Free Spirit Publishing
Free Spirit Publishing, founded in 1983 and based in Minneapolis, is an educational publishing imprint under Teacher Created Materials that produces books on early childhood learning and child/teen social-emotional well-being, sold directly via e-commerce and through educational distributors to educators, parents, and schools.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1983
- HeadquartersMinneapolis, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What Free Spirit Publishing does
Free Spirit Publishing is an educational publishing imprint that produces books and resources focused on two primary content verticals: early childhood learning (toddler through pre-kindergarten) and child and teen social-emotional well-being (SEL), including behavior and self-regulation, bullying prevention, life skills, social skills, emotions, and tough topics. The imprint was founded in 1983 and operates as a sub-brand under Teacher Created Materials, a privately held educational publisher headquartered in Huntington Beach, California, while Free Spirit's origins and operations are associated with Minneapolis. The parent company reports more than 22,000 titles published across all imprints and over 200 employees working across the corporate entity.
The product catalog centers on illustrated print books for the youngest learners and SEL-focused titles for older children and teens, with digital formats also available. Underlying distribution and commerce technology includes the teachercreatedmaterials.com e-commerce storefront with account registration, cart functionality, and purchase order submission for schools and districts. Supporting infrastructure includes a dedicated publishing blog (Free Spirit Publishing Blog), a TCM Blog, free webinars, Professional Learning Communities guides, Leader's Guides, and ASCA Standards-aligned resources. No API, software platform, or proprietary technology stack beyond the e-commerce site is disclosed.
Free Spirit Publishing generates revenue through one-time purchases of physical and digital books. Two go-to-market motions are in use: direct-to-consumer sales via the e-commerce platform (targeting individual educators, parents, and institutions) and channel partnerships through educational distributors and international channels serving the 89+ countries in its distribution footprint. Pricing is not publicly tiered; individual book prices are listed on the storefront but no subscription, licensing, or recurring revenue model is disclosed. The primary customer segments are early childhood educators and caregivers, child and teen well-being professionals (educators and counselors addressing SEL), and institutional buyers including schools and districts making purchase-order-based purchases.
Free Spirit Publishing firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Free Spirit Publishing
- Legal name
- Free Spirit Publishing
- Website
- https://freespirit.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1983
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Free Spirit Publishing, founded in 1983 and based in Minneapolis, is an educational publishing imprint under Teacher Created Materials that produces books on early childhood learning and child/teen social-emotional well-being, sold directly via e-commerce and through educational distributors to educators, parents, and schools.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Free Spirit Publishing industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Educational Publishing
- NAICS
- Book Publishers (513130)
- SIC
- Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Early Learning & Preschool Trade (Ages 0–5) (EDAGAIAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Children’s Activity & Workbook Publishing (MPAJAFAG), Children’s Nonfiction Publishing (MPAJAFAE)
Keywords
Where Free Spirit Publishing is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Minneapolis
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Free Spirit Publishing business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain
Revenue model
- Book Sales: Free Spirit Publishing generates revenue through the sale of physical and digital books targeting early childhood learning and child/teen well-being. Products are sold as one-time purchases through the e-commerce platform and through educational distribution channels.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Free Spirit Publishing product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Free Spirit Publishing is an educational publishing imprint under Teacher Created Materials that produces and sells books and learning resources focused on early childhood education (toddler through pre-kindergarten) and child/teen social-emotional well-being, covering topics such as behavior and self-regulation, bullying prevention, life skills, social skills, emotions, and tough topics. Products are sold as one-time purchases to educators, parents, and institutions through the parent company's e-commerce platform, school purchase orders, and international distribution channels.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Free Spirit Publishing Imprint
- Early Childhood Education Books
- Social-Emotional Learning Books
- At-Home Learning Resources
Quantifiable outcome
- Distributed in over 89 countries worldwide
Companies that use Free Spirit Publishing
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Free Spirit Publishing technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Free Spirit Publishing partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves4 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Free Spirit Publishing competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Brookes Publishing: A publisher specializing in early childhood education, special education, and developmental resources for educators and clinicians. Comparable to Free Spirit's early-childhood and inclusive-learning focus, particularly for the preschool and intervention segments.
- Highlights for Children: A long-running children's content brand offering books, magazines, and learning products for young readers. Highly comparable to Free Spirit's early-childhood and child-well-being positioning, including its DTC and educator-channel distribution.
- Capstone Publishing: A children's book publisher producing educational and library-bound titles for K-5 readers, including nonfiction and SEL-adjacent series. Comparable to Free Spirit because of overlapping readers, school/library distribution, and nonfiction-focused catalog.
- Albert Whitman & Company: An independent children's book publisher producing picture books and middle-grade titles with strong social-emotional themes and special-needs characters. Comparable to Free Spirit because both operate as focused children's trade publishers with SEL-adjacent content and sell into schools and libraries.
- Candlewick Press: An independent children's book publisher known for high-quality picture books and middle-grade titles with strong educational and emotional themes. Comparable to Free Spirit as an independent children's trade publisher selling into schools, libraries, and the trade channel.
- Magination Press: The American Psychological Association's children's book imprint, publishing titles on emotions, behavior, mental health, bullying, and tough topics for kids and teens. The closest direct peer to Free Spirit's SEL and well-being catalog because both target the same educator/parent buyer with research-backed SEL content.
- Boys Town Press: A publisher specializing in behavior, social skills, and SEL resources for educators, counselors, and youth workers. Directly comparable to Free Spirit's bullying prevention, life skills, and behavior/self-regulation segments.
Broad incumbents
- Penguin Random House Children's Books: A major trade children's book publisher with extensive picture-book, middle-grade, and YA catalogs that compete for shelf space, educator attention, and library/school budgets. Comparable to Free Spirit as a broad incumbent in children's publishing with SEL-relevant titles.
- Scholastic: The largest U.S. publisher and distributor of children's books, textbooks, and educational resources through the school channel. Highly comparable to Free Spirit because both serve schools, educators, and parents with curriculum-aligned reading and SEL materials through institutional purchase orders and consumer channels.
Emerging players
- National Center for Youth Issues (NCYI): A publisher of SEL and character-education materials targeted at school counselors and educators. Directly comparable to Free Spirit's tough-topics and life-skills titles, with a more counseling-focused niche.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat3 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Free Spirit Publishing social profiles
Digital presenceFree Spirit Publishing financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Free Spirit Publishing leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Free Spirit Publishing funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Free Spirit Publishing 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 Free Spirit Publishing
What does Free Spirit Publishing do?
Free Spirit Publishing is an educational publishing imprint under Teacher Created Materials that produces and sells books and learning resources focused on early childhood education (toddler through pre-kindergarten) and child/teen social-emotional well-being, covering topics such as behavior and self-regulation, bullying prevention, life skills, social skills, emotions, and tough topics. Products are sold as one-time purchases to educators, parents, and institutions through the parent company's e-commerce platform, school purchase orders, and international distribution channels.
Is Free Spirit Publishing a public or private company?
Free Spirit Publishing is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Free Spirit Publishing founded?
Free Spirit Publishing was founded in 1983. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Free Spirit Publishing based?
Free Spirit Publishing is headquartered in Minneapolis, United States, in the North America region.
How does Free Spirit Publishing make money?
One revenue line is on record: book Sales.
Who are Free Spirit Publishing's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Brookes Publishing, Highlights for Children, Capstone Publishing, Albert Whitman & Company, Candlewick Press, Magination Press and Boys Town Press. Broad incumbents are Penguin Random House Children's Books and Scholastic. National Center for Youth Issues (NCYI) is listed as an emerging player.
Does Free Spirit Publishing have an API?
No public API is recorded for Free Spirit Publishing.
What industry is Free Spirit Publishing in?
Free Spirit Publishing's product category is Educational Publishing. Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAGAIAA, Early Learning & Preschool Trade (Ages 0–5), with a secondary code of MPAJAFAG, Children’s Activity & Workbook Publishing. Its NAICS code is 513130 and its SIC code is 2731.