The subscription-only magazine is read by around 30,000 persons each week, in more than 90 countries, and contains the latest news from the publishing and bookselling worlds, in-depth analysis, pre-publication book previews and author interviews.

The magazine also produces approximately a dozen specials on an annual basis, including its Books of the Year and four "Buyers Guides".

The Bookseller was founded by Joseph Whitaker, the first editor of the magazine, in January 1858, and was marketed as "A Handbook of British and Foreign Literature".

However, World War I severely disrupted publication and it was not until the late 1920s that the magazine resumed its weekly schedule.

David Whitaker joined his family magazine in 1977 for little over two years, with Louis Baum assuming editorial responsibilities in 1980.

[2] In 1999, Nicholas Clee became editor, months before the magazine was sold to a division of Nielsen Business Media.