Why we need an independent Ottakar's
'What lies at stake in the fate of Ottakar's is not the publishers' profit margin but the diversity of buying decisions which determine what is on offer in Britain's bookshops...
We need to broaden, not narrow, the gates through which new books, new authors and new ideas must pass before readers can find them. We need publishers who will take creative risks in the effort to lead public opinion rather than tailor their aspirations to filling the slots of a monopolist.
Which is why we need an independent Ottaker's. I'm not optimistic, but I haven't lost hope.'
Anthony Cheetham in the Bookseller