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Celebrating the Peters team as we reach milestone 90 years
October 2nd 2025
As Peters reaches its milestone 90th birthday, we're celebrating our team, old and new, whose passion has made Peters what it is today.
We asked Peters staff (past and present) what makes it such a special place. From Queen Camilla's 75th birthday, meeting incredible authors and illustrators and 'Potter mania', to working with you everyday to inspire a love of reading, there's plenty to celebrate. Read on for some of our team's favourite memories and reflections on working at Peters.
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"When I first started at Peters in 1987, I never expected it to become my lifetime employment, but here I am 37 years later. Over that time, I've seen lots of changes - mostly for the better. I have learned more than I ever thought possible, but most importantly, I have worked and still work with some fabulous people." Kulb Gill, Assistant Manager (Production)
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"My first memory of Peters was driving for two hours to get here as a school librarian – I was stocking a library from scratch and came for the day to browse the showroom and choose stock pupils would be excited to get their hands on. I spent the day here, browsing, exploring the books and chatting. Years later, I worked alongside Peters in my role at a charity – trying to reduce inequalities and ensure all children had a great school library. Peters were passionate and supportive sponsors, and great partners. Now, I’m proud to be working at Peters, and I’m so pleased the passion is as authentic as it seemed from the outside!" Alison Tarrant, Head of Library Services
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Having worked for Peters for almost 11 years, I have so many memories. Peters’ Love Literacy conference, working with the National Literacy Trust on Queen Camilla’s 75th birthday project and meeting with so many incredible authors and illustrators – to name just a few. But for me, the most magical part of Peters is the people – the Peters team, the publishers and partners we work with, the schools and libraries we support and most importantly the pupils who will benefit from the joy that books and libraries bring." Claire Bowles, Co-CEO
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Queen Camilla attends National Literacy Trust event
Love Literacy conference 2019, Birmingham Hippodrome
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"With no internet in those days, one way to alert schools and libraries to new titles was to send or take them packs of jackets. A list had to be typed to accompany the pack of jackets, and this was reproduced using the lovely smelling Gestetner machine. (You may need a senior to explain this one!) Book displays would be held at teachers' centres around the area, where, with a glass of wine and some nibbles, school librarians could browse the latest titles and place orders." Jeanette Meikle, Director (1979–2015) |
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"1991 saw Peters become the first official sponsor of the Carnegie Greenaway Children's Book Awards, with the winners' presentation made by Esther Rantzen at a prestigious awards ceremony at The South Bank Centre in London. We soon introduced our annual Carnegie and Kate Greenaway shortlist party, featuring all the shortlisted authors and illustrators. Attendees over the years included JK Rowling, Phillip Pullman, Malorie Blackman, Melvin Burgess, Terry Pratchett, Janet & Allan Ahlberg, Anthony Browne, Mick Inkpen, Nicholas Allan, and many more." Peter Sheldon, Sales and Marketing Director, 1983-2009 |
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Jacqueline Wilson at Peters |
Allan Ahlberg signs books for children at a Peters event |
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"A most vivid memory of Peters is during the Harry Potter era. Shortly after Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone was published, I received a random request from a customer to order more copies – URGENTLY. Their words were “they’re flying off the shelves.” No magic pun intended. From that point onwards it was full on Potter mania. I can clearly remember the build-up and preparation as the publication date for each new Harry Potter title approached. Once the books arrived here it was all systems go to jacket, process, invoice, pack and dispatch the orders on time. It really was a case of ‘all hands on deck.’ We always received a raft of phone calls and emails from excited customers, requiring delivery updates. The series has become such a phenomenon, complete with blockbuster films and merchandise, that it is almost easy to take for granted how instrumental these books were in bringing so many people of all ages back to enjoying reading. Witnessing this whirlwind was a real privilege." Jacqui Kaylor, Customer Services Manager
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Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone |
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Random House Christmas Party at Peters |
"Peters was much more than just book supply, with the KitShop, library promotion posters, Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards sponsorship, library training events, TBK magazine, mobile library liveries, author events, Packington Hall events and so much more. Indeed who can forget those Christmas parties with librarians descending from all over the country on a wintry night to mix and mingle with authors and illustrators." Moira Arthur, Managing Director (1984-2009) |
More from our team“I’ve always felt happy to come to work at Peters. It’s such a friendly company and we all look out for each other. There’s always plenty (too much?) of cake to celebrate birthdays, weddings and hard work. However what I most like about working here is knowing that selling books to schools is incredibly worthwhile. Getting the right books into schools to support all kinds of children make me feel like I am doing good in the world. I love going out to school libraries and auditing them. It’s hard, often very grubby work, but there is a real sense of satisfaction in transforming a library space into something tidier and more user friendly. The teachers and staff are always so happy with the work, and seeing how children react is lovely."
Lucy McConnell, Senior Children's Book Specialist
"The special thing about working at Peters is the opportunities we get to connect with each other and feel ‘together’, meaning there is a real sense of belonging amongst the people who work here."
George Wakeman, Customer Relationship Manager
"I will never get tired of working in an environment that truly feels like a family. I blink and the weeks fly by, some days are very long, the journeys can be tiring and there may be difficult challenges we face but there is a never a moment I wake up and think I don’t want to do this today. I get excited to see designs come to life, create new products that will inspire children to read and to work with incredible schools who are enforcing reading for pleasure. The support and passion from the teams at Peters are inspiring and keeps me motivated."
Jessica McCoy, Interior Design Manager
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Find out more about our 90th anniversary
Celebrating 90 years of Peters |
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- hello@peters.co.uk
- 0121 666 6646
- Send a message
- Meet the team
- Peters Ltd
- 120 Bromsgrove Street
- Birmingham
- B5 6RJ
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