As a community-focused bookshop in the heart of Southville and Bedminster, we want to help the next generation of readers come into contact with more books, authors and events that will help them discover the vital magic of reading. To do that, we believe it’s essential to work with schools to ensure the reading experience is inclusive, personal and representative in all ways.
By choosing a local independent bookshop for these services your school will also be contributing to the literary health of the area. We’re a small team of book experts with extensive experience in the publishing industry, and we also happen to be passionate book-lovers. We’d love to help your school bring all this to your pupils and share our enthusiasm with you.
A quick note on Amazon
We know that many, many schools use Amazon for book supplies and for their wishlist functionality. While we don’t offer a price-matching service, the truth is that we actually don’t need to. For larger school orders our sliding scale discount will very often save you money compared with the exact same order placed via Amazon, and our quotes will provide an itemised breakdown to prove it.
Here’s an illustrative thread.
Author events
We work with publishers on a local and national level to bring writers and illustrators into schools for inspiring events. We can look after the logistics: online pre-orders, on-the-day sales, signings and any returns. We’ve helped to host school events with authors and illustrators like Cressida Cowell, Nadia Shireen, Eoin Colfer, Sharna Jackson, Aisling Fowler, Sam Sedgeman, M.G. Leonard, Ross Welford, Polly Ho-Yen, Anna James and many more!
If you’re not already on our dedicated mailing list for teachers/librarians/literacy leaders, sign up below and we’ll make sure you’re first to know about author visits.
Library and classroom stock
We can arrange for ordering, delivery and complete re-stocking of books for libraries, with help and advice on which books should be in every school library. We’ll work closely with you to make sure all the correct age ranges and subject areas are catered for. Any size of library or classroom is fine by us, and we can work to a tight brief. Not sure if we mentioned, but we also provide very competitive (usually victorious) discounts for larger school orders.
Ordering for a school?
If you’d like to place an order on behalf of your school, please click the button below and fill out the form with book titles and quantities and we’ll get back to you with a quote and delivery estimate. Or alternatively email us at schools@storysmithbooks.com
Online wishlists
We know how tempting it is to use Amazon, but allow us to offer a guilt-free alternative: if your school is raising money or taking donations for books, we can create an online shop just for you! Visitors can easily donate specific amounts which we can then help you spend on books, or we can create an online shop with an itemised wishlist of books – all of which can be found at a personalised and secure URL, e.g. storysmithbooks.com/nameofyourschool, ready to be sent out to parents and your school network.
End-of-year gifts
If your school is looking for a way to reward your pupils’ hard work and achievements at the end of a gruelling academic year, we can supply vouchers in bulk! Just pick the amount and we’ll deliver them, all in their own gift envelopes. Or perhaps there’s a particular book which sums up your pupils’ experience of their big leaving year. Either way, it’s all eligible for our sliding-scale discount!
Book sales and fairs
If you’ve already got an author booked in for an event, we can sort out stock, online pre-orders, cash and card sales on the day, and returning any unsold copies. We can also provide a bookshop for your school events, Christmas fairs and summer fetes etc, and work closely with you on stock selection.
Reading lists
Need some ideas for revamping the books in your classroom? We’ll come up with the perfect selection: fiction or non-fiction, catered to specific age groups, curriculum requirements and subject areas, ensuring diversity and representation. No brief is too challenging: we can source books on the most niche subjects and areas of interest, whether it’s the latest YA hit or a picture book which introduces themes of inclusivity through storytelling with animals.
Shop visits
When your school places an order with us, why not let the pupils come to the shop and pick the books themselves? We can work with you to provide a tailored longlist of books for your pupils to choose from in a special after-school visit. We’ll make it a special occasion for a small group of pupils and teachers: cake, hot chocolate and, most importantly, all those amazing books to pick.
If you would like to work with us on anything listed above, or to discuss something that perhaps isn’t, then we’d love to hear from you. Use the form below, or email us at schools@storysmithbooks.com