Peters Bookselling Services is a wholly owned subsidiary of J S Peters & Son Ltd., a family run business operating in the children's book selling market, and is based in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England.

History

J S Peters & Son Ltd. have been involved in library supply and general bookselling since 1935 with the opening of their first shop in Moor Street, Birmingham by John Sheldon Peters. About Peters.
founded in 1935. A move to Thorp Street in 1962 saw Malcolm Peters join the company, the 3rd generation of the Peters family, where he built up the business by selling books to schools and colleges. A requirement in 1989 to house the

Birmingham Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the company ...

on the Thorp Street site, meant the company moved to much larger premises nearby on Bromsgrove Street, providing of showroom and offices. The company is still controlled by the Peters family, being wholly owned by Malcolm Peters and his two sons. Malcolm retired in 2009 and his son Rhydian replaced him as Chairman, becoming the fourth generation of the family. In 1983 under Malcolm's instigation, Peters Library Service was launched as a subsidiary company, to re-establish the company as a specialist children's library bookseller still based in Birmingham. Moira Arthur was appointed Managing Director in 1999, following the change of name of the subsidiary company to Peters Bookselling Services. Moira retired in August 2009 and has since received both the

Eleanor Farjeon Award The Eleanor Farjeon Award is made for distinguished service to the world of British Children's literature, children's books and is given to someone whose commitment and contribution is deemed to be outstanding. Founded in 1966, it is presented annua ...

and been awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List 2010Moira at the palace.
/ref>Queen's Birthday Honours List 2010.
PDF p44, Miss Moira Elizabeth Arthur after 31 years in library supply specialising in children's books. Carl McInerney joined Peters in 2009 as its new Managing Director. On January 2011, Ray Dyer was appointed Managing Director of the business, having worked with the company for 15 years.
/ref> Peters Bookselling Services is now the only dedicated children's specialist supplier in the country, following the acquisition of its competitors by larger wholesaler businesses. In 1994 a further subsidiary, The Kit Shop, was launched to supply furniture to libraries and schools, to complement the book supply side of the business. The Kit Shop is located a short distance from the main offices in The Annexe on Kent Street.

Peters' Book of the Year

In 2010 Peters Bookselling Services launched their Book of the Year award. Nominations are selected by Peters' own librarians, with the criteria that the book be classed as a children's book and have been published during the nomination year. Voting is by readers of the company's weekly online publication, eGazette. The winner is announced in January the following year. * 2010 '' White Crow'' by

Marcus Sedgwick Marcus Sedgwick (8 April 1968 – 15 November 2022) was a British writer, illustrator and musician. He published novels such as '' Floodland'' (2001; winner of the Branford Boase Award) and '' The Dark Horse'' (2002; shortlisted for The Guard ...

Peters Bookselling Services currently sponsor the

School Library Association The School Library Association (SLA) is an independent organization in the United Kingdom which promotes libraries and literacy in schools. The SLA was founded in 1937 and is based at Kembrey Park in north-eastern Swindon. It is a charity registe ...

Information Book Award The School Library Association (SLA) is an independent organization in the United Kingdom which promotes library, libraries and literacy in schools. The SLA was founded in 1937 and is based at Kembrey Park in north-eastern Swindon. It is a charit ...

References

{{coord, 52.472575, -1.897815, region:GB-BIR_type:landmark, display=title Bookshops of the United Kingdom Companies established in 1935 History of Birmingham, West Midlands 1935 establishments in the United Kingdom