"Fantasy" no longer a genre in Waterstones?

[HareBrain]

In both branches of the UK chain bookshop Waterstones I've visited recently, the SFF shelves have been relabelled as only "science fiction". In my local shop, there are also nearby shelf sections labelled "manga", "horror" and "graphic novels", as there were before, but "young adult" has now been moved to this area too (from the downstairs area where it was next to general fiction).

So there is no shelf labelled "fantasy".

I find this weird, since most of the books in "science fiction" are more what we would call fantasy than SF. I wonder if this is because Waterstones believes that when people think of the word "fantasy" many of them now think of the kind of stuff now shelved in YA, often stories featuring characters aged 18+ and read by adults but written in the "YA style". And they've shelved YA next to other SFF most of it is spec-fic.

I've asked a staff member in both shops and they didn't know why this had been done. Has anyone else here noticed this or have another possible reason?

 

[nixie]

I've noticed, also the shelf space allocated to the genre in our branch has been drastically reduced.

 

[HareBrain]

I've noticed, also the shelf space allocated to the genre in our branch has been drastically reduced.

In favour of anything in particular? YA, for example?

 

[nixie]

In favour of anything in particular? YA, for example?

Yes YA.

 

[The Big Peat]

I have heard it said before that the owner of Waterstones doesn't much like the genre. That's part of why so many UK fantasy releases have very plan, non-fantasy covers these days.

 

[HareBrain]

I have heard it said before that the owner of Waterstones doesn't much like the genre. That's part of why so many UK fantasy releases have very plan, non-fantasy covers these days.

That's interesting. Clearly it doesn't apply to YA, whose covers are often very colourful. But I guess he's happy to like a sub-genre that makes him so much moolah.

 

[Harpo]

Where do they put Conan, LOTR, The Arabian Nights, Earthsea, and the works of Pullman, Pratchett, etc etc.

When I moved here a decade ago, there was zero science fiction in Stornoway’s only bookshop, and that didn’t change until a new member of staff joined, and now there is a decent amount of it.


I just checked their website, and there’s plenty of Fantasy

https://www.waterstones.com/category/science-fiction-fantasy-horror/fantasy

 

[HareBrain]

Where do they put Conan, LOTR, The Arabian Nights, Earthsea, and the works of Pullman, Pratchett, etc etc.

On the "science fiction" shelf.

 

[Harpo]

Ah yes of course, “The Seven Galactic Voyages of Sinbad”

 

[Venusian Broon]

From memory the big Waterstones on Princes's street in Edinburgh has a SFF alcove (with graphic novels and manga 'in the middle' of it) - no separate space for fantasy alone - and then a different alcove for YA budding off it, like an annexe. I'll pop in next Wednesday and check if they've changed it!

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Romantasy has largely taken fantasy’s place and Waterstones are hugely into it, chasing the book tok audience. As a result trad fantasy is really struggling with sales down and published books down.

 

[Harpo]

It’s clearly ridiculous, think of how many people will be searching for fantasy books of whatever kind and struggling.

[sarcasm] There should also be a section called “Former Bestsellers” which has every book that was ever the Number One book.
Because all of those were clearly very popular, and yet don’t have their own section.[\sarcasm]

 

[Jo Zebedee]

It’s clearly ridiculous, think of how many people will be searching for fantasy books of whatever kind and struggling.

[sarcasm] There should also be a section called “Former Bestsellers” which has every book that was ever the Number One book.
Because all of those were clearly very popular, and yet don’t have their own section.[\sarcasm]

Waterstones are a hedge fund, not a books place anymore. Support yer local indie, tell them what you love and watch the buyer light up

 

[paranoid marvin]

Book stores can be so random with their placement of titles. Is 'Alice in Wonderland' fantasy, or YA or child? If it's 'child', what age section? Or is it in general fiction or 'Classics'. One rule for one book is an entirely different from others, so 'Dracula' could be in 'horror' whilst 'Frankenstein' is in 'Classics'.

