Meet the team

Dawn Franklin

Curriculum Specialist

Dawn has spent 30 years teaching children from Nursery to Year 6 (and still has most of her hair!!)

She joined Peters in 2017 after retiring from teaching. She enjoys reading and reviewing children’s books (she can usually find something positive in every book) and passing on her love of reading to her growing family of grandchildren.

Deborah Bradley

Children's Librarian

Debbie trained as a photographer before joining Peters. She has worked in our showroom, as a bibliographic librarian, and now as part of our team of selectors and reviewers.

Deb enjoys graphic novels and dystopian fiction.

Diane Gill

Professional Services Manager

A chartered librarian with over 30 years of experience, Diane has been with Peters for over 20 years and manages the Librarian and Bibliographic team.

Diane particularly likes science-fiction and fantasy, especially anything by Terry Pratchett.

Emma McElwee

Children's Librarian

Emma joined Peters in 2016. She previously worked in Swindon Libraries as Lead Librarian for the Children and Young People's team.

Katie Merrick

Children's Librarian

Katie has several years’ experience in public libraries, running toddler rhyme time and teenage reading groups, and has also worked as a secondary school librarian.

An avid reader of anything and everything, she particularly enjoys historical teen fiction, junior fiction about ponies, and picture books about dogs!

Laura Hayward

Children's Librarian

Laura deals mostly with supplier selections for libraries and secondary schools. She brings knowledge of academic and adult stock from her previous post at Birmingham University and a graduate traineeship at The Oxford Union Society Library.

Leanne Jephcott

Curriculum Specialist

Leanne worked as a Primary School teacher for 10 years, teaching children in Reception up to Year 6.

She has a degree in English and Education and is passionate about the educational value of books for children of all ages.

Lucy Forrester

Children's Librarian

Lucy worked as a children’s librarian in Warwickshire public libraries before joining Peters over ten years ago.

She is the company’s comics and manga specialist, and often gives talks to librarians and teachers on how to use this format most effectively.

Lucy McConnell

Schools Team Co-ordinator

Lucy has spent her life surrounded by books. An avid reader from a young age: Saturday jobs in the local library; a degree in English Literature; working for Nielsen providing bibliographic data to Amazon and Waterstones. And now helping to select books for schools here at Peters.

Melanie Crawford

Schools Team Manager

Mel trained as a librarian before joining Dillons as a buyer. She has been with Peters for longer than anyone remembers, with only a brief break to raise two daughters and get first-hand experience of the importance of getting great books into schools.

Mel is an avid reader of literary fiction and gruesome crime novels – and is also the team's most passionate advocate of poetry.  

Michaela Owen

Children's Librarian

Michaela previously worked at Camden and Hackney libraries and has over 20 years’ experience including several years at Camden SLS.  In between, she taught Fine Art at the London College of Fashion for 8 years. 

Michaela loves illustration, printmaking, and nature. She also really loves how books can develop and educate young readers.

Stephanie Horton

Curriculum Specialist

Zeena Ark

Curriculum Specialist

Zeena was a junior school teacher for 34 years before joining Peters. She has also tried a variety of other jobs including nannying, ICT, financial consultancy, and even managing a diet clinic on Harley Street, but teaching was the only thing to give her real job satisfaction.

She joined the Peters team in early 2019 and is having lots of fun reading picture books!

Claire Bowles

Sales & Marketing Director

Claire joined Peters in 2014 to head up the marketing team, having previously worked for the charities PDSA and Royal Voluntary Service.

Claire’s daughter Poppy shares her love of reading, and the two of them can very often be found with their heads in a picture book.

Jessica McCoy

Senior Library Designer

Since graduating with a first class BA Hons in Fashion with professional enhancement, Jess has worked in a number of creative design roles with experience in accessories and arts and crafts. 

Jess is passionate about design, and seeks to create comfortable, efficient learning environments where children can feel relaxed, excited and ambitious about reading.

Jude Evans

Showroom and Buying Manager

Jude worked in high street retail for 20 years before joining Peters. She leads our buying team and manages our showroom. She loves to read a funny children’s book or relax with a good chick lit novel.

Kulbinder Gill

Production Co-ordinator

Kulb joined Peters in 1986 and now manages our team of servicing staff.

Her colleagues are not entirely sure why she has chosen to stay with us for so long, but are eternally grateful nonetheless.

Mahsa Pakhairzan

Library Designer

Mahsa has a Masters (MDes) in Interior Design, with industry experience within product design and project management. Mahsa enjoys designing libraries and classrooms using 3D programmes, creating inspiring photorealistic images for schools to illustrate how their finished reading space will look on completion.

Oonagh Towse

Educational Relationship Manager

Oonagh has over twenty years’ experience of working with schools in the UK, and before joining Peters in 2015 she worked for a national public sector procurement organisation.

A lifelong lover of books and reading, Oonagh’s interests outside of work range from travel to cooking. Her role is to provide advice and support for schools and help them get the right books into the hands of readers.

Ray Dyer

Managing Director

Ray has been supplying books to schools and libraries for over 30 years. He joined Peters in 1995 and has been Managing Director since 2011.

He is an avid fan of Carl Hiaasen, Elmore Leonard and most non-fiction, a typical boy reader! His favourite children’s book is Burglar Bill.

Terry Smith

Artist In Residence

Terry works in our showroom and is responsible for all of the portraits on this page.

Most people are still speaking to him.

William Scott

EDI Specialist

William, or 'Scott' as he is better known, has over 40 continuous years of library supply experience, having started with Woolstons and Blunts in Nottingham in 1975, and then working in the IT team at Bertrams Library Services.

What he doesn't know about EDI the rest of us can't teach him.