Literati (book club)
Literati is an Austin-based children's book club and subscription service. The company sends monthly boxes to subscribers, with books organized by age and reading level. Literati was co-founded in 2016 by CEO Jessica Ewing and Creative Director Kelly Carroll.
Type of business | Children's Book Club, subscription service |
---|---|
Headquarters | Austin, Texas, United States |
CEO | Jessica Ewing |
URL | www |
Launched | December 2016 |
History
Literati is an Austin-based children's book club and subscription service.[1][2] It launched at the end of 2016, and was co-founded by CEO Jessica Ewing and Creative Director Kelly Carroll.[3][2] For a recurring membership fee, Literati sends a box of 5 hand-selected books to subscribers every month.[3][4][1] Boxes are organized by age for children from newborn to age 12.[5] Parents can choose from five book clubs: Club Neo (newborn to 3 years old), Club Sprout (3-5 years old), Club Nova (5-7 years old), Club Sage (7-9 years old), and Club Phoenix (9-12 years old).[6][7]
Each box is themed and also includes original art from an illustrator that worked on one of the featured books, a handwritten letter to the child, stickers and/or bookplates.[3]
Once the box arrives, families have a week to review the books and decide which ones they want to keep.[3] Books are priced at or below Amazon price[4][8], and Literati provides increasing price discounts for the books based on the number of books kept.[3] Families can send back any books that they don’t want using the provided prepaid return box.[2]
In February 2018, Literati launched a donation service that allows families to send back books they no longer need.[3] The donated books are sent to shelters, foster care homes, and under-served youth organizations.[3] Literati has partnered with organizations like BookSpring and The Women’s Storybook Project[8] to make the donations. Over 18,000 books were donated by October 2019.[2]
In October 2019, Literati raised $12 million in a Series A round of funding.[5][9]
In 2020, Literati gave away thousands of books during the COVID-19 pandemic.[10][11] The company partnered with different local and national organizations to make the donations.[10] The first week of the donations, books were handed to parents as they came to AISD schools to pick up free curbside meals for their children.[12][11]
Box Examples
Past themes have included space exploration, sports, and friendship.[8]
In November 2018, Literati featured a “Great Minds” edition of the subscription box.[13][14] It included books chosen specially by public figures such as Sheryl Sandberg, Melinda Gates, Sundar Pichai, Amy Tan, B.J. Novak, Anjali Forber-Pratt, Steven Pinker, and Maria Popova.[15] Each one of the figures wrote an inscription that families could choose to stick inside the book that figure had selected.[16]
References
- Segran, Elizabeth (2018-11-19). "Melinda Gates, B.J. Novak, Sundar Pichai, and more share the children's books that shaped them". Fast Company. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
- Azevedo, Mary Ann (2019-10-23). "Austin-Based Literati, A Subscription Book Club For Kids, Raises $12M Series A". Crunchbase News. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
- Inc, Care com (2017-03-16). "New Book Box For Kids Is A Parent's Dream Come True". Care.com. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
- "This Children's Book Club Is the Rare Subscription Service That Doesn't Suck". Fatherly. 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
- Hawkins, Lori. "Austin's Literati lands $12M to grow its subscription service for kids' books". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
- Inc, Care com (2017-03-16). "New Book Box For Kids Is A Parent's Dream Come True". Care.com. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
- Hawkins, Lori. "Austin's Literati lands $12M to grow its subscription service for kids' books". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
- O'Halloran, Kelly. "Literati wants to restore the power of books among kids in a digital world". Built In Austin. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- "Literati Raises $12 Million Series A to Boost Subscription Book Club for Kids - EdSurge News". EdSurge. 2019-10-25. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
- "Austin company gives away kids books at AISD meal pickup spots". KXAN.com. 2020-03-24. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
- "Literati to donate thousands of books to kids during school shutdown". FOX 7 Austin. 2020-03-20. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
- "Austin company gives away kids books at AISD meal pickup spots". KXAN.com. 2020-03-24. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
- Gutterman, Annabel. "The 3 Books Melinda Gates Thinks All Kids Should Read". Time. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- King, Rachel. "A Children's Book Club Is Launching a Holiday Series With Picks Made by Amy Tan, Sheryl Sandberg, and Sundar Pichai". Fortune. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- Segran, Elizabeth. "Melinda Gates, B.J. Novak, Sundar Pichai, and more share the children's books that shaped them". FastCompany. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
- Segran, Elizabeth. "Melinda Gates, B.J. Novak, Sundar Pichai, and more share the children's books that shaped them". FastCompany. Retrieved 28 April 2020.