Waitrose Chronicle dated 22 June 2012

Chronicle
The
Vol. 72
Author Barbara
Zitwer shares
6
her story
|
No. 21
|
22/06/12
Challenge 2012 - Partners
jump in and swim for charity
Read the Chronicle online:
www.waitrosechronicle.co.uk
Judging books
by their covers
yer
Book Bu ht
g
Freya Wri
J
ust like our food, Waitrose
customers are looking for
something a bit different when
buying their books. Book Buyer
Freya Wright explains: “Customers
like to see things on the book
shelves that they haven’t seen
before and won’t get anywhere
else.”
In fact Freya knows Waitrose
customers so well, sometimes
she can tell just from the first few
chapters that it will be popular with
shoppers and occasionally she
can tell just from the title.
“We sell quirky little books
really well,” says Freya. “We get a
high market share on them and
they appeal to our customers.
Ultimately I don’t want to walk into
one of our competitor’s shops
and see exactly the same range
of books – we work to get the
Waitrose point of difference.”
However, keeping a point of
difference can be a challenge and
with social media it is becoming
even more complex when trying
6
to predict consumer patterns.
“Our offer sits between literary
and mass market books and I
try to get a balance between the
two,” she says. “We try to steer
away from big mass market titles
because our competitors stock
them, but we still need to keep
up with what customers want to
read. For example our ‘book of the
moment’, like every other retailer,
is Fifty Shades of Grey. In terms
of market figures it is the biggest
book since the last Dan Brown
and I didn’t see it coming at all.
The book went viral, it has been all
over social media – I think a lot of
book buyers missed it. Everyone
I speak to is talking about it – we
have had to react to the buzz, but
this is difficult to do.”
Despite the challenges of
predicting the next big thing,
Freya’s three-and-a-half years
of experience helps her to
understand Waitrose customer
patterns. “I do have a particular
way of buying books,” says Freya.
The Chronicle 22 June 2012 “We have quite a capsule range
compared to the rest of the market.
Waitrose only stocks 30 fiction
titles, 20 children’s books and
around 35 cookery lines at one
time – space is limited.”
So what is on her tick list when
looking for the perfect product?
“Firstly I look at the author. Are
they well known or a new author?
Then I look at genre – we don’t
sell saga or misery. I will then look
at subject, taking into account the
time of year; during the summer
I look out for light reads and at
Christmas anything sparkly. I also
try to remember that men do buy
into our range!”
It can be brutal being an author
these days. Freya was asked to
join the Melissa Nathan Award
judging panel last
year. She was joined
by comedian Jo
Brand and authors
Joanna Trollope and
Sophie Kinsella. They
were asked to read
10 books.
Freya said: “It was
a great experience
and I remember Jo
Brand said to me – ‘if
it’s rubbish by the
second page – bin it! It
will be rubbish for the
rest of the book’ and I
was horrified! But she is
right – when you have
so many books to read
you have to be brutal.”
Occasionally though,
when an author’s book
is selected by Waitrose it
can make their day.
Barbara Zitwer, author
of popular title The J.M.
Barrie Ladies’ Swimming
Society, explains: “I was
thrilled that my book
was chosen by Waitrose,
especially as the buyers
can be meticulous – it was
a great compliment for my
first novel.”
Ella Foote
Feature
The beauty of
writing fiction
85 years old had been swimming
at the pond every day with her
friends. I was asked if I fancied a
swim and I thought – yeah why
not. I was given a spare bathing
suit and it was an experience I will
never forget. I felt as if my mother
was with me that day and I had an
explosion of an idea for a book.”
In the book an American
architect comes to England to
work on Stanway House in the
Cotswolds. Stanway is said to be
where J.M. Barrie wrote Peter Pan
when he stayed there in the 1920s.
The architect, Joey, comes across
a group of women who are part
of a swimming club, swimming all
year round in the icy waters of a
local pond. The women teach her
about love and friendships and a
few of those friendships are tested
to the limit.
“All the female characters
in the book are a combination
of experiences, emotions
and relationships I have had
The J.M. Barrie Ladies’ Swimming Society: a compulsive read
First time
Barbara novelist
Zitwer
throughout my life,” says Barbara.
“They are bits and pieces of
women I know. May Allen lit my
fire that day at the pond. I kept
thinking and writing about her, with
her turquoise eyes, drinking tea –
she was so wonderful to me. The
character Aggie was inspired by
May. Lilia’s character had aspects
of my mother – my mother was like
steel. She was so strong and once
you made a mistake – that was it,
no forgiveness.
“The relationships between
the characters all developed from
connections with my girlfriends. I
have incredible friends – groups
of women all over the world – and
I have tried to be honest and
explore the different issues women
have with each other.”
Barbara has been a big
swimmer since she was a little
girl. “Growing up near Jones
Beach (New York) my whole
family were swimmers. I have
been on beaches all over the
world, swam in the tropics – but
nothing could prepare me for the
beauty of swimming in that pond
in Hampstead. It was the most
unique swimming experience and
I couldn’t believe it was in the
middle of the city.” This explains
some of the title, but what about
the Peter Pan connection?
Barbara says: “I was writing
about being young, not being
able to cope with the death of
someone you love and this feeling
of ever-lasting youth. I considered
the women at the pond becoming
young when they swam, the water
making their legs youthful – but I
didn’t want the Peter Pan theme
to be a gimmick. I just wanted to
sprinkle the idea into the air of
the book and the descriptions of
the women at the pond brings out
those themes.”
The J.M. Barrie Ladies’
Swimming Society has been really
popular with Waitrose customers
and in the national media. It has
been one of the top sellers and is
part of the fiction ‘3 for 2’ offer.
Barbara says: “I have been so
surprised and excited with the
reaction to the book and I can’t
wait to write more!”
Ella Foote
Compe
tition
Chronicle readers can win one of five copies of
Barbara’s book we have to give away. Each book has
been signed by Barbara and comes with a bookmark
and notepad. For your chance to win a copy simply
send your name, branch and address to BOOK
COMPETITION, Waitrose Chronicle, Doncastle
Road, Southern Industrial Area, Bracknell, RG12
8YA by Tuesday, 3 July.
22 June 2012 The Chronicle 7
Photograph: Terry Cavanagh
T
he title of Barbara Zitwer’s
first novel, The J.M. Barrie
Ladies’ Swimming Society
caught Book Buyer Freya Wright’s
eye the minute she saw it and
she knew it would be popular
with Waitrose customers. The
American author’s book was six
years in the making and was
inspired by a dip in the ladies’
swimming pond on Hampstead
Heath, London. Here she tells us
the story behind the book.
“It was the day of my mother’s
funeral in New York when I
jumped into the ladies’ pond on
Hampstead Heath,” says Barbara.
“I had flown into London from the
Frankfurt Book Fair, which my
mother had insisted I go to
despite her being unwell. I
was stuck in London and
sad, so a friend took me
for a walk on Hampstead
Heath and we came
across the pond. That
day I met May Allen who at