Why is the Watkins Review no longer Free?

As you may know, Watkins Books has opened in March 2010 under new ownership, following the shop going into administration in February (you can read more on the bookseller.com). Since then, we’ve been working hard to bring more positive changes to Watkins – improving our online presence and increasing the shop hours to 7 days a week!

There have been quite a few changes to the Watkins Review since March, as well. First of all, it has been changed into a magazine rather than a catalogue with a complete redesign and addition of new columns, such as excerpts from the first Watkins Book-Notes, to day trip recommendations and an astrology column. It has grown from its regular 36 pages – to 44 pages in the spring issue, 52 in the autumn/winter issue, and more planned for spring 2011.

Since its spring 2010 issue, the Watkins Review is no longer free, unless you make a purchase at Watkins for over £5, which entitles you to a complimentary copy of the Review. Otherwise, it’s sold at £3.99. We hope that this change will let us deliver more interesting content and useful articles to our readers – plus, most of our customers will still receive it for free with any purchase over five pounds.

We are steadily notifying our readers of the changes, e.g. the autumn/winter issue has been mailed out for the last time to some of our UK customers with notification of the changes. However there’s no plan currently to do a mass-mailing for international customers, due to associated costs. So if anyone you know hasn’t received their recent issue, please spread the word or direct them to this page.

Please note, you will no longer receive Watkins Review for free through the regular mail-out. You can buy it at Watkins for £3.99 or receive a free complimentary copy when you make a purchase over £5 in the shop, on the phone or by postal order.