Literati

Literati is an Austin, Texas-based company that sells and curates books and learning enrichment products for children, families, educators and schools. Its current offering spans three main lines: school book fairs (run in-person at schools and online), online school stores and fundraisers, and subscription book clubs for kids with plans for families and educators. The company positions curation as its core function, describing selections as chosen by expert curators and refined with data science, and offering supporting learning resources and personalized book recommendations for young readers.

The business began as a children's book subscription service for readers from newborn to age 12, organized into five age-based clubs. Each monthly shipment contained five curated titles along with custom artwork and book labels, and operated on a try-before-you-buy basis. In 2020 Literati added its "Luminary" platform of adult book clubs curated by public figures including Malala Yousafzai, Stephen Curry, Richard Branson, Susan Orlean and the Joseph Campbell Foundation, pairing a monthly custom-edition print book with an app for threaded discussion among members, curators and authors. Company materials also describe a donation program in which members return outgrown books via their Literati box for donation to Title 1 schools and communities.

As of the most recent site content, Literati cites cumulative figures of more than one million books donated, more than $12 million raised for educators and schools, and more than 10 million families and educators served.

Founding story

Founder Jess (Jessica) Ewing traces the company to her own childhood love of reading, recalling a hand-sewn "quiet book" with felt apples and a lace-tying page that sparked a lasting attachment to literature and learning. Ewing had previously spent five years building consumer products at Google and was named in Fast Company as one of Google's "12 Most Innovative Minds." The Austin American-Statesman identifies Kelly Carroll, a writer, book artist and designer, as co-founder.

Business model

Literati sells books and learning enrichment products to families and schools through several channels: recurring monthly book club subscriptions, in-school and online book fairs, and online school stores. The historical children's club model was try-before-you-buy: a monthly box of five curated titles for a recurring $9.95 membership fee, with members given seven days to decide which books to keep; unpurchased books could be returned free with a prepaid label, and retained books were priced to match Amazon list prices. Luminary adult clubs shipped a custom-edition print book each month with a note from the curator plus access to the Literati app for discussion.

Revenue comes from recurring subscription membership fees and from book and product sales when subscribers keep titles, plus proceeds from school book fairs, online fundraisers and school store sales; gift cards are also sold. Sources do not disclose revenue figures.

Traction

The Statesman reported 42 employees in October 2019. The company reported 300% year-over-year growth and claimed the largest US children's book club position as of January 2021. Website figures cite over 1 million books donated, over $12 million raised for schools and educators, and over 10 million families and educators served.

Latest developments

The most recent sourced funding event is the January 2021 $40 million Series B. The current company website shows the business organized around book fairs, online school stores and fundraisers, and book clubs now offered with family and educator plans, along with gift card promotions.