Since its announcement in September, Derry book lovers have patiently waited for the opening of Waterstones in the heart of the city.
After the loss of Easons, the high street favourite joins the array of fantastic local bookstores, including Foyle Books and Little Acorns Bookstore.
Friday November 5 saw the Waterstones in Foyleside Shopping Centre in Derry open its doors for the first time, and the store has enjoyed a busy and warm welcome to the city.
Bookstore Manager Paula Caldwell spoke to MyDerry and said: "It feels fantastic to be open. There has been a lot of work going on behind the scenes to get us here and we are just blown away at how well it has turned out and how beautiful the new store looks.
"Everyone has been so pleased to see us come to Derry as well. The people have been so welcoming and warm and it has been a great experience so far. We are looking forward to it continuing.
"It is a lovely large store, with the children's section in the back of the store through a lovely archway. It is brilliantly stocked and beautifully set out."
Waterstones in Derry ensured that an array of local authors would be visible within their new store.
Paula talked about the importance of using this opportunity to display local authors.
She said: "It is massive. We have specialist book sellers who deal with local titles and we want to ensure we are representing all aspects of local history and culture. We take great delight in having reputable stock of fantastic local authors.
"We relish it and we love pushing local authors."
As soon as the doors to the new Waterstones bookstore opened, a steady stream of customers flowed into the store.
Paula said: "It is buzzing. The doors were only open a few moments before we got our first customers in, especially with the early morning we are thrilled with the reception so far.
"We had great feedback before we opened and we knew how excited people were about Waterstones coming to Derry.
"We hope we can live up to their hopes and aspirations!"
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