‘Ultimately, we are trying to change the world, one book at a time.’

Based in Montpelier, Books That Matter is a monthly subscription service delivering “important pieces of literature and feminist trinkets to your door”. The books and gifts are carefully selected, with a focus on women writers and independent female-identifying or non-binary artists. Molly Masters and Joanne Norris, part of the all-women team behind Books That Matter, tell Joe Melia more about how it all began, its ethos and what impact she hopes the service will have.

What inspired you to start Books That Matter?

Books That Matter was first and foremost inspired by the experience our founder, Molly Masters, had whilst studying English Literature at university. She was empowered and inspired by the wealth of female-led and female-written literature she had access to, but was also frustrated that all of this amazing literature was only available to those within the higher education system. Molly dreamt up the idea of bringing these books, poems, essays and more to women around the world in an accessible, affordable, and exciting way – and thus Books That Matter was born! The company ethos focuses on bringing these important, thought-provoking reads to people every month, and championing the work of underrepresented, diverse authors.

Books That Matter monthly subscription service focuses on women writers and independent female-identifying or non-binary artists

Who chooses the books and the other gifts?

Our team work together to curate the themed boxes every month; which is always a hugely exciting task! We start by choosing our theme, past ones have included Mental Health Awareness, Forgotten Women, Self-Care, Black History Month, and May will see our Feminist Dystopia box go out into the world. We work directly with publishers for pre-release copies of titles so that our readers get them before anyone else, and we often have opportunities to provide special edition books. For the gifts, we theme these to match the book and the box, too; consulting our long list of female and non-binary artists and creatives that we work with. It’s important to us to provide a platform for unique art and creative work; and it makes our boxes even more bespoke and exclusive. In the past, our boxes have featured quote-adorned notebooks, eco tote bags, art prints, pencil sets, enamel pins, tea, stickers, and more.

What criteria are used for selecting the books? 

We specifically choose the literature of women and non-binary writers, with a real focus on diversity and inclusivity – so these ethics are at the heart of what we choose. We like to mix up our boxes to include some classic titles, some contemporary pieces, and some pre-release titles, too; so it’s a real mix. If it’s an inherently feminist and intersectional narrative which can make our readers think, then we’re all over it! We always read every book that goes into the boxes before they go in, so we can be 100% sure of our choice, and so that we can follow up our boxes with some really insightful and enlightening blog posts and podcast episodes.

Do you have any plans to put on events?

Yes, definitely. In fact, we have a fair few in the running at the moment spanning between London and Bristol. We’d love to host regular book groups, as well as larger events like the panel of speakers we held at The Book Club in London back in December. We’re also really keen to get involved in local and national book festivals and events as we grow.

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As a Bristol-based company, are most of your subscribers from the city or elsewhere?

Our office is based in Montpelier, and we love Bristol as a thriving, diverse city in which to base our work. We’ve found that our main subscriber base in the UK is London, but we also have a huge number of subscribers from across the UK, including a great many in Bristol itself. We also have a lot of orders going off to the Netherlands, Australia, America, France, Germany, and Spain every month!

What do you hope Books that Matter will achieve?

Ultimately, we are trying to change the world, one book at a time. We want our boxes to create a meaningful conversation amongst our subscribers, amongst their friends and families, and for this to ricochet into the wider world. Our boxes shed light on important themes like identity, race, gender, politics, history, feminism, and sexuality. These are important conversations to have inside and outside of one’s home, and we are hoping that the books we include and the themes we produce on a monthly basis will make a real difference in the way people are enlightened by the books that they read, and that from this we can create a more harmonised, compassionate and creative world.

As a brand, we also have big dreams about what we will achieve. We’re continuing to expand our subscription box, in the midst of planning to launch a Books That Matter box for children, growing our feminist merchandise range, increasing our podcast publications, and still dreaming of opening our own publishing house one day, so that we can publish the books that we want to see in the world.

What do you think of the publishing industry as a whole?

It’s a fantastic industry – and one that has become massively receptive to diversifying and innovating its operation. We interact directly with all the big publishers in the UK and worldwide, and it’s inspiring to see the diverse and exciting titles making their way onto our bookshelves every month. The inclusion of more BAME prizes and spotlighting of women’s fiction across the board are other ways in which we continue to be humbled and inspired by the field we work within, and it’s a pleasure to champion these works.

For more information on Books That Matter, visit https://www.booksthatmatter.org.uk

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Main photo credit: Brighton Economic Board