Waterstones and the Booker Prize Foundation partner to launch the Booker Library
The Booker Library at Waterstones Piccadilly will be an immersive pop-up shop that will offer visitors the chance to discover, interact with, and shop the extensive Booker Prizes backlist in one place
- The Booker Library will open to the public on Wednesday, 13 November, the morning after the winner of the Booker Prize 2024 is announced, and will run until the end of December
- The winner of the Booker Prize 2024 will be in conversation with Booker Prize Foundation Chief Executive, Gaby Wood, to launch the Booker Library at Waterstones Piccadilly, on Thursday, 14 November
- Visitors will have the chance to see a life-size version of Iris, the Booker Prize trophy, and this year’s designer-bound books created exclusively for the shortlisted authors
Waterstones and the Booker Prize Foundation are delighted to announce a one-of-a-kind collaboration: The Booker Library at Waterstones Piccadilly, opening on Wednesday, 13 November 2024.
The Booker Prize is the leading award in the English-speaking world for a single work of fiction. It has rewarded and celebrated world-class talent for over fifty years, shaping the canon of 20th and 21st century literature. In adding the International Booker Prize for translated fiction, and a year-round, far-reaching digital portfolio, the Booker Prizes are now the globally recognised home of great writing.
For the first time, the Booker Library, which showcases the 600+ winning, shortlisted, and longlisted titles from the Booker Prize and International Booker Prize’s rich 55-year history, and which to date has been available at thebookerprizes.com, will be brought to life as a pop-up-shop-within-a-bookshop.
Located on the Lower Ground floor at Waterstones’ flagship bookshop, the Booker Library at Waterstones Piccadilly, London will cover 44 bays and offer customers the chance to explore and shop for every in-print title from the Booker Prizes’ extensive backlist, alongside interactive features including audio and events.
The Booker Prize 2024 shortlist
Bea Carvalho, Head of Books, Waterstones, says:
‘Throughout its rich history, the Booker Prizes have held enormous influence and impact for booksellers, reliably creating bestsellers, launching authors to literary stardom, and introducing readers to new favourites. What a joy it is to honour that legacy by collecting the titles recognised by the Booker judges over the years together in one place for the first time.
‘The Booker Library will be a distillation of contemporary literary history, offering a snapshot of a half-century’s worth of fiction: we are so proud to give this a home in our iconic flagship bookshop. We can’t wait to welcome customers and authors to browse the Booker Library throughout November and December, and to celebrate this year’s winner in this extra special setting.’
The lower ground floor at Waterstones Piccadilly will be a warm and welcoming space where you can escape the worst of winter
Gaby Wood, Chief Executive of the Booker Prize Foundation says:
‘When we re-designed our website, thebookerprizes.com, we thought of all the books that had been recognised by the prize since 1969 – whether they’d won or been shortlisted or longlisted – as forming a collection. We imagined them without hierarchy, as an incredible set of hundreds of books that had gone on to become classics of contemporary literature. We called this collection the Booker Library.
‘I’m not sure we dared to hope then that our virtual backlist would one day be available to browse in person. So this partnership with Waterstones is idyllic – we couldn’t be more grateful to Bea and her colleagues for bringing it to life. The lower ground floor at Waterstones Piccadilly will be a warm and welcoming space where you can escape the worst of winter to immerse yourself for a while not only in these authors’ words but in their worlds, as conveyed by the Booker team’s elegant and entertaining content. And it’s an excellent opportunity to buy your next great read or perfect Christmas gift.
‘I’m hugely looking forward to launching it officially with an interview with this year’s winner.’
Gaby Wood, Chief Executive of Booker Prize Foundation, at the Booker Prize 2024 shortlist announcement, Somerset House, London
© David ParryThe Booker Library will be a distillation of contemporary literary history, offering a snapshot of a half-century’s worth of fiction
— Bea Carvalho, Waterstones Head of Books
More on the Booker Library
The Booker Library at Waterstones Piccadilly will offer visitors the chance to immerse themselves in the prizes’ illustrious history, with a wall showcasing the 58 winners forming the centrepiece, alongside audio of legendary winner speeches and actors performing extracts from recent shortlisted books. Special objects will be on display, including an exhibit of the bespoke bound editions of this year’s shortlisted books created for the authors by members of Designer Bookbinders, as well as a newly commissioned life-size version of the Booker Prize trophy, Iris.
Customers will be able to find inspiration in the Booker Library for their next great read and Christmas gifting through Waterstones bookseller recommendations, curated themed book selections from thebookerprizes.com, bookshelves ordered in prize years, and cosy seating for browsing in comfort. Purchases will be marked with an exclusive Booker Library stamp, and the first 400 visitors who purchase a book will receive a limited edition Booker Prizes tote bag, illustrated by Iris de Moüy.
The launch event for the Booker Library will see the newly-announced winner of the Booker Prize 2024 in conversation with Gaby Wood, on the evening of Thursday, 14 November. Tickets can be booked at Waterstones.com.
The Booker Library at Waterstones Piccadilly will remain open to visitors until the end of December 2024.
Film and photography reveals of the Booker Library and competitions to win a selection of Booker Library books will run on the Waterstones and the Booker Prizes social channels.
Follow @thebookerprizes on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok and #BookerLibrary
Follow @waterstones on Twitter, Instagram , Threads and TikTok
Media requests
Bea Carvalho, Waterstones Head of Books, and Gaby Wood, Chief Executive of the Booker Prize Foundation are available for interview about the Booker Library at Waterstones Piccadilly.
To request an interview and for further information please contact [email protected] and [email protected]