

I love the collegiate nature of the book trade, the shared passions and the fact that thanks to our ever changing product we are always learning and our work is never, EVER dull.

VICE PRESIDENT

Andy Rossiter

ROSSITER BOOKS

Along with my wife, Victoria, I opened branches of Rossiter Books in Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire in 2010, in Monmouth, Monmouthshire in 2011 and in Leominster, Herefordshire in 2018. I am a member of both the BA Council and the BA’s Independent Booksellers Forum.

Before starting as an independent, I was a chain bookseller and manager for 24 years: I’ve managed Waterstones and Ottakar’s stores, including Plymouth, Portsmouth, Manchester Deansgate and Cardiff. 

Alastair Aldous

WHSMITH

I have been with WHSmith since 2004 and within the books industry on and off since 2009. After a few roles within Books, I moved in 2016 to run our Post Office business.  However, books were never far from my heart and in December 2017 I came back.

I am privileged to be a part of the bookseller community and the BA Council. My  aim is that we all  - whether independent shops or multi-national companies - have an equal share of voice, and that we are evolving and making the right decisions to future-proof all of us as a book industry.

Hazel Broadfoot

VILLAGE BOOKS

Hazel has owned Village Books in Dulwich since 1996, it was founded in 1925 and the team are now looking forward to celebrating its 100th birthday!  Hazel previously worked at Waterstones in its infancy, running several branches and latterly sitting on its Board. 

Hazel loves that she can earn a living by talking about books all day long and gets a kick every time she connects a reader with a book.  She values the collegiate nature of bookselling, saying that “booksellers are so generous with their ideas and support”.

Emma Corfield-Walters

BOOK-ISH

Emma has owned Book-ish in the market town of Crickhowell, Mid Wales for nine years. Previously the owner of a Building Surveying company in Brighton, which she sold in 2010 to pursue her childhood dream of opening a bookshop. Emma is passionate about High Street rejuvenation, bookshops as community spaces and she is the co-director of Crickhowell Literary festival.
 

Phil Henderson

BLACKWELLS BOOKSHOPS

I’m passionate about increasing access to books and engaging under-served elements of society with books and reading.  I see the BA as a great vehicle to stimulate discussion and understanding throughout the bookselling community, and also as a way for us to engage with publishers, government and our customers with a single voice.  Having been a voracious reader since before I can remember, I feel extremely fortunate to work for a business that is centred around the difference that books and reading make to peoples’ lives.

Adam Hewson

HEWSON BOOKS

Adam is a lifelong bookseller, in the 1980s managing an independent in Bath, in the 1990s with Waterstones, first in the shops, then at Head Office, in the 2000s managing shops across Books etc., part of Borders, until they closed down in 2010. 

Adam is Head of Book Buying at the RHS and in 2016 set up Hewson Books (in Kew and Sheen).

Adam loves to share his bookselling knowledge and skills and was involved in training managers at Waterstones and Books etc. He currently focuses on non-book sales, window displays and by supporting BIC and challenging the supply chain.

Ian Hunt

BERTRAM GROUP

By Invitation on the Council

Ian joined Bertrams Group in late 2018 as Managing Director – Retail & Education having spent the previous decade in management consultancy.  Previous to this, Ian held a number of senior commercial roles in blue chip organisations including National Car Rental, Thomas Cook, RAC and Pearson.

Dan Johns

PADSTOW BOOKSELLER

Dan has been around bookselling his whole life, as part of Mabecron Books, a family business incorporating three shops, Falmouth Bookseller, St Ives Bookseller and Padstow Bookseller, which Dan manages.

As well as the shops Dan works on the growing publishing company, Mabecron Books, contributing on design, technical assistance or simply lifting books around.  Dan previously ran the University Bookseller in Plymouth and was Chair of the BA Academic Group.

Dan believes that bookshops and booksellers are the most important source of creativity, enjoyment, knowledge and community on the High Street.

John Keane

EASONS

John is the General Manager of the Eason flagship store in Dublin and Chair of Bookselling Ireland. He sits on the BA Council in order to represent the Irish trade in general.

