Category Archives: Announcements

Announcements

Three Listening Library Audiobooks Are 2026 Odyssey Award Winners/Honors!

The Youth Media Awards (YMA), in association with the American Library Association (ALA), are an annual set of prestigious honors for children’s and young adult literature and media. The 2026 Youth Media Awards were announced Monday, January 26, 2026, during a live-streamed event from Chicago. American Library Association’s Odyssey Award committee selected three Listening Library titles for their 2026 list!

The Odyssey Award committee named Alex L. Combs and Andrew Eakett’s TRANS HISTORY the 2026 Odyssey Award winner for young adults. Jason Reynolds’ SOUNDTRACK and James Robinson’s WHALE EYES were recognized as 2026 Odyssey Honor audiobooks. All three audiobooks were recognized during the ALA’s Youth Media Awards livestream are published by Listening Library, an imprint of Penguin Random House Audio.

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RHCB Authors and Illustrators Receive Accolades from the ALA Youth Media Awards!

The American Library Association (ALA) announced the 2026 Youth Media Awards on Monday, January 26 at the Hilton Chicago Hotel, and several Random House Children’s Books titles and authors were recognized. Continue reading →

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PYR Receives Seventeen 2026 ALA Youth Media Awards!

The American Library Association (ALA) Youth Media Awards (YMA) were announced on Monday, January 26, 2026, during a ceremony in Chicago. These prestigious awards honor the most distinguished books, digital media, and audiobooks for children and young adults published in the previous year.

Penguin Young Readers, a division of Penguin Random House, has received seventeen recognitions!

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Announcements

PW’s Spring 2026 Writers to Watch Featuring PRH Authors

Penguin Random House Authors Featured in “Spring 2026 Writers to Watch”

Publishers Weekly recently named several Penguin Random House authors to its Spring 2026 Writers to Watch list, recognizing a standout group of voices whose debuts are shaping the future of literary fiction and children’s fiction. This year’s list reflects the breadth and ambition of storytelling coming from across the PRH community.

We’re proud to celebrate the authors included in this feature, along with the teams whose collaboration and talent are helping bring these books into the world. Congratulations to all on this well-deserved recognition and the exciting year ahead!

Check Out Our “Spring 2026 Writers to Watch”

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Friday Reads: Reality TV Novels

The weather prediction is pretty bleak for this weekend in much of the U.S. “Roughly 160 million are under alerts for snow, sleet and freezing rain” according to the National Weather Service. Best to stay cozy indoors, with a good book, a good show or perhaps the pleasure of the two in one? You might be surprised to learn how many novels have reality show plotlines. We’ve gathered a good batch below offering peak escapism. Have a safe weekend! Continue reading →

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Streaming Now on Netflix: PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION, Emily Henry’s #1 Bestseller

Author Emily Henry and the Berkley team at the Los Angeles premiere.

Netflix’s film adaptation of the #1 New York Times bestseller PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION by Emily Henry (published by Berkley in 2021, with subsequent editions, including a deluxe and movie tie-in collector’s edition in 2025) debuted on Friday, January, 9, and quickly became the #1 movie in the U.S. on Netflix.

In the run-up and following its release, the buzz around PEOPLE WE MEET ON VACATION has been nonstop. As of the first week of release, the social hashtag #peoplewemeetonvacation has already amassed about 60K+ posts on Instagram, 560+ million views on TikTok, and on the day of release, it was trending with over 3 million posts on Threads.

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2026 Book Cover Designers to Watch Featuring Two PRH Designers

Janet Hansen-Brand (l) and Linda Huang (r)

We love seeing book cover design get its moment, especially when it comes to our designers! In a recent OurCulture article highlighting seven designers worth following in 2026, two Penguin Random House colleagues were featured: Janet Hansen-Brand, Director, Art/Design, Alfred A. Knopf & Everyman’s Library and Linda Huang, Director, Art/Design, Pantheon Books.

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THE DEMON OF UNREST by Erik Larson: Coming in Paperback!

The Crown Publishing Group is thrilled to announce the March 10, 2026 paperback release of the #1 New York Times bestseller, THE DEMON OF UNREST: A Saga of Hubris, Heartbreak, and Heroism at the Dawn of the Civil War by Erik Larson.

In his last three riveting books, Erik Larson took us deep into the heart of wartime Europe. Now he brings us back to our own shores, to another time of crisis. In THE DEMON OF UNREST, he brilliantly captures the pivotal five months between Abraham Lincoln’s election in November 1860 and the bombardment of Fort Sumter the following April—a dramatic period that put the United States on a path to self-destruction. Continue reading →

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LOVE IS IN THE ATMOSPHERE: Jersey City and Chicago Events Inspired by Taylor Jenkins Reid’s Novel

This February, ATMOSPHERE (Ballantine Books), Taylor Jenkins Reid’s #1 New York Times bestselling novel, will be celebrated with two unforgettable, immersive experiences in Chicago and Jersey City.

From planetarium experiences and cosmic light shows, these events invite readers to celebrate love, science, and storytelling this Valentine’s season.

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