Waterstones and censoership

[MiladyBerserko]

I have been reading about concerns re Waterstones not displaying Helen Joyce's Trans book on Twitter, for example:
mobile.twitter.com/GreenFemsUK/status/1425764602722275337

I have been into three Waterstones in the last two weeks. It was not displayed in two shops and ther was one copy in the third. I asked about it in one of the no-display stores and apparently there was one in store but couldn't be found (!)

Has anyone else had this experience? If you are passing a Waterstones, have a quick check...

My hopes aren’t high for the branch next to my office.

They ran a woman’s reading group and I had just managed to persuade my sister to join with me - and it changed to a more ‘colourful’ group session. Sigh.

My local library has one copy on order, with four holds. Now five.

My library apparently had no copies at all in the whole county when I checked the catalogue. They are struggling financially, cutting hours, skeleton staff, closing branches (I used to be able to walk to the library but it is now a 25 minute drive to the nearest one) so maybe they aren’t buying new books at the moment…

After seeing this thread I checked my local Waterstones on Sunday and couldn't find a copy. For now, I am giving them the benefit of doubt as they have a whole floor closed due to flooding - and that is the floor where you'd usually find these books.
Will check the one near my office and then make a trip round some central London bookshops to check.

My local library has two copies both currently out with six holds.

I've just checked our local branch of Waterstones for Books by Kathleen Stock and Helen Joyce, both are "available to collect from store in two hours" which I presume means they are in a local depot rather than on display in store. I'm still tempted to send a copy anonymously to our local head teacher, just in case.

....so not just under the counter but in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.”

@Jaysmith71

....so not just under the counter but in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying ‘Beware of the Leopard.”

DON'T PANIC!!

I've just found some Waterstones vouchers in a drawer - might check they're still valid, and place an order...

Material Girls was on fairly prominent display in Daunt Cheapside about a month ago and I saw Trans at the main Foyles last week displayed alongside other recently published non-fiction. I wasn’t looking for either, so don’t think they’re being hidden away.

I use Wordery to avoid Amazon. And if I can only find what I want in Amazon, I try to go straight to the publisher and cut out the middleman!

Went into Foyles at the weekend - they had 'Trans' semi-prominently displayed with a either a little 'recommended' or 'bestseller' card beneath it (not sure which, I was in a rush).

I always check the 'Feminism/Women's' section of a bookshop; I have never ever seen any Dworkin, even in massive shops.

@TheFeistyFeminist

I've just checked our local branch of Waterstones for Books by Kathleen Stock and Helen Joyce, both are "available to collect from store in two hours" which I presume means they are in a local depot rather than on display in store. I'm still tempted to send a copy anonymously to our local head teacher, just in case.

It means they’re in store - it just gives the booksellers time to get the order, locate the book and put behind the till.

If it’s not in store you get the option of what store you could collect from, or to order online.

So a little report from my foray to several central London bookshops:

Waterstones Victoria: Three copies under "new books" right at the front of the store and on eye level

Waterstones Trafalgar Square: Allegedly available within two hours from store, but I could not find it anywhere

Waterstones Covent Garden: One copy on a bottom shelf, only spine visible, placed right under "Queer Bible"

Foyles Charing Cross Road: One Copy upstairs in the Feminism section, nothing under "new" or "highlights"

Waterstones Piccadilly: Not downstairs with the "new" non-fiction books, went upstairs and could not find it on a shelf, asked a staff member and was shown a table where at least five copies were stacked up

Hatchards: Three copies in the "new non-fiction" section on the ground floor, but it looked like books had been bought as the shelf was not "full", if that makes sense. I bought one of the copies there.

So sounds like business as usual at Waterstones then, they’ve scaled it out to the bigger stores and not company wide censorship after all. Hurray!

Ah yes, they have updated the window display n the one next to my office.

Whole display on Qr this and qr that. Pride reboot flags galore. Even Q Marxism (lord, kids today). Not a single book for women.

Brighton yesterday - 2 copies with the new hardbacks. One more than when I was over there a couple of weeks ago.

I’m just going to saunter through with my purple white and green lanyard and see if anyone actually spontaneously combusts. I have heard that it can happen...

@BrozTito

Its not censorship.

Of course not. High street bookshops regularly hide the best-sellers. Perfectly normal.

Oh give over @BlackForestCake. It isn't censorship. You've had the buying process explained so are aware it probably isn't in every store, and just on this thread have seen multiple examples of it being very much available in multiple Waterstone's branches.

Also, you are aware that there are others that might take an opposing view to the book that are actively hiding it in stores just to annoy people like you who get in a snit about it? Certainly people are claiming to have done so on Twitter.

Put your tin hat away.

Not a sausage in my local one. A large display of q*r books (I hate that word) with wee pride flags scattered in the display. Deffo no womans aexrion (as they had in ye olden days (a few ‘wimmin’ books scattered in the non-fiction but nothing to scare the horses). More books about drag queens than feminism.

The feminism section in my local branch consisted of one book today. The Q-slur Bible was prominently displayed though, at the front of the store. Yep. They're busily showing their gynophobia and homophobia at Waterstones. Silly women for noticing though

I know BlackForest. Maybe we should be scurrying in to hide the Queer theory books. Little point though, the more people that read that incomprehensible guff, the better. Ditto for some of the latest associated autobios

Discussion of hidden books/no stock does seem to irritate some though.

Will be passing another one tomorrow and have a quick check.

Oh oh I forgot to mention... amazon smile does the donation thing (where they donate a teensy amount when you buy) and guess who is now one if the charities you can choose? Only the LGB Alliance!

Excellent.