As independent bookshops close everywhere, one author has found his own way to strike back, even if we're not sure it's really going to work. The Guardian reports that George Walker, author of the self-published TALES FROM AN AIRFIELD, has demanded that his book be removed from sale at Amazon UK. "What they are actually doing is getting the independents to do their market research," said Walker, a passionate advocate of independents. "When a book gets a certain amount of attention, they will attempt to stock it and cut the independents out. Not with my book!" His outrage came about after finding out the site featured his new title without his permission, following good sales in bookshops.

Responding to Walker's criticisms in an interview on Radio 4's You and Yours program, Amazon's head of UK book buying, Kes Nielsen, said, "It's an incredibly unusual situation. We usually find that the millions of authors and many thousands of publishers who have books listed on the site are absolutely thrilled to see them."