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.

Literati
Type of businessChildren's Book Club, subscription service
HeadquartersAustin, Texas, United States
CEOJessica Ewing
URLwww.literati.com
LaunchedDecember 2016 (2016-12)

History

Literati is an Austin-based children's book club and subscription service.[1][2]  It launched at the end of 2016.[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]

Luminary Book Clubs

In August of 2020, Literati started a line of celebrity book clubs for adult readers. Subscribers receive one book each month, personally curated by “Luminaries” – authors and intellectuals. The initial Literati Luminaries include Richard Branson, Susan Orlean, Malala Yousafzai, Stephen Curry, and the Joseph Campbell Foundation.[13][14]

Each Luminary has a theme for their club. Examples include Malala Yousafzai’s club Fearless, which focuses on amplifying “the voices of authors the world too often neglects,” and Stephen Curry’s club Underrated, which centers around the “stories of people who have defied the odds to become more than what others thought they were destined to be.” Every book sent by Luminaries includes a personal note explaining why it was selected, and how it relates to the club theme.[15][16][17]

To accompany the Luminary book clubs, Literati launched an iOS app that will enable members to exchange ideas with each other and provide an access point for Luminaries. App users can create discussions around Luminary books, share quotes, and engage with prompts from Luminaries. The app furthers Literati’s goal of “build[ing] community around books and literature."[18][19]

According to CEO Jessica Ewing, Literati’s Luminaries are “looking to provide something uniquely valuable to the world. Whether it's surfacing underdog writers, highlighting new female voices, or sharing beloved books from their private collection, their selections carry a deeply personal meaning.”[20]

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.[21][22] 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.[23] Each one of the figures wrote an inscription that families could choose to stick inside the book that figure had selected.[24]

References
  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Inc, Care com (2017-03-16). "New Book Box For Kids Is A Parent's Dream Come True". Care.com. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
  4. "This Children's Book Club Is the Rare Subscription Service That Doesn't Suck". Fatherly. 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
  5. Hawkins, Lori. "Austin's Literati lands $12M to grow its subscription service for kids' books". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
  6. Inc, Care com (2017-03-16). "New Book Box For Kids Is A Parent's Dream Come True". Care.com. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  7. Hawkins, Lori. "Austin's Literati lands $12M to grow its subscription service for kids' books". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2020-04-27.
  8. O'Halloran, Kelly. "Literati wants to restore the power of books among kids in a digital world". Built In Austin. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  9. "Literati Raises $12 Million Series A to Boost Subscription Book Club for Kids - EdSurge News". EdSurge. 2019-10-25. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  10. "Austin company gives away kids books at AISD meal pickup spots". KXAN.com. 2020-03-24. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
  11. "Literati to donate thousands of books to kids during school shutdown". FOX 7 Austin. 2020-03-20. Retrieved 2020-04-09.
  12. "Austin company gives away kids books at AISD meal pickup spots". KXAN.com. 2020-03-24. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  13. Felton, Lena. "Malala Yousafzai just graduated. Now she wants you to join her feminist book club". The Lily. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  14. Nicolaou, Elena (2020-08-19). "Literati Just Launched Five New Celebrity Book Clubs". Oprah Magazine. Retrieved 2020-09-18.
  15. Nicolaou, Elena (2020-08-19). "Literati Just Launched Five New Celebrity Book Clubs". Oprah Magazine. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  16. "This Literary Startup Just Launched Celebrity Book Club Boxes for Adults". Built In Austin. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  17. "Stephen Curry, Malala Yousafzai, Sir Richard Branson to Launch Book Club Platforms on Literati | Hollywood Reporter". www.hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
  18. "Literati jumps into adult books with help of Steph Curry, Richard Branson". Bizjournals. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  19. "This Literary Startup Just Launched Celebrity Book Club Boxes for Adults". Built In Austin. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  20. Nawotka, Ed. "Texas Company Launches Five Celebrity Curated Book Clubs". Publishers Weekly. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  21. Gutterman, Annabel. "The 3 Books Melinda Gates Thinks All Kids Should Read". Time. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  22. 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.
  23. Segran, Elizabeth. "Melinda Gates, B.J. Novak, Sundar Pichai, and more share the children's books that shaped them". FastCompany. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  24. Segran, Elizabeth. "Melinda Gates, B.J. Novak, Sundar Pichai, and more share the children's books that shaped them". FastCompany. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
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