The UK's first specialist book subscription, founded in 2015 by Daphne Tonge, now running five genre lines and a US fulfilment centre.
Illumicrate was founded in 2015 by Daphne Tonge, who had been writing a book blog since 2011 and started a small book crate out of her London living room when subscription boxes began to take off. It is generally credited as the UK’s first specialist book subscription box.
The company now employs more than 30 people spread across London, Manchester and elsewhere in Britain, and opened a United States fulfilment centre in November 2022.
Breadth is the distinguishing feature. Most exclusive-edition book boxes are fantasy operations with a romance sideline. Illumicrate runs separate, separately branded lines for romance, horror, science fiction and crime alongside its fantasy flagship, each with its own curation. A subscriber who reads across genres can assemble something no single-line competitor offers.
The editions themselves follow the category standard: newly released hardbacks redesigned with custom jackets, sprayed edges and illustrated endpapers, produced for subscribers rather than for shops.
The UK's first book box, now five genre lines wide, shipping exclusive hardbacks to US subscribers from a domestic warehouse.