The two chain bookstores, both led by CEO James Daunt, are owned by a hedge fund, Elliott Investment. It purchased Waterstones in 2018 and Barnes & Noble in 2019. Daunt recently said in an interview with the BBC that an IPO was in the future, but it’s unclear if the bookstores would be listed in the US or UK. Of the two stores, Barnes & Noble is bigger. Timing for an IPO would likely be summer 2026 or later, after the company’s fiscal year ends in April.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
