The King's English Booskhop

What The King's English Booskhop does

The King's English Bookshop is an independent, privately-held retail bookstore founded in 1977 and operating from a single storefront at 1511 South 1500 East in the Sugar House neighborhood of Salt Lake City, Utah. It sells physical books and audio books at standard retail unit pricing, gift cards, and offers event services including author visits, school visits, and community programming such as book groups and the Summer Reading Bingo reading incentive program. Customers are primarily general readers in the Salt Lake City area, with secondary segments of local authors (served through the 'Place Your Book With Us' program), book groups, and students/educators supplied through class book orders and school author visits.

The business operates an e-commerce storefront powered by TBM Bookmanager Ltd., with domestic U.S. shipping via USPS and international shipping to many countries. The technology stack is conventional retail: RSA-encrypted backup of transactions stored locally at the physical location, tokenization of credit card numbers at the time of order, Twilio for opt-in SMS order notifications, and Constant Contact for email marketing. Marketing is community-led, centered on author events, school visits, the Inkslinger newsletter, curated staff picks, and word-of-mouth among local customers.

Revenue is generated through point-of-sale retail transactions in-store and online order fulfillment, supplemented by gift card sales and event service revenue. Pricing is pay-as-you-go in USD with no subscription or membership fee. The company has no parent entity, no institutional investor involvement, no disclosed funding rounds, and no publicly disclosed revenue or management team information in the available source data.

Name

The King's English Booskhop

Legal name

The King's English Bookshop

Website

https://kingsenglish.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The King's English Bookshop is an independent Salt Lake City bookstore founded in 1977 that sells physical and audio books, gift cards, and hosts author events, school visits, and book groups for local readers, authors, and educators through a single storefront and online store.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Independent Bookstore / Retail Bookselling

NAICS

Book Retailers and News Dealers (4592)

akta.pro primary industry

General Bookstores (New Books) (CRALAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Digital Books & Audiobooks Retail (E-books/Audiobooks) (CRALAAAI)

Keywords

• Independent bookstore
• Book retail
• Author events
• Literary community
• Book groups

Headquarters

HQ city

Salt Lake City

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Book Sales: Retail sales of physical books, audio books, and other media through the physical storefront and online e-commerce store. Transactions are point-of-sale in-store or processed after staff verification of online orders.
2. Gift Cards: Sale of gift cards for use on future purchases, driving customer retention and gifting occasions.
3. Event Services: Revenue generated through events including author visits, school visits, and community programs. The bookstore offers 'Plan An Event With Us' services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The King's English Bookshop is an independent, locally-owned bookstore operating from a single storefront in Salt Lake City, Utah, selling physical books, audio books, and gift cards to general consumers. The bookstore complements its retail business with community-driven offerings including author events, school visits, book groups, a newsletter (The Inkslinger), and curated collections such as Staff Picks and Class Books. Customers transact in-store at the point of sale or through an online e-commerce store powered by Bookmanager, with shipping available domestically and internationally.

Product overview

The King's English Bookshop operates as a traditional independent bookstore offering physical books as its primary product alongside audio books. The bookshop curates several themed collections including Staff Picks, Class Books for educational use, and Brain Food Books. It provides complementary services such as Gift Cards for gifting, Book Groups for community engagement, and a Summer Reading Bingo reading program. The Inkslinger appears to be a publication featuring author visits and literary content. The bookshop also hosts events including school visits with authors such as Shannon Hale, Stephan Pastis, and Will Henry.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Physical Books Physical books spanning multiple genres and categories, sold to general consumers through the storefront and online store.
• Audio Books Audio book versions of titles available for customers who prefer listening.
• Gift Cards Gift cards available for purchase for future use on books and in-store merchandise, supporting gifting occasions and customer retention.
• Author Events and School Visits In-person author visits and school visit programs (e.g., Shannon Hale, Stephan Pastis & Will Henry, Sarah & Christina, Rachel Michelle Wilson), hosted by the bookstore for community engagement and reading promotion.
• Book Groups Community-organized reading groups facilitated by the bookstore for shared literary discussion and group reading activities.
• Plan An Event With Us Custom event planning service offered by the bookstore for author appearances and related community literary events.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Anderson's Bookshops: Independent bookstore group in the Chicago suburbs with strong author events and school visit programming. Comparable to TKE for its community-driven events, school partnerships, and author engagement.
• The Strand Bookstore: Independent bookstore in New York City famous for its "18 miles of books" and event programming. Comparable to TKE as a single-location independent with strong brand recognition, author events, and a robust online store.
• Powell's City of Books: Iconic independent bookstore in Portland, Oregon, with a large physical footprint and extensive online ordering. Closely comparable to TKE as a long-running independent community bookstore offering curated selection, author events, and an online store.
• Parnassus Books: Independent bookstore in Nashville, Tennessee founded by author Ann Patchett. Comparable to TKE as a community-anchored independent bookstore with strong author relationships, book clubs, and event-driven retail.
• Tattered Cover Book Store: Independent bookstore chain in the Denver, Colorado metro area with multiple locations, deep community roots, and an active author events calendar. Highly comparable to TKE's independent retail model and community-driven programming.
• Joseph-Beth Booksellers: Independent bookstore group operating multiple locations in the Midwest and Southeast, with a strong café and events offering. Comparable to TKE as a multi-/single-region independent bookstore with community gathering space.
• Green Apple Books: Independent bookstore in San Francisco with a curated selection and active event programming. Comparable to TKE as a single-market independent emphasizing staff picks, author events, and a community-led identity.
• Square Books: Independent bookstore in Oxford, Mississippi with multiple connected locations, a strong events program, and a literary community focus. Directly comparable to TKE's independent retail and community event model.

Broad incumbents

• Barnes & Noble: Largest physical bookstore chain in the United States with hundreds of stores and a comprehensive online storefront. Comparable to TKE as a retailer of new books, audiobooks, and gift items, but operates at national scale and is not an independent.

Emerging players

• Bookshop.org: Online bookstore platform that shares profits with independent bookstores. Directly comparable to TKE as an online channel for book sales and a partner/distribution complement to independent retailers' physical stores.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/KingsEnglishBookshop
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kings-english

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 King's English Booskhop