Watkins Books
Watkins Books (also Watkins Media)[1] is London's oldest esoteric bookshop. It specialises in esotericism, mysticism, occultism, oriental religion and contemporary spirituality.[2] Watkins Media, the publishing side of the business is owned by entrepreneur Etan Ilfeld.[3] It publishes books and owns a number publishing imprints.
History[edit]
The book store was established by John M. Watkins, a friend of Madame Blavatsky, in 1897 at 26 Charing Cross. John Watkins had already been selling books via a catalogue which he began publishing in March 1893.[4] The first biography of Aleister Crowley recounts a story of Crowley making all of the books in Watkins magically disappear and reappear.[5]
Geoffrey Watkins (1896–1981) owned and managed the store after his father.[6] He was also an author[7] and publisher
The company first publishing Carl Gustav Jung's 1925 edition of Septem Sermones ad Mortuos.[8]
In 1901, Watkins Books moved to 21 Cecil Court where it has been continuously trading ever since. It publishes a magazine called the Watkins' Mind Body Spirit magazine, which has featured leading authors from mind-body-spirit and esoteric fields. Watkins Books has been owned by Etan Ilfeld since March 2010.[9][10] Since then, a new website has been launched, and the store regularly hosts book launches and signings.
Awards[edit]
Watkins publishes an annual list of "the 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People," which is usually featured in the spring issue of Watkins' Mind Body Spirit magazine.[11] The main factors used to compile the list are that the person has to be alive and has to have made a unique and spiritual contribution on a global scale.
Imprints[edit]
Watkins Media owns a number of publishing imprints. In 2014, it launch the Repeater Books imprints with some former founders of Zero Books.[1] Collective Ink (formerly John Hunt Publishing) was brought by Watkins Media in October 2021.
Current imprints[edit]
- Angry Robot[12]
- Collective Ink
- Nourish
- Repeater Books[13]
- Zero Books
References[edit]
- ^ a b Whitaker-Jones |, Laura. "U.K. Publishing Spotlight: For Watkins Media, No Niche Is Too Small". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2 May 2024.
- ^ "US film producer supplies the magic to save occult bookshop". West End Extra. 2 April 2010. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
- ^ "Watkins to launch Repeater imprint in January | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Archived from the original on 19 January 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
- ^ Watkins Review, Issue 24, June 2010
- ^ Page 268, 1952 edition of The Great Beast by John Symonds
- ^ "Geoffrey Watkins: Information from". Answers.com. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
- ^ "Watkins, Geoffrey (1896-1981)". Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology. The Gale Group Inc./Encyclopedia.com. 2001. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
- ^ "The automatic writings of Jung". Philipcoppens.com. Retrieved 8 March 2012.
- ^ Gallagher, Victoria (15 March 2010). "Deal agreed over Watkins Books". The Bookseller. Retrieved 30 September 2018.
- ^ Kindred Spirit, Issue 109
- ^ "WatkinsMagazine.com".
- ^ "Osprey sells off Watkins, Angry Robot and Nourish | The Bookseller". www.thebookseller.com. Retrieved 19 June 2017.
- ^ "Introducing Repeater Books". 6 November 2015. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
External links[edit]
