August 2, 2021
U.S. News & World Report, which publishes the most widely quoted annual set of rankings for American colleges and universities, recently shared its list of “10 Books to Read Before College,” featuring nine titles published by
Penguin Random House imprints and a
Penguin Random House Publisher Services client publisher. The periodical described these books as “assigned texts [that] are regularly used in freshman-level classes and offer students a chance to come together to discuss a book they’ve all read.”
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August 2, 2021
Sunjeev Sahota, author of
CHINA ROOM (
Viking), longlisted for the 2021 Booker Prize, will be in conversation about his new novel with
Riverhead author
Kamila Shamsie during a virtual discussion via the Elliott Bay Book Company YouTube channel on
Tuesday, August 3 at 10:00 pm (ET). To register for this event, click
here.
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July 30, 2021
Penguin Random House Audio has announced that it will publish
NO ONE GOES ALONE, an audiobook original—and the first ever work of fiction—from
Erik Larson, the #1
New York Times bestselling author of
The Splendid and the Vile and
The Devil in the White City. Narrated by Julian Rhind-Tutt and available in time for Halloween (
Random House Audio; on sale September 28), this otherworldly tale of intrigue and the impossible marshals Larson’s trademark approach to nonfiction to create something new: a ghost story deeply grounded in history, available exclusively on audio, because, as Larson says, ghost stories are best told aloud.
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July 30, 2021
The genres of graphic novels and manga – where art and story intertwine to superior effect - continues to captivate and expand their readership. From media tie-ins, popular superheroes and villains to seminal periods in history and chronicles of emotional terrain, we’ve got you covered and invite you to Get Graphic!
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July 29, 2021
On Monday, August 2,
All Ways Black will host
Baldwin’s Birthday Bash, a 9-hour read-a-thon celebrating
James Baldwin’s birthday. From 12;00 to 9:00PM (ET), participants can tune into
Instagram Live, where influential bookstagrammers, writers, and cultural figures will host live and silent (D.E.A.R) readings of Baldwin’s novel,
Go Tell it on the Mountain. Along with readings, the event will feature celebrations and challenges reminiscent of an old-fashioned birthday party, like bingo and “pin the pen to the writer.”
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July 28, 2021
Amanda Gorman, Photo Credit: Kelia Anne
Viking Books will publish #1
New York Times bestselling author
Amanda Gorman’s breakout poetry collection,
CALL US WHAT WE CARRY, on December 7, 2021. Formerly titled
The Hill We Climb and Other Poems, this remarkable new collection of poems includes the now iconic poem, “The Hill We Climb,” read at the inauguration of the 46
th President of the United States, Joe Biden, and reveals an energizing and unforgettable voice in American poetry.
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July 28, 2021
Hard to believe, but the dog days of summer are here… the period between July 3
rd and August 11
th. According to the Farmer’s Almanac, “the phrase is actually a reference to the fact that, during this time, the Sun occupies the same region of the sky as Sirius, the brightest star visible from any part of Earth and part of the constellation Canis Major, the Greater Dog.” To get you through the hot, dog days we’ve gathered some bright starred review books just barking to be read!
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July 27, 2021
Although the calendar says it is mid-summer, the fall literary prize season is underway with the July 27 announcement in London of the thirteen-volume Longlist for this year’s Booker Prize, the U.K.’s most prestigious Fiction award, with its international cache and resonance.
Here are the Penguin Random House titles, which are in contention:
Penguin Random House U.S.
- A PASSAGE NORTH by Anuk Arudpragasam (Hogarth HC and Ebook; RH Audio; PRH Canada distro)
- KLARA AND THE SUN by Kazuo Ishiguro (Knopf; HC and Ebook; RH Audio; Knopf Canada)
- NO ONE IS TALKING ABOUT THIS by Patricia Lockwood (Riverhead; HC and Ebook; Penguin Audio; PRH Canada distro)
- CHINA ROOM by Sunjeev Sahota (Viking HC and Ebook; Penguin Audio; Knopf Canada)
- GREAT CIRCLE by Maggie Shipstead (Knopf HC and Ebook; RH Audio; PRH Canada distro)
- THE FORTUNE MEN by Nadifa Mohamed (Knopf HC and Ebook, to be published Summer 2022)
- Bewilderment by Richard Powers will be published by Random House Audio in September 2021)
Penguin Random House Canada
- Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro (Knopf Canada HC and Ebook; Knopf Canada Audio)
- China Room by Sunjeev Sahota (Knopf Canada HC and Ebook; Knopf Canada Audio)
- Bewilderment by Richard Powers (coming September: Random House Canada HC and Ebook; RH Canada Audio)
- A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson (Knopf Canada HC and Ebook; Knopf Canada Audio)
Penguin Random House U.K.
- The Promise by Damon Galgut, (Chatto & Windus, Vintage)
- A Town Called Solace by Mary Lawson (Chatto & Windus, Vintage)
- The Fortune Men by Nadifa Mohamed (Viking, Penguin General)
- Bewilderment by Richard Powers (Hutchinson Heinemann)
- Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead (Doubleday, Transworld Publishers)
- China Room by Sunjeev Sahota (Harvill Secker, Vintage)
The Booker Prize for Fiction is open to works by writers of any nationality, written in English and published in the U.K. or Ireland.
Congratulations to our authors and their publishing teams on this first step on their Booker journey.
The Booker Shortlist will be published September 14. The 2021 winner will be announced and feted at the annual Booker dinner November 3.
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July 27, 2021
As a part of
Penguin Random House’s mission to promote free expression and the joy of reading,
Penguin Young Readers and
Random House Children’s Books partnered with
Tattered Cover, