Liels un mazs

What Liels un mazs does

Liels un mazs is a family-owned Latvian children's book publisher founded in 2004 in Riga by three co-founders — Alīse Nēgale (Publisher & Managing Director), Inese Zandere (Editor-in-Chief), and Žuna Laukmane (Arts Editor) — all of whom remain active as co-owners. The company produces children's literature spanning picture books (bilžu grāmatas), prose, poetry, comics, and educational/informational books, organized by age groups from 0+ to 15+. Its catalog has grown from a single title in 2004 to over 300 titles, including distinctive sub-brands such as BIKIBUKS (a series of 101 pocket-sized poetry books pairing each Latvian author's poem with a contemporary artist's illustration), Lupatiņi (animated character books), and Lapsa lasa (books for early readers). Beyond core publishing, the company operates adjacent cultural services: free educational and inspirational materials for schools and libraries, the Young Readers Club developed jointly with the association Mr. Page, and audio tours of Riga that pair QR-coded locations with actor-narrated stories from its titles.

Distribution is anchored in a direct-to-consumer model via a Shopify-powered online store at lielsmazs.lv, supplemented by office pickup at its Riga headquarters on Tērbatas iela and supported by domestic logistics partnerships with Omniva parcel lockers and Latvijas Pasts. International delivery is handled via Latvijas Pasts registered mail and Itella courier. Pricing spans €2 for Bikibuks small-format books up to €100 for premium editions, with gift cards from €10 to €100 and free domestic shipping on orders above €50. Revenue is generated across three streams: one-time book sales (DTC and international retail), licensing royalties from translation rights sold into 30+ languages, and freemium digital materials for schools, libraries, and consumers. The company maintains dedicated rights agents (Kristīne Jonuša, Alīse Nēgale) and active participation in international book fairs, principally the Bologna Children's Book Fair.

Internationally, Liels un mazs has translated nearly 40 titles into 20+ languages since 2014, expanding to 30+ languages overall. The publisher relies heavily on institutional co-financing and partnerships, including EU Creative Europe grants supporting the Bērnu Eiropa 2021 (5 translated titles) and Bērnu Eiropa 2022 (15 translated titles) projects, alongside support from the Latvian Ministry of Culture, State Cultural Capital Foundation, French Institute, Finnish Literature Export Center, and others. Awards underscore its market positioning: Bologna Prize for Best Children's Publishers of the Year for Europe (2022), Cabinet of Ministers of Latvia Award (2024), Latvian Republic Ministry of Culture Excellence Award (2022), and a dense 2026 recognition cycle including IBBY Honour List inclusions, Baltvilks Award, Latvian Literature Annual Award, BRAW Selection, and Nami Concours. The company is registered as SIA "Liels un mazs" with no external parent, no disclosed institutional investment, and approximately 10 staff.

Name

Liels un mazs

Legal name

SIA "Liels un mazs"

Website

https://lielsmazs.lv

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Liels un mazs is a family-owned Latvian children's book publisher founded in 2004 in Riga, producing over 300 titles across picture books, prose, poetry, and comics, with original content translated into more than 30 languages and sold direct-to-consumer and via international rights.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Children's Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130), Newspaper, Periodical, Book, and Directory Publishers (5131)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Young Adult (YA) Publishing (MPAJAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Children’s Nonfiction Publishing (MPAJAFAE)

Keywords

• Children's book publishing
• Picture books
• Literature publishing
• Translation rights licensing
• Educational book publishing

Headquarters

HQ city

Riga

HQ country

Latvia

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Book sales: One-time sales of physical books through their e-commerce store and office. Revenue from direct consumer sales in Latvia and internationally.
2. Translation rights licensing: Revenue from licensing translation rights of their original titles. Original titles translated into over 30 languages worldwide.
3. Digital materials: Free inspirational materials and Young Readers Club materials provided digitally, some available at no cost.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Liels un mazs is a Latvian children's book publisher that creates, prints, and sells more than 300 original and translated titles for ages 0-15+, including picture books, prose, poetry, comics, and educational books, available through its own e-commerce store and Riga office. The publisher also licenses translation rights of its original titles to foreign publishers in over 30 languages and runs literacy programs such as the Young Readers Club and Riga audio tours.

