The Five Mile Press

What The Five Mile Press does

The Five Mile Press (trading as Five Mile) is an independent Australian boutique children's publishing house headquartered in Braeside, Victoria, producing over 200 titles annually across picture books, board books, novelty, activity, and junior fiction formats for children aged 0-12. The company operates a diversified portfolio spanning original IP series — including Trace Moroney's 'When I'm Feeling' and 'The Things I Love', Zanni Louise's 'Human Kind', and multiple interactive novelty formats (Baby Play, Touch and Find, Flip Flap) — alongside licensed children's products featuring Disney (Doorables, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Minnie's Bow Toons, Zootopia 2), Pixar, Monster Jam, and Zuru (Smashers, Rainbocorns) characters. The catalog also extends into adult lifestyle titles via the Modern Mystic Series and tween-targeted colouring ranges.

The business runs on a direct-to-consumer e-commerce model powered by Shopify at fivemile.com.au, with multi-channel marketing across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, email, and author events. Distribution is exclusively domestic (Australia), with no documented physical retail or wholesale channels. Technology infrastructure is limited to standard Shopify commerce capabilities (payment processing, cart, newsletter capture) with no proprietary platform, API, or AI components disclosed.

Revenue is generated through two streams: direct one-time sales of physical books to individual consumers at price points ranging from $6.99 to $94.99 AUD, and licensing royalties from IP partnerships with major global entertainment and toy brands. The company is privately held with no disclosed external funding, no identified parent company, and an estimated 11-50 employees. Founded in 1991, it has operated for over three decades with no recorded M&A, restructuring, or leadership change events in the available data.

Name

The Five Mile Press

Legal name

Five Mile Press

Website

https://fivemile.com.au

Company type

Private

Founded year

1991

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Five Mile Press is an independent Australian boutique children's publisher producing 200+ titles annually across original and licensed IP, selling exclusively direct-to-consumer via Shopify at price points from $6.99 to $94.99 AUD.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Children’s Activity & Workbook Publishing (MPAJAFAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Children’s Book Print-on-Demand (Picture Books, Early Readers, YA) (MPAJANAC)

Keywords

• Children's book publishing
• Picture books
• Board books
• Activity books
• Licensed character books

Headquarters

HQ city

Braeside

HQ country

Australia

HQ region

Oceania

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Book Sales (Direct): Direct sales of children's books through their e-commerce store, including picture books, board books, and activity books at various price points.
2. Licensing Partnerships: Revenue from licensing partnerships with major brands including Disney (Doorables, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Minnie's Bow Toons, Zootopia 2), Pixar, Monster Jam, Zuru Smashers, and Zuru Rainbocorns for publishing children's books featuring their characters.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Five Mile Press is a boutique Australian children's publishing house that produces and sells printed children's books directly to consumers through its Shopify-powered e-commerce store. Its portfolio includes picture books, board books, novelty/interactive books, colouring and activity books, junior fiction, gift sets, and licensed character titles from Disney, Pixar, Monster Jam, and Zuru. The company publishes over 200 titles annually across original Australian-authored series and globally licensed brands.

