Booksellers including Waterstones and Foyles are hoping to benefit from a surge of new titles that will hit the shelves today.
Known as Super Thursday, today brings the largest number of titles being published on a single day this year as 315 hardbacks hit the shelves in the run-up to Christmas.
Super Thursday is a relatively new phenomenon that booksellers hope can recreate the success of events such as Black Friday, which marks the kick-off for Christmas for many retailers. The buzz created around Super Thursday is expected to help high street booksellers in particular.
There are now thought to be only 2,300 book shops in the UK, according to Sky News. Many have faced closure thanks to the growth of Amazon and the power of the supermarkets.
Foyles chief executive Sam Husain told The Guardian sales had “massively” increased on previous unofficial Super Thursdays and he expects a much bigger spike this year. “It helps us fight back against the internet, creates a real buzz and awareness about books, and it feeds into our busiest time – Christmas,” he said.
Booksellers Association president Tim Walker said: “The huge number of new and highly anticipated titles creates an awful lot of news and gets people into bookshops, which are the best places to discover other books.”
Titles to hit the market today include a new book from Jacqueline Wilson and autobiographies from Kevin Pietersen and Roy Keane, as well as a new cookbook from The Great British Bake Off’s Paul Hollywood.
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