Little Free Library Teams Up with Penguin Books to Grant 90 Little Book Stops

Penguin Books UK has announced it will install 90 Little Book Stops in communities across the UK to celebrate the joy of reading. The project forms part of the brand’s ongoing 90^th anniversary celebrations.

The Little Book Stops initiative is designed to celebrate individuals across the UK who champion reading, support more people to easily access books, and help book lovers to find their next read.

The 90 Little Book Stops will feature a bespoke Penguin design and be installed with an initial curation of children’s and adult books, specially selected to celebrate 90 years of Penguin publishing. A local steward will be appointed to maintain each Little Book Stop, which run on a ‘give a book, take a book’ concept and promote community-led book sharing. 

Penguin is seeking suggestions from the public of where the 90 Little Book Stops should be located. Individuals or organizations who are eager to bring the joy of reading to their local area and are willing to look after one of the Little Book Stops are encouraged to apply. Creative suggestions from all corners of the UK are encouraged—whether that be a public park, town square, train station or otherwise. 

Those interested in nominating their local area for a Little Book Stop can find out more and apply at penguin.co.uk/discover/campaigns/90-little-book-stops.

Applicants will have to answer three key questions:

1. Why is book access important at this location? 
2. How do you expect a Little Book Stop will change this community?
3. How will you plan to look after the Little Book Stop as a steward?

Applications are open until May 1 and will be reviewed by a judging panel of Penguin and Little Free Library colleagues. The panel is looking for applications that demonstrate the positive impact a Little Book Stop could have on the local community and why spreading the joy of reading is important to the person applying. The panel is also looking for a diversity of locations across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. 

Rebecca Sinclair, Chief Brand Officer at Penguin, said: “Widening access to books is at the heart of Penguin’s origin story with the launch of the first ten Penguin paperbacks and shapes our mission today.  Books and reading are a wonderful way to build connections and create communities and we hope that our 90 Little Book Stops will enable that in the locations lucky enough to have one.  We’re excited to work with a community of stewards to connect books with readers and to champion the ongoing power of reading.”

“We are honored to help celebrate Penguin Books’ 90th anniversary with the installation of 90 Little Book Stop boxes across the UK,” said Greig Metzger, Little Free Library Executive Director. “We believe everyone has the right to read, and we hope these book-sharing boxes will build community, inspire readers, and expand book access where it is needed most. We look forward to welcoming these new locations to the global Little Free Library network.” 

90 Little Book Stops builds on Penguin’s ongoing social impact work to break down barriers to reading and give everyone equal access to books. Penguin works with foodbanks, prisons, and a range of charities across the UK to distribute over 100,000 books annually into the hands of people and communities. It is also the co-founder of the Libraries for Primaries campaign, together with the National Literacy Trust, to make sure that every primary school in the UK has a library and to promote the benefits of reading for pleasure on a child’s academic performance, wellbeing, and success in life. Its other flagship campaign, Lit in Colour, supports schools to make the teaching and learning of English literature more inclusive by giving schools the support and tools they need to introduce more books by writers of color into the classroom.

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