Product overview

Five Mile Press is a boutique Australian children's publishing house producing over 200 titles annually. The portfolio spans multiple product lines including picture books (The When I'm Feeling Series, The Things I Love Series, Human Kind Series), interactive novelty books for babies and toddlers (Baby Play Series, There You Are Series, Touch and Find Series, Flip Flap Trails Series, Flip Flap Find Series, Fold Out Fun Series), junior fiction (Stardust School of Dance, Tilda Teaches), colouring and activity books (Cosy Colouring Range, K-Pop Vibes, Search and Finds), educational lift-the-flap books (A Lift-the-Fact Book Series), gift sets and slipcases, lifestyle books (Modern Mystic Series), and licensed products from major franchises including Disney Doorables, Disney Zootopia, Disney Jr Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Disney Jr Minnie's Bow Toons, Pixar, and Monster Jam. Books are distributed across age groups from babies (0-1) through toddlers (1-3), preschoolers (3-5), early readers (5-7), and older kids (8+), with seasonal titles for Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day, and Halloween.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• When I'm Feeling Series Emotion-focused picture books exploring feelings such as happiness, sadness, fear, kindness, loneliness, love, jealousy, nervousness, and disappointment for young children. Authored by Trace Moroney.
• The Things I Love Series Board books celebrating positive life moments and emotions including birthdays, Christmas, and bedtime for babies and toddlers. Authored by Trace Moroney.
• Human Kind Series Picture books teaching character values including honesty, self-belief, teamwork, persistence, patience, gratitude, respect, resilience, kindness, and imagination. Authored by Zanni Louise.
• Baby Play Series Interactive board books with textured elements designed for babies and toddlers to explore through touch, featuring themes such as woods, farm, ocean, and wild animals.
• There You Are Series Peekaboo-style touch and find board books for infants featuring animals including teddy bear, cow, dog, wombat, reindeer, koala, lion, frog, bunny, monkey, unicorn, and bird.
• Touch and Find Series Touch and find novelty books with tactile elements designed for babies to explore textures while searching for hidden objects.
• Flip Flap Trails Series Flip-flap trail books with split-page format for toddlers to discover animals and scenes by flipping different combinations of pages.
• Flip Flap Find Series Flip-flap novelty books with layered pages that reveal different animal combinations when flipped, featuring dinosaurs, vehicles, and animal kingdom themes.
• Fold Out Fun Series Fold-out board books where pages fold out to reveal hidden elements, teaching concepts like stripes and spots to young children.
• Junior Fiction Series (Stardust School of Dance and Tilda Teaches) Junior fiction series targeting older children aged 5-12, including Stardust School of Dance by Zanni Louise and Tilda Teaches series by Amy Adeney.
• Cosy Colouring Range Relaxing colouring books with adult colouring aesthetics adapted for children, featuring themes like Snug Life, Disney Zootopia, and Pixar characters.
• K-Pop Vibes Cosy Colouring Cosy colouring books featuring K-Pop themes and culture for older kids and teens.
• A Lift-the-Fact Book Series Interactive lift-the-flap fact books exploring topics like the zoo, museum, art gallery, ocean life, insects, animals, and the planetarium.
• Search and Finds Search and find activity books featuring Australian themes, nature, animals, and magical creatures for older children.
• Gift Sets & Slipcases Curated multi-book gift sets and slipcases including The Feelings Series, Pete Cromer Collection, Modern Mystic sets, and Trace Moroney Nursery Rhyme collections, priced from $12.99 to $94.99 AUD.
• Modern Mystic Series Lifestyle books for adults covering topics like finding one's mystic self, number karma, manifesting future, and tarot.
• Disney Doorables Books Licensed colouring books, sticker activities, and colouring scratch books featuring Disney Doorables characters.
• Disney Zootopia Books Licensed colouring and activity books featuring Disney Zootopia and Zootopia 2 characters.
• Disney Jr Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Books Licensed colouring books, sticker activities, and giant activity pads featuring Disney Jr Mickey Mouse Clubhouse characters.
• Disney Jr Minnie's Bow Toons Books Licensed sticker activity books featuring Disney Jr Minnie's Bow Toons characters.
• Pixar Books Licensed colouring and activity books featuring Pixar characters from various animated films.
• Monster Jam Books Licensed colouring books, activity bags, and scratch books featuring Monster Jam monster truck characters.
• Dresses are for Messes New picture book following Tess, a bold adventurous girl challenging expectations about dresses; published by Elizabeth Pulsford for early readers.
• Hooray for PJ Day New picture book; rhyming story about PJ Day at the zoo featuring animals; illustrated by Judi Abbot; targets young children.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationE-commerce platform powering the online store, enabling product catalog management, shopping cart, payment processing (multiple methods), and order fulfillment capabilities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Penguin Random House Australia: Australian operations of the world's largest trade publisher, with a significant children's list including Puffin. Comparable as a children's trade publisher serving the Australian market, but at vastly larger scale.
• Hachette Australia: Australian arm of Hachette Livre with established children's publishing imprints; comparable as a broad trade publisher with a dedicated children's list competing for shelf space and authors.
• Scholastic Australia: Australian subsidiary of Scholastic Corporation, the world's largest children's book publisher, with broad portfolio across trade, educational, and book-club channels — operating at much greater scale than Five Mile Press but in the same category.
• Simon & Schuster Australia: Australian operations of Simon & Schuster publishing children's fiction and nonfiction; overlaps with Five Mile Press on picture books and character-licensed publishing.

Direct peers

• Hardie Grant Children's Publishing: Australia-based children's book publisher and direct competitor to Five Mile Press, publishing board books, picture books, and gift-format titles for the Australian retail and gift market.
• Usborne Publishing: UK-based independent children's publisher specializing in novelty, activity, and lift-the-flap books — highly comparable in product format mix, especially given Five Mile Press's Touch and Find, Baby Play, and lift-the-flap series.
• The Book People: Multi-channel children's book retailer and packager; comparable as a high-volume children's book distributor with strong novelty/activity titles, though more retail-led than publishing-led.
• Walker Books Australia: Australian arm of Walker Books, focused on children's picture books, novelty formats, and licensed character publishing — directly comparable in product mix and Australian market focus.

Regional players

• Affirm Press: Independent Australian publisher with a children's list and gift-format focus; comparable as a small Australian trade publisher competing in similar retail and gifting channels.
• Lonely Planet Kids: Children's imprint of Lonely Planet producing activity, fact, and picture books for global markets — overlapping with Five Mile Press on lift-the-fact, search-and-find, and educational formats but with a different thematic focus and broader geographic reach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@FiveMilePress1
• Facebookfacebook.com/p/FiveMile-the-home-of-kids-books-61556309243674
• Instagraminstagram.com/fivemilebooks
• TikToktiktok.com/@fivemilepress

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Five Mile Press