Usborne

The Usborne family is an actual family: a dad, Peter Usborne, and two kids, Nicola Usborne and Martin Usborne.

Peter Usborne, our founder and MD, started working in children’s books when he found out he was going to become a parent. Soon after, in 1973, he revolutionized the world of publishing for children by setting up his own company – Usborne – and pioneering a new generation of engaging, innovative, illustrated books for children, which combined popular subject matter with unrivalled quality in editorial and production.

Fifty years on, Peter still claims that parenthood has been the greatest privilege of his life, and that publishing children’s books has been an extension of that. Now in his eighties, Peter still looks forward to coming to work every morning, and his roles as publisher and parent have never been more intertwined, as he now runs Usborne alongside his daughter Nicola Usborne, who is deputy MD.

Martin, Peter and Nicola Usborne The Usborne Family (Picture Copyright © 2018 Martin Usborne)

Peter’s son, Martin Usborne, runs his own publishing company: Hoxton Mini Press. The three Usbornes – Peter, Nicola and Martin – together run The Usborne Foundation, a charity founded by the Usborne family which harnesses research, design and technology to create playful media addressing issues from literacy to health. Teach Your Monster to Read is an award-winning series of games that’s helped millions of children learn to read, funded by The Usborne Foundation.

Teach Your Monster To Read

The Usborne staff

We think of the Usborne staff as being like a family. Many of the people who work at Usborne have been with us for years (some since the company was founded) and people tend to stay for a long time.

We love books: that’s why we write and design almost all Usborne books ourselves. There are over 30 writers and 50+ designers on the team at Usborne. Not many other publishers do this, because it’s very hard work and takes a really long time to get right. But we think it’s worth it, because it means you can trust the quality, accuracy – and care – that goes into everything we make. Like the children we make books for, our writers and designers are a curious bunch, armed with scissors and glue, brimming with questions and obsessed with the small details. Our motto is, quite simply, ‘Do it Better’.

We only publish books for children, so we come at the world from a kid’s point of view: all our books are written in their language and designed for their curious eyes. We aim to make irresistible books, written in an infectious, enthusiastic and interesting way. We love facts and drawing and stories and finding out more about our favourite things, just like kids do. We work with subject-area experts but it’s our writers – experts in communicating with children – who write the books. We don’t patronise and we are never, ever boring. That’s why children from babies to young adults love our books – and so do their grown-ups.

What we stand for

At Usborne, we get to do things our way because we are an independent, family-owned publisher. And the way we want to do business is in a caring and responsible way, doing our best to balance being profitable with looking after people and planet.

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The people who share our books

We understand the power of children’s books and want people to be able to find them wherever they are. We think of everyone who sells or lends our books as part of our extended family.

Usborne books are available to buy in bookshops, museums, galleries, supermarkets, toy shops garden centres, farm shops, nursery shops, department stores and more – basically anywhere that you might be able to buy things for children. You can buy our books online, on your high street, from a shopping mall, and you can borrow them from libraries.

In the UK and Europe, you can also buy Usborne books in your community, or online, from an Independent Usborne Partner. Partners share Usborne books in schools, baby groups, activity classes and other local events or via social media. All of our Independent Usborne Partners are independent and self-employed.

In the USA, Usborne books are sold by a company called EDC who run a network called Usborne Books and More. In the United States, these independent sellers are called Consultants and they also sell Usborne books – as well as books from other publishers - in their communities and online.

In Canada, Usborne Books at Home Canada is run by a company called Riverwood Publishing. They too have a network of independent Consultants who sell Usborne books locally and via their own websites and social media.

Usborne: Children's Publisher of the Year 2020

We're proud to have been awarded Children's Publisher of the Year in the 2020 British Book Awards

The children who read our books

The huge, global family of kids who are growing up discovering the world through Usborne books are at the heart of everything we do.

Children have a lot of questions, and every single question is a good one. We believe in encouraging kids to investigate and discover the answers for themselves – expanding their minds and growing their confidence along the way. Sparking children's curiosity is what we exist to do.

During the decades that we've been making books for children, our family has grown: Usborne books are now read (and loved, and re-read) by children all over the world. They are passed down through families, from one sibling to another and now even through generations.

One reason why our books are loved by children everywhere is because we anticipate, answer and encourage curious questions in a way that children love, and parents trust. Creating a global community of curious kids is really important to all of us at Usborne.

So we're glad that you've found us, and hope that you'll want to become part of the Usborne family.

Usborne is an independent, family-owned company.

The best thing about being independent is that we get to do things our way. We want to do business in a caring and responsible way, doing our best to balance being profitable with looking after people and planet.