Tbh I find bookstores like Waterstones a waste of time, other than to see what is in tbeir 'New Releases' sectiom. By far the easiest (and cheapest) option is to buy from Amazon, who will usually deliver the next day.

If it's a case of using Waterstones or Amazon, it really makes no odds to me. I would love to use an independant book seller, but there are precious few of these days. And usually when there are, they are top price. I'd like to support a local book seller and pay £20 for a new hardback; book if Amazon are selling it for £10... which is probably the reason why there are so few independants.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Book stores can be so random with their placement of titles. Is 'Alice in Wonderland' fantasy, or YA or child? If it's 'child', what age section? Or is it in general fiction or 'Classics'. One rule for one book is an entirely different from others, so 'Dracula' could be in 'horror' whilst 'Frankenstein' is in 'Classics'.

Tbh I find bookstores like Waterstones a waste of time, other than to see what is in tbeir 'New Releases' sectiom. By far the easiest (and cheapest) option is to buy from Amazon, who will usually deliver the next day.

If it's a case of using Waterstones or Amazon, it really makes no odds to me. I would love to use an independant book seller, but there are precious few of these days. And usually when there are, they are top price. I'd like to support a local book seller and pay £20 for a new hardback; book if Amazon are selling it for £10... which is probably the reason why there are so few independants.

We don’t reduce a lot (we can’t) but, frankly, Amazon aren’t that cheap for books these days and they can’t give the atmosphere our shop can. They also can’t give the knowledge, the listening ear to recommend what you need, and the community a bookstore builds.

And we, as an indie bookstore in an out of the way town, are *thriving*

Support whatever indie you can (use bookshopdotorg if you don’t have one nearby) and build the writing world back up so that authors can get their work published and books can pay writers again

 

[BAYLOR]

Book stores can be so random with their placement of titles. Is 'Alice in Wonderland' fantasy, or YA or child? If it's 'child', what age section? Or is it in general fiction or 'Classics'. One rule for one book is an entirely different from others, so 'Dracula' could be in 'horror' whilst 'Frankenstein' is in 'Classics'.

Tbh I find bookstores like Waterstones a waste of time, other than to see what is in tbeir 'New Releases' sectiom. By far the easiest (and cheapest) option is to buy from Amazon, who will usually deliver the next day.

If it's a case of using Waterstones or Amazon, it really makes no odds to me. I would love to use an independant book seller, but there are precious few of these days. And usually when there are, they are top price. I'd like to support a local book seller and pay £20 for a new hardback; book if Amazon are selling it for £10... which is probably the reason why there are so few independants.

Waterstones also owns Barnes and Noble here in the US .

 

[AE35Unit]

Hasn't it always been that way?

 

[BAYLOR]

Hasn't it always been that way?

Waterstones bought Barnes and Noble in 2018.

 

[paranoid marvin]

We don’t reduce a lot (we can’t) but, frankly, Amazon aren’t that cheap for books these days and they can’t give the atmosphere our shop can. They also can’t give the knowledge, the listening ear to recommend what you need, and the community a bookstore builds.

And we, as an indie bookstore in an out of the way town, are *thriving*

Support whatever indie you can (use bookshopdotorg if you don’t have one nearby) and build the writing world back up so that authors can get their work published and books can pay writers again

Honestly, if I had a local bookshop that took an interest in me and the genres of books I like to read, I would happily pay the RRP to receive a service rather than them simply registering a sale.

Indie games stores used to be like this, and they were a joy to use rather than GAME or Electronics Boutique. Nowadays all you get are download services like Steam, and even the satisfaction of physical media and an instruction book to read on the bus home have now gone.

I'm glad you are thriving, but it's a real shame that other highstreet retail stores are not.

 

[Harpo]

I’m very lucky to live somewhere that’s most free of chain stores of any kind.
Stornoway has a total of ten - Tesco, Coop, a Spar garage shop, Peacocks, Argos, Boots, Superdrug, RBS, Bank Of Scotland, Royal Mail Post Office, and four charity shops but they don’t count.
No fast food, no music or book chains, although I’d be glad of a music shop since my nearest is on the opposite side of Scotland.