We’re highlighting 100 of our most popular backlist titles – all available to independent bookshops at 55% discount. Every few months throughout the year we’ll drop our clients an email featuring 20 titles which we believe are worthy additions to any independent’s backlist range. There is no minimum order and the titles will be drawn from across the S&S UK Adult and Children’s lists – some will be relatively recent whilst others will be established favourites. Each selection will be themed, kicking off with ‘Beginnings’ in January – whether that means fiction or non-fiction debuts, guides for starting afresh, the first book in a series, or even preparing for a new arrival.

Click here to see our selected 100 titles for 100 years:

https://d1hbl61hovme3a.cloudfront.net/assets_uk/the-s%26s-100-for-indies.pdf

Last year we launched a mentoring programme in conjunction with Bradford Literature Festival specifically for unagented writers from underrepresented backgrounds in Yorkshire. The programme offered aspiring authors aged 18+ who are writing in the adult fiction space the opportunity to be mentored by our S&S UK editorial team. The three incredible finalists were announced this January and are currently a few months into the mentoring programme, which runs from January to June 2024, and allows their work to be critiqued, edited and polished, and made ready for submission to a literary agent in July.

You can read more about our first three finalists here: https://www.bradfordlitfest.co.uk/yorkshire-emerging-writers/

This February we launched a free-of-charge writers club here at our S&S London office – open to absolutely anyone!

Aspiring writers are welcome to join us from 6am-8am on the first Wednesday of every month for writing advice, along with tea, coffee and pastries (also free). They will be able to work on their manuscript in a quiet space away from distractions, with just the motivation of being around other writers and a Fiction Editor from our UK team on hand to offer advice and expertise.

You can read more about the club here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/6amwritersclub-tickets-744059159977?aff=oddtdtcreator

We’re continuing to support the vital work that the National Literacy Trust do. As part of our ongoing partnership activity we are hosting a table at their gala dinner in March. The 2023 gala raised £210,000 to help projects such as the Primary School Library Alliance, which has put more than 400 libraries into primary schools across the UK, and the early years sector, including families with young children who are continuing to struggle after the Covid-19 lockdowns. We are also signatories of their Vision for Literacy pledge, which provides a framework for business action to help close the literacy gap between disadvantaged young people and their more affluent peers.

You can read more about their Vision for Literacy Business Pledge here: https://literacytrust.org.uk/policy-and-campaigns/businesspledge/

This World Book Day in March we have a £1 book with Tola Okogwu for the World Book Day charity, subsidizing, making and printing Onyeka and the Secret Superhero, to reach children who may not have access to books and reading. World Book Day have worked with Coram Beanstalk and Bag Books to create activities that open the door to each book before the child even opens the front cover, which can be found on the book’s information sheet on the buy page.

Click here to view the live offer on World Book Day’s website: https://www.worldbookday.com/book/onyeka-and-the-secret-superhero/

We are working with Cash for Kids, the official grant-giving charity of Bauer Media, supporting young lives across the UK.

All schools who sign up for Cash for Kids’ Million Steps Challenge this year will be in with the chance of winning one of 40 sets of S&S children’s books. Launching in March the challenge runs in May and 20 primary schools and 20 secondary schools will be lucky winners. In addition, one of the top fundraising schools will win an author visit from Tom Percival, whose new middle grade novel The Wrong Shoes shines a light on the issue of growing up in child poverty and how that can impact young lives.

We are also in discussions with the charity about donating copies of Ben Miller’s books to their Christmas deliveries to under privileged children.

Cash for Kids is a grant-giving charity helping the children that need it most across the UK. Its mission is to improve the lives of disadvantaged children and young people in our communities who are affected by poverty, illness, neglect or have additional needs. Cash for Kids raised £23.69 million across the UK in 2023, supporting 583,957 children. Click here to learn more: https://cashforkids.org.uk/

We are working with Enterprise Mobility and the National Literacy Trust to donate 25,000 copies of Tolá Okogwu’s Onyeka and the Academy of the Sun 255 schools across the UK, focusing on underprivileged areas.

National Literacy Trust discovered that book ownership is at a five-year low among children and young people, with those from less advantaged backgrounds twice as likely to not have books at home.

The book chosen for this initative features a Black protagonist and aims to promote diverse representation in children’s literature. Accompanying the book donations are free classroom resources and videos hosted by Cbeebies presenter Gyasi Sheppy and actress Sarah Lewis Obuba. One school in London will also receive a visit from the author, where she will be sharing writing tips and introducing the children to her book.

This project is made possible by Enterprise Mobility's global ROAD Forward initiative, a £43 million commitment over five years aimed at advancing social and racial equity in communities worldwide, launched in 2020.