Product overview

Liels un mazs is a family-owned Latvian children's book publisher founded in 2004, offering a diverse portfolio of over 300 titles. The core offering consists of children's literature across multiple formats: picture books (bilžu grāmatas), prose (proza), poetry (dzeja), comics (komiksi), and educational books (izziņas grāmatas). The portfolio includes distinctive sub-brands such as BIKIBUKS (a series of 101 pocket-sized poetry books for children), Lupatiņi (animated character books and related products), and Lapsa lasa (books for early readers). Additional services include educational materials (ierosmes materiāli), the Young Readers Club (Jauno lasītāju klubs) program, and audio tours (Audiopastaigas) of Riga. The company also publishes gift cards and operates the Lupatiņi animated series with DVD products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bilžu grāmatas (Picture books) Picture books featuring visual storytelling, including wordless picture books, for children of the publisher's youngest age tiers.
• Proza (Prose) Prose books for children and young adults, including novels and short stories.
• Dzeja (Poetry) Poetry collections for children, including rhyming poems and dzejoļi.
• Komiksi (Comics) Comic books and graphic novels for children and young adults.
• Izziņas grāmatas (Educational/informational books) Educational and informational books for children covering non-fiction and learning topics.
• Lupatiņi book series Series of books based on the Lupatiņi animated characters, including titles such as Lupatiņu māja, Lupatiņi pie galda, Lupatiņi laukos, and Lupatiņu pilsēta.
• BIKIBUKS pocket-sized poetry series Series of 101 pocket-sized poetry books for children, each featuring a Latvian author's poem illustrated by a contemporary Latvian artist, with the branded BIKIBUKS horned character logo.
• Lapsa lasa early-reader series Series of books for children who have recently started reading independently, featuring larger and sparser text with a picture-book-like ratio between text and illustrations.
• Dāvanu karte (Gift Cards) Gift cards available in denominations of €10, €15, €25, €30, €50, and €100 for purchasing books from Liels un mazs.
• Ierosmes materiāli (Educational/Inspirational materials) Free educational and inspirational materials for use in schools, libraries, and homes to support learning with Liels un mazs books.
• Jauno lasītāju klubs (Young Readers Club) Program developed with the association 'Mr. Page' to promote children's literacy and reading enjoyment in libraries and schools across Latvia, with a handbook and accompanying materials available for free download.
• Audiopastaigas (Audio Tours of Riga) Audio tours of Riga featuring QR codes that link to actors narrating stories and poems from Liels un mazs books, including tours of Riga center and Pārdaugava.
• Labrīt, mammu! (Good Morning, Mom!) Wordless picture book for young children by Latvian author Anita Rupeika, the first of its kind in the publisher's catalog.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 300 titles in catalog, 40+ titles translated internationally

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Eiropas Savienības programma Radošā Eiropa (Creative Europe) 2022coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022EU Creative Europe programme co-finances Bērnu Eiropa 2022 project - translation and publication of 15 books from various European languages between 2023-2026. Also supports Young Readers Club program.
• Eiropas Savienības programma Radošā Eiropa (Creative Europe)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021EU Creative Europe programme co-finances Bērnu Eiropa 2021 project - translation and publication of 5 books from Dutch, French, Swedish, German, and Polish languages for Latvian readers between 2022-2026.
• Francijas institūts (French Institute)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupports book publishing and translation projects from French language.
• Somijas literatūras eksporta centrsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFinnish Literature Export Center supports translation and publication of Finnish works.
• Portugāles grāmatu, arhīvu un bibliotēku galvenā pārvaldeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDirectorate supports translation of Portuguese literature.
• Biedrība Mr. PagecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint partner in creating Young Readers Club - a program to promote reading skills and reading joy among children in Latvia.
• Rīgas domeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-funds creation of audio walks in Riga combining literature and city exploration.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Usborne Publishing: Long-established UK children's publisher across age ranges including early readers and illustrated fiction. Comparable in multi-format children's catalog and direct-to-consumer retail strategy.
• Chronicle Books: US independent publisher with a strong children's, gift, and illustrated-list franchise. Comparable in indie ownership, illustrated/children's emphasis, and gift-card and direct-retail merchandising.
• Andersen Press: UK children's publisher with strong picture-book and translated-fiction list. Comparable as a long-tenured indie children's house investing in illustration quality and translation-driven growth.
• Phaidon Press: Global illustrated-book publisher spanning art, design, and children's titles. Comparable in design-led, illustration-forward book production and premium positioning in illustrated publishing.
• Walker Books: Established UK children's publisher with a broad picture-book and YA list (Walker, Candlewick affiliate). Comparable in children's-list focus, illustration-led titles, and active rights-selling presence at Bologna.
• Abrams Books: US publisher with significant children's and illustrated-book imprints (Abrams Books for Young Readers, Abrams Appleseed). Comparable in illustrated children's catalog and rights-driven international expansion.

Regional players

• Books from Finland: Finnish literature export organization supporting translation of Finnish works abroad and inbound into Finnish. Comparable as a Nordic cultural-export counterpart with similar EU co-financing mechanisms for translation projects.
• Bonnier Carlsen: Nordic children's publisher (Bonnier) operating primarily in Swedish and Scandinavian markets. Comparable as a regional children's publisher with strong translation flows into and out of Nordic languages, a market structurally similar to the Baltics.

Direct peers

• Gecko Press: Small, art-focused independent children's publisher specializing in translating high-quality international picture books and middle-grade fiction into English. Highly comparable as a boutique translation-driven children's house with a curated, design-led catalog.
• Flying Eye Books: London-based independent children's publisher emphasizing illustration-led picture books, comics, and graphic novels. Comparable in scale, design-led identity, and reliance on international co-editions and rights licensing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/lielsunmazs
• Instagraminstagram.com/lielsunmazs
• TikToktiktok.com/@lielsunmazs
• Xx.com/lielsunmazs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

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 Liels un mazs