Literati is launching Literati Classrooms, a new e-commerce platform aimed at preschool and elementary school teachers. This new service is an extension of Literati School Book Fairs, a business stemming from the company’s acquisition of Follett Book Fairs in January 2022.

The platform is being supported by the publication of Literati Magazine, a catalog of books, games, and content distributed to teachers four times a year, which has QR codes that direct readers to the Literati e-commerce site. Sales on the site or resulting from the magazine, which will include a code linking it to a specific teacher and classroom, will generate 15% in book credit to be used at Literati’s online store for classroom purchases. Educators who sign up before the end of 2023 will receive $50 in a coupon for book credit redeemable with their first classroom order and shipment in 2024.

The Literati School Book Fairs serve schools in 29 states from four distribution center and have reached more than five million students. The company works with more than 150 publishing companies as well as select independent authors, such as Marcus Emerson, author of the Kids YouTuber series. Literati is the only serious competitor to Scholastic in the school book fair business.

“We are on a mission to ignite a love of learning and a love of life. We do that by helping kids find great books—whether at home or school,” said Literati founder and CEO, Jessica Ewing. “Through the success of our physical book fairs across the nation, we've witnessed how providing the right book to the right child is pivotal in nurturing a love for reading and learning. We also know that teachers across the country need support in filling their classrooms with books. I am excited that Literati can play a role in filling classrooms and homes across the country with even more great books.”

Literati launched in 2017, offering personalized book subscription boxes for families and children aged 0-14; that business continues today and has 50,000 subscribers. Another Literati venture, its branded virtual book clubs, closed in December 2022 after some 18 months of operation. The company, which is based in Austin, Tex., has raised more than $52 million in financing.