The Boss Who Wrote the Book on Being a Bestseller; HE'S A HARD-NOSED RETAILER WITH A LOVE OF LITERATURE AND HE'S LANDED HIS DREAM JOB AT WATERSTONE'S THE INTERVIEW

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Byline: ANDREW LEACH

David Gilbert has a dilemma. Britain's top bookseller will be at the Man Booker Prize literary awards ceremony this month. But the event almost clashes with a talk he wants to hear earlier the same evening by eccentric rock star Julian Cope, a leading expert on megalithic history.

'The Man Booker is a black-tie affair and Julian's audience is likely to be hippies, so I was worried I might look out of place in a dinner jacket,' says the 50-yearold megalithic history enthusiast.

'Then I thought they would just view me as an eccentric, too, and I would fit right in.' He has certainly fitted in at Waterstone's, the book-retailing arm of HMV Group, which is best known for its record shops. …