Celebrating 90 years of Peters

January 15th 2025

A family-run business for four generations, Peters has been selling books to readers young and old since 1935 – and this year marks our highly-anticipated 90th anniversary. Throughout 2025, we will be celebrating our 90th birthday with events, competitions, and more.

Reading for Generations

The Peters family has been selling books since 1935, with current Chairman Rhydian Peters taking over from his father, Malcolm Peters, in 2009 – making him the fourth generation of the family. For 90 years, we've worked closely with librarians, educators and reading professionals to promote literacy and help get the right books into the hands of generations of readers.

Left: 1935, John Sheldon Peters (snr) opens J.S. Peters - a retail bookshop on Moor Street, Birmingham.
Right: 1989, Peters consolidates all operations to Bromsgrove Street, where we still operate today.

Want to learn more about the history of Peters? We're creating a timeline of Peters' journey which will be available to view later in 2025.

Celebrating with you

We have exciting plans to commemorate our 90th anniversary throughout the year, and we would love to celebrate with you.

Peters Children's Book of the Year

Relaunched for 2025, Peters Children's Book of the Year will announce the winners in each category, as well as the overall winner, on 5 March 2025.

Get involved: download free discussion resources and posters, and cast your vote!

Love Literacy

Also relaunched for our 90th anniversary is our popular literacy conference, Love Literacy. This one day event is perfect for anyone who works with children to encourage reading for pleasure. Expect keynotes and workshops led by literacy experts and children's book authors, an on-site bookshop, and more to be revealed.

Register your interest to get the latest information on Love Literacy and priority booking for Early Bird prices.

And more!

There will be more ways to join in our birthday celebrations throughout 2025, from downloadable goodies to big competitions. Get the latest information by signing up to our monthly newsletter.

Read next: Peters Children's Book of the Year shortlist announced