John joined the book industry in the last three years and he loves the determination, drive and passion from booksellers, publishers and authors alike. 

David Marshall

JOHN SMITH & SON GROUP

Prior to joining The JS Group, I spent 10 years working in a variety of roles at Borders and I love the variety and the sense of purpose in bookselling – when you speak to booksellers and publishers, most joined or stayed because they feel they are making a difference and bringing joy or improvement.

In my current role I enjoy seeing our business making a positive impact on student’s experience of University and outcomes – that is hugely satisfying.

Emma Milne-White

HUNGERFORD BOOKSHOP

I own the award-winning Hungerford Bookshop in West Berkshire with my husband. I have been a bookseller there for twelve years, and before that spent eight years at Waterstones. I set up Hungerford Literary Festival and am also director of Arts for Hungerford. I have been a judge for the Costa Book Awards, and the Joan Hessayon Awards for New Writers. 

I really enjoy being on the BA Advisory Council. Small bookshops are allowed as much of a voice as larger companies, and it's very rewarding helping to shape policy that strives to keep bookshops alive and healthy in changing and sometimes challenging times. I've always felt that there is real energy and commitment to getting things done, and it’s great to be a part of that.

Eva Von Reuss

WATERSTONES

Having been a bookseller for over 20 years, I am currently Publisher Liaison and Press Manager at Waterstones. After joining the company in 2004, I worked in various roles in Waterstones shops before joining the Head Office team in 2012.  

I’ve always believed that bookshops play an incredibly important role on the high street. They champion authors and reading, create access to books and events and often work closely with schools, libraries and local businesses. Bookshops are invaluable cultural hubs for their local community.

Sanchita Basu De Sarkar

CHILDREN’S BOOKSHOP (MUSWELL HILL)

I took over the Children's Bookshop in 2016, having already worked there for five years. I love being a part of a bookish conversation with children, and helping them find a book that can lead to the next.

The bookshop has been here since 1974, and plays its part in the local community, with author events in schools, book clubs, and pre-school events during the week.

Fleur Sinclair

SEVENOAKS BOOKSHOP

I bought Sevenoaks Bookshop (est. 1948) since November 2015, purchasing the shop after working there part time and running the bookshop writers’ group.

Before bookselling, I trained in photography and worked in the fashion industry as a photographers’ agent.

Kieron Smith

BLACKWELL

I’ve been in the trade for over twenty years with one brief stint outside working as Head of Online for video games retailer GAME. I’ve worked for WHSmith Retail, Ottakar’s, Book Club Associates, Methven’s, Waterstones, BookRabbit, MD of The Book Depository and now as Digital Director at Blackwell’s. I’m going for the full book industry experience.

Bookselling for me is a craft: it may sound clichéd but I believe we have a huge and valuable purpose in providing social spaces, in defending free speech and in connecting people with all of human knowledge (and the latest blockbuster).

Jasper Sutcliffe

FOYLES

I have worked at Foyles for nearly 20 yrs, starting as a bookseller in the Biography and Hardback Fiction section, then in several shopfloor positions at Foyles on Charing Cross Rd: Head of Fiction, Ground-floor Manager then to a Head Office role of Senior Buyer.  I then became Head of Buying with responsibility for publisher relations as well as sitting on the senior management team reporting to the Foyles Board of Directors. 

I also sit on the World Book Day steering committee.

Wayne Winstone

WINSTONE’S

I own three independent bookshops in Sherborne, Sidmouth and Frome. What still excites me every day is how relevant bookshops, especially independent bookshops, are to communities and customers today: with a diminishing high street and the dehumanising experience of online retail, customers value us more.

Having an energetic trade organisation and like-minded members just makes the business of bookselling more pleasurable

Nigel Wyman

GARDNERS

I have been a member of the BA Council for nearly four years and in that time I am have been amazed at how much work the Council puts into supporting the wider book community.   This varied and historic industry we work in keeps me hooked and intrigued. Bookselling is in a good place right now and that is down to the hard work all within this industry put in. 

This has resonated recently with the economic reports showing how much income bookselling brings to the UK and Ireland!  I am proud to be part of this great community.