The Times Literary Supplement
The Times Literary Supplement (TLS) is a London-based literary weekly founded in 1902 that delivers book reviews, essays, and literary criticism to engaged readers, academics, and literary enthusiasts via direct-to-consumer digital subscriptions through its website.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1902
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What The Times Literary Supplement does
The Times Literary Supplement (TLS) is a London-based literary weekly founded in 1902, providing comprehensive coverage of books through reviews, essays, and literary criticism. It serves engaged readers, academics, and literary enthusiasts who seek in-depth intellectual commentary from established critics and scholars. The publication is positioned as the only journal offering comprehensive weekly coverage of contemporary literature, distinguishing it from general-interest publications and from book review sections of broader newspapers.
TLS operates as a for-profit, private company with a small team of 11-50 employees. Its offering is delivered through a digital publishing platform accessible at the-tls.co.uk. The underlying technology is described as a straightforward digital publishing platform for online content delivery and subscription management, with no proprietary technical features, API offerings, SDKs, or integrations disclosed.
The business model is direct-to-consumer subscription-based, generating recurring revenue from digital access to reviews, essays, and literary criticism. Customers subscribe directly through the TLS website to access content. The publication's primary differentiator is its long-standing brand recognition and historical legacy in literary criticism, supported by an established contributor base of critics and scholars. Pricing details are not publicly disclosed in the available source material, and there is no information on subscription tiers, institutional access, advertising revenue, or ancillary revenue streams such as events or syndication.
The Times Literary Supplement firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- The Times Literary Supplement
- Website
- https://the-tls.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1902
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Times Literary Supplement (TLS) is a London-based literary weekly founded in 1902 that delivers book reviews, essays, and literary criticism to engaged readers, academics, and literary enthusiasts via direct-to-consumer digital subscriptions through its website.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
The Times Literary Supplement industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Literary Publications
- NAICS
- Periodical Publishers (513120)
- SIC
- Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Arts, Culture & Literary Magazines (MPAJAEAN)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Literary & Classics Publishing (MPAJAAAC)
Keywords
Where The Times Literary Supplement is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Markets served
The Times Literary Supplement business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Digital Subscriptions: Annual and potentially monthly subscription access to TLS online content including reviews, essays, and literary criticism.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
The Times Literary Supplement product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Times Literary Supplement publishes a weekly literary journal providing comprehensive coverage of book reviews, literary criticism, essays, and intellectual commentary. Content is produced by established critics and scholars and distributed to readers through recurring digital subscriptions accessed via the TLS website.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- TLS Digital Subscription Annual (and potentially monthly) recurring digital subscription granting individual readers access to TLS's online content, including literary reviews, critical essays, and intellectual commentary from established critics and scholars.
Companies that use The Times Literary Supplement
Customer profileIdeal customer profiles1 record
The Times Literary Supplement technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
The Times Literary Supplement partnerships and signals
Strategic signalRecent moves1 record
Expansion highlights2 records
The Times Literary Supplement competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Literary Review: UK-based monthly devoted to book reviews and literary criticism. A direct competitive peer in the same British literary review category as TLS.
- Granta: UK literary magazine specializing in literary fiction and non-fiction essays. Comparable in subscription model, literary prestige positioning, and breadth of literary criticism.
- London Review of Books: Closest direct competitor — UK-based bi-monthly literary periodical offering long-form essays, criticism, and reviews on a subscriber-supported model to the same intellectual and academic audience as TLS.
- The New York Review of Books: Iconic bi-weekly literary review offering essays and book reviews. Directly comparable in genre, pricing model (subscription), and target readership of academics and literary intellectuals.
- The Paris Review: Long-running literary magazine combining criticism, interviews, and original fiction. Comparable as a subscription-supported prestige literary title serving a similar curated literary audience.
Regional players
- The Spectator: UK weekly combining politics, culture, and literary criticism. Comparable as a UK subscription print/digital weekly in the literary and cultural commentary space, though broader in scope.
Emerging players
- Publishers Weekly: Trade publication delivering book reviews and industry news to publishers, booksellers, and engaged readers. Adjacent peer given shared focus on book reviewing and literary coverage.
- Times Higher Education: Subscription weekly covering the academic and literary intellectual sphere, including book reviews. Partial overlap with TLS's academic/intellectual audience.
Broad incumbents
- The Atlantic: Subscription-supported US magazine with significant literary criticism and ideas coverage. Broad incumbent with overlapping intellectual/literary readership but far larger and more diversified.
- The New Yorker: Large US weekly blending literary criticism, fiction, and journalism on a subscription model. Comparable audience overlap at the literary/criticism end, with much broader scope and scale.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat2 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights5 records
Customer concentration
The Times Literary Supplement social profiles
Digital presenceThe Times Literary Supplement financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
The Times Literary Supplement leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
The Times Literary Supplement funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
The Times Literary Supplement M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about The Times Literary Supplement
What does The Times Literary Supplement do?
The Times Literary Supplement publishes a weekly literary journal providing comprehensive coverage of book reviews, literary criticism, essays, and intellectual commentary. Content is produced by established critics and scholars and distributed to readers through recurring digital subscriptions accessed via the TLS website.
When was The Times Literary Supplement founded?
The Times Literary Supplement was founded in 1902. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is The Times Literary Supplement based?
The Times Literary Supplement is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does The Times Literary Supplement make money?
One revenue line is on record: digital Subscriptions.
Who are The Times Literary Supplement's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Literary Review, Granta, London Review of Books, The New York Review of Books and The Paris Review. The Spectator is listed as a regional player. Emerging players are Publishers Weekly and Times Higher Education. Broad incumbents are The Atlantic and The New Yorker.
Does The Times Literary Supplement have an API?
No public API is recorded for The Times Literary Supplement.
What industry is The Times Literary Supplement in?
The Times Literary Supplement's product category is Literary Publications. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAJAEAN, Arts, Culture & Literary Magazines, with a secondary code of MPAJAAAC, Literary & Classics Publishing. Its NAICS code is 513120 and its SIC code is 2721.