WH Smith sale could turn high street into ‘book desert’, authors say

Authors are concerned that the sale of WH Smith’s high street stores could create “book deserts”, reducing opportunities for young people to get into reading, while publishers hope that any new buyer will keep books a core part of the business.

Last weekend, the retailer confirmed it was in talks to sell about 500 high street stores as it focuses on its 1,300 branches at airports, hospitals and train stations.

Though WH Smith is often “sneered at” because “it’s not highbrow enough”, it is “somewhere that introduced people to books”, said author Gareth Rubin, whose books include Holmes and Moriarty. “Kids who started with comics then moved on to children’s books, and then the adult section. People went in for their frying pans and came out with a Jeffrey Archer thriller. That’s brilliant. If it disappears, we lose that.”

The company confirmed it is “exploring potential strategic options” including a “possible sale”. Its high street business is profitable, with £452m of revenue last year and £32m of profit.

“As a child, I used to get WH Smith gift vouchers for Christmas to spend on books, so to hear the chain is selling its high street stores produces a very particular nostalgic twang,” said Victoria Selman, author of novels including Truly Darkly Deeply.

“I don’t think the importance of the book sections in WH Smith and shops like it can be overstated,” said Sarah Underwood, whose most recent book is Gentlest of Wild Things. “They are critical in getting books into the hands of teenagers, especially those who are more reluctant readers and won’t generally visit bookshops, or those who can’t access books at the relatively higher price points there.”

In many towns across the UK, “WH Smith is the only accessible bookshop, so I think it’s a huge blow for readers who might now find themselves in a book desert”, said Jess Popplewell, author of The Dark Within Us. She hopes that independent bookshops will emerge as replacements.

The chain is “such a valuable part of our high street”, said Rosie Talbot, whose latest book is Phantom Hearts. WH Smith was established in 1792 on London’s Little Grosvenor Street – now Broadbent Street – by Henry Walton Smith and his wife Anna. Its high street stores now employ about 5,000 staff.

Multiple authors told the Guardian that a sale would negatively impact writers. It would be “one more nail in the coffin for British writers”, said Rubin. “Britain’s never really going to compete with Germany in building cars or China in electronics, but we can stake a place on the world stage with our literature.” He called for more government support, including tax breaks, for authors, the publishing industry and bookshops.

Selman said that being selected for the Richard and Judy book club, run in partnership with WH Smith, provided her “with a brilliant opportunity to reach new readers who might not otherwise have come across my novels”. The potential sale would “likely mean the end of the book club and therefore the closing off of yet more opportunities for writers to stand out from the crowd in an increasingly crowded and competitive marketplace”.

Two major publishers, Hachette and Bloomsbury, both told the Guardian that they hoped a new buyer would continue to prioritise books as a core offer, while Pan Macmillan said that WH Smith high street stores “are an important part of the bookselling ecosystem”. The company’s “ability to reach a broad demographic of readers remains important”, added Bloomsbury.

A sale “would be incredibly damaging for the publishing industry and authors”, said David Headley, managing director of publisher Goldsboro Books. It would leave a gap in the promotion of commercial fiction and books by emerging writers, particularly as it raises questions about the future of the Richard and Judy book club.

“As the channels though which people buy books become fewer, the world narrows,” added Chris Vick, whose books include Shadow Creatures. “There is less choice, less visibility and – in the end – fewer readers.”