Advice for Authors

If you are an author looking for us to stock your title, please take time to read the following before getting in touch.

As independent bookshops, we are in the unique position of being able to support authors and titles we believe in, and all three shops stock books by local and independently published authors. However, as our space is limited, it is important that a book is a good fit for us. As such, we have to carefully consider which titles we are able to stock and which we cannot.

Please do not make unsolicited calls in person. We are very busy on the shop floor, and do not see authors without prior arrangement.

In the first instance, please email us. When you email, keep it brief and make sure you include the key details we will need to make our decision. Please let us know the title, genre, and provide a very brief blurb and jacket image. Don’t forget to let us know the ISBN, price and format of the book and let us know if it is available for us to order from a distributor or Gardners (the book trade’s major wholesaler). 

We only stock books of good quality. Your book will sit alongside others in the genre, and must be competitive both in price and production quality or it will not sell. We have intimate knowledge of what works in our stores, and will not take on a book if we do not genuinely believe it will stand up against other titles on our shelves. In most cases, we require books to have an ISBN (so we can book it into stock and track sales) and the title and author printed clearly on the spine.

If, having read this, you feel your book would be a good fit for us please email the relevant Winstone’s store.

For more in-depth information about getting your book stocked in independent bookstores, take a read of this very helpful guide from the Booksellers Association.