Alex Pope
BBC News, Bedfordshire
Sam Read/BBC
The Dunstable site is Amazon’s UK print-on-demand facility, the company said
The name of the town where Amazon prints its books will now feature on millions of paperbacks, the company has announced.
Amazon said a “Printed in Dunstable, United Kingdom” label would be added to the books.
The decision follows a campaign by Alex Mayer, the Labour MP for Dunstable and Leighton Buzzard, who said she wanted the town in Bedfordshire to receive the recognition it deserved.
The US firm said it would celebrate “the area’s continuing contribution to the UK publishing industry”.
Sam Read/BBC
Printed in Dunstable, United Kingdom, now appears on the books
Amazon said the Dunstable plant, which opened in 2015 and operated around the clock, employs more than 200 people.
It is responsible for printing thousands of titles each day, from well-known works to debuts by self-published authors.
As part of her campaign, Mayer said she wrote a children’s story called The Book Who Searched, which follows a book who struggles to discover where they were printed.
“I challenged Amazon to make my story come true, and I’m really delighted they have done just that,” she said.
“Now every year millions of books will say that they’re printed in Dunstable.
“It’s a real boost for civic pride.”
Sam Read/BBC
Alex Mayer (left) wrote a book to highlight where the books are printed, and was joined at the warehouse by Sally Kimondo the Mayor of Dunstable
Zak Watts, Amazon books UK country manager, said Dunstable has a “proud history”.
“This new addition reflects our commitment to the local community that has supported us.”
He thanked Mayer “for the idea” to include the town in the printing process and also praised the town’s “skilled workforce”.
You might also be interested in