This is what we believe in:

Creating brilliant books for children of every age, ethnicity and gender

At Usborne, we believe in the power of children’s books. Books open doors to new worlds, allow children to walk in someone else’s footsteps, help them learn new skills, and encourage them to explore new ideas. For this to be effective, all children – including children of every ethnicity, age and gender – must be able to see themselves in our books, as well as seeing people who are different from them, in many ways.

Find out more about what we’re doing to promote diversity at Usborne

Promoting diversity at Usborne

Find out more about what we’re doing to promote diversity at Usborne, in our company, our community and our books.

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Looking after people and planet

At Usborne we take steps to ensure that every single Usborne book is produced responsibly, ethically and safely. We do all we can to trace and evaluate all the materials that go into making our books so that we can make ethical buying decisions, and assess working conditions in the factories where our books are made, to make sure that the people in our supply chain are treated fairly. We look at everything from where our paper comes from, to how any chemicals in our inks might affect the environment, to how to reduce single-use plastics in our products.

Read more about our ethical policies

Find out more about our safety policies

Our ethical policies

Our commitment to caring for all the people in our supply chain, the environment, and the safety of the children who read our books.

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Making Usborne a happy and healthy place to work

When people come to work with us, they don’t want to leave: staff retention is 93% year on year, and the average length of service is over 9 years. We all think that the best thing about Usborne is the people. Our starting salaries are 10% over industry standard, staff receive an annual bonus based on company profits, those with young children get an allowance to help with childcare costs, everyone gets a one-off bonus after 5 years with the company, and our sabbatical scheme offers 30 days extra paid holiday every 7 years.

Six reasons to work at Usborne

Looking after our staff

The vision of our founder, Peter Usborne, is to lead a company of happy staff. Here are six reasons why we love working here.

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Putting charity at the centre of everything we do

Charity is at the heart of what we do at Usborne. A slice of company profits are given to worthy causes each year, everyone who works at Usborne can take paid leave to do volunteer work, and our staff also pick a Staff Charity of the Year to fundraise for each year, and all proceeds are matched by the company. The Usborne Foundation is a charity founded by the Usborne family which harnesses research, design and technology to create playful media addressing issues from literacy to health.

Find out more about the charities we support, our latest fundraising efforts and The Usborne Foundation.

nterested in working in children’s book publishing? Usborne is a world-leading, independent, family-run publisher creating irresistible books for kids. See the current vacancies we’re hiring for, read our careers advice and top tips for getting into publishing, find out about publishing roles and teams, and discover why we love working at Usborne.

Usborne looks after its staff brilliantly... it’s so clear it’s a family-run affair. Its industry-leading care of staff includes generous pay, superb perks, sabbaticals and clear career progression – all of which make for a company that few people seem to leave.

The Children's Publisher of the Year 2020 judging panel

What makes Usborne different?

We get to do things our own way, because we're an independent, family-owned business.

Discover what makes us unique

Current vacancies

If working at Usborne sounds like your dream job, you've come to the right place.

See our current vacancies

How many people does it take to make a book?

Publishing is an exciting, creative and collaborative industry, with many people working hard behind the scenes to bring books to life.

Roles and teams at Usborne

Six Reasons to Work at Usborne

From making a difference to children's lives to professional development, giving to charity, and more.

Discover why we love working here

Promoting Diversity

We want to help build an industry that is as diverse as its readers. It's vital that children see themselves in books and that starts with the people who make them.

What we're doing to help promote diversity

Want to get into publishing?

Find out more about the publishing industry, how it works and whether it's the place for you.

For press and publicity enquiries please contact the Usborne Publicity Team.

Katarina Jovanovic, Publicity Manager

Direct tel: 0208 636 3763

Email: katarina.jovanovic@usborne.co.uk

Jessica Feichtlbauer, Publicity Assistant

Email: jessica.feichtlbauer@usborne.co.uk

Statement re: That’s not my mermaid…

We decided, some time ago already, to make changes to our book That’s not my mermaid... Whilst we had included a mermaid of colour with the intention of being more inclusive, we recognised that referencing the mermaid’s hair – calling it “fluffy”, and the concept of touching the hair itself – was problematic. We stopped printings whilst we have been working to change the book, and have also already decided to pulp all stock remaining in our warehouse.

The clothing based on this book is produced by a licensee and was created before we decided to change the book. We are speaking to them about this.

We very much apologise for any upset caused by this earlier edition of this book. We are committed to diverse and inclusive publishing, and take our responsibility to do this appropriately, and sensitively, very seriously.