Martin Latham has been a bookseller since 1984, in the independent sector and, since 1990, running the Canterbury branch of Waterstones. He is the longest-serving Waterstones employee at the legendary Canterbury bookshop, he has run over 2000 author events, and once ordered the excavation of the Roman bath-house floor under the shop: the biggest petty cash slip in Waterstones history. 

Umberto Eco wanted to work in the shop for a day. He did.

He is a frequent columnist in The Bookseller and is the author of Kent’s Strangest Tales and a contributor to the Oxford Guide to Twentieth Century Literature. His second book, Londonopolis, was published in 2014. His ode to books, The Bookseller's Tale, was published in 2020 and was named a Book of the Year by The Spectator and the Evening Standard. Martin has a PhD in Indian History from Kings College London and is married with five children and three stepchildren.

martinclatham66@gmail.com