We are partnering with the National Literacy Trust on The Wrong Shoes by Tom Percival, a middle grade book about child poverty and not fitting in. As part of this partnership we’re donating £15k to National Literacy Trust and 15,000 books via their networks across the UK in May.

The National Literacy Trust empowers children, young people, and adults with the literacy skills they need to succeed. They focus on 20 areas of the UK that are facing the biggest challenges with literacy and where they can make the most difference. To support schools and settings, the Trust provides resources and programmes designed to engage and inspire children, especially those who have had a tough start in life. They campaign for literacy as a priority and sustainable change to politicians and decision-makers, while supporting vulnerable adults, people in the criminal justice system and young offenders’ institutions to build their literacy skills for life upon release.

Click here to read more: https://literacytrust.org.uk/

Every year we support Empathy Day and this year is no different; we are currently arranging for a donation of 100 books to go out via the Empathy Lab, and several of our authors will be involved in virtual and in-person schools events throughout the year. More on this soon. 

Empathy Day celebrates empathy's power to create a better world. It inspires children to learn more about empathy through books and reading and put empathy into action. Read more about Empathy Day here: https://www.empathylab.uk/empathy-day

We will be hosting an interactive workshop aimed at new writers with our Fiction Editorial team at this year’s Hammersmith and Fulham Writer’s Festival in July. More details can be found here: https://www.handfwritersfestival.co.uk/product/attention-seekers/

We will also be running three free workshops online exclusively for members of the Black Girl Writers community:

Stage 1 – A Beginners Guide to Publishing on 22nd August with members of the Fiction Editorial team

Stage 2 – ‘I’ve typed The End, what now?’ on 19th September with Eva Verde (author) and Clare Hey (Publishing Director, S&S)

Stage 3 – ‘I’m ready to Query, how do I do that?’ on 3rd October – with Jon Stefani (Literary Agent) and Sara-Jade Virtue (Brand Development Director, S&S)

The Hammersmith and Fulham Writer’s Festival is run by the WILDE Foundation (Women In Literature Development Empowerment), a charity that uses the power of literature to explore, express and heal. This festival platforms a host of authors, playwrights, and poets from across all genres, but particularly focuses on female Authors of colour, Indie Authors, Publishers and book lovers.

More details can be found here: https://www.handfwritersfestival.co.uk/

Working with One Tree Planted, we're planting 100 saplings in their global reforestation scheme

One Tree Planted has planted over 92.7 million trees in more than 80 countries across the globe since 2014. As a business we are dedicated to giving back to the environment and help reforestation efforts.

We also sponsor Trees for the Future in the US, who work with farming families so that they can transform their land into flourishing Forest Gardens. Since 2022, our global contributions have funded the planting of 125,000 trees.

Ian Chapman, CEO & Publisher of S&S UK, becomes chair of The Book Trade Charity in 2024, marking increased financial and practical support throughout the year.

Book Trade Charity supports colleagues across the book trade and their families, providing grants and housing when they need it most. They help with: utilities bills, groceries, transport, medical costs, funeral costs, counselling, household items, relocation, training, development and housing needs. Find out more here: https://btbs.org/

S&S UK are delighted to be sponsoring the Black British Book Festival again this year. The festival is taking place in London in October, and we have various authors from S&S participating, along with our own S&S-branded stand in the exhibition space. Our publicity team is currently in talks with the festival to organise further cross-promotional opportunities with the festival both on and offline.

The Black British Book Festival is Europe's largest Black Literature Festival. It was created to celebrate new and emerging Black British Authors across all genres. Through the festival and beyond, the organisers aim to make the publishing industry more accessible for Black writers, ultimately bringing people from different backgrounds closer together. Learn more about the festival here: https://blackbritishbookfestival.com/

Our Green Committee is looking to organize 100 hours of volunteering over the course of 2024, partnering with several sustainability charities to give back to environmental causes in an impactful way. More on this soon.

The S&S Green Committee is comprised of representatives across the business, working on a variety of initiatives to reduce our impact on the environment on a local and global scale. Learn more about our environmental policy here: https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/c/EnvironmentalPolicy

Throughout 2024 we will be donating £10,000 to the UK’s national homelessness charity, Crisis. Staff will also be working with the dedicated team at Crisis to fundraise, raise awareness and support their efforts to help people directly out of homelessness.

300,000 households across Great Britain could be forced into homelessness this year because of the rising cost of living and the economic and social impacts of the pandemic. Crisis will continue to open its doors to thousands of people experiencing homelessness – offering support, food, warmth, accommodation, healthcare, specialist advice and long-term support. They work tirelessly to help make every year the last for someone without a home. Learn more about Crisis here: https://www.crisis.org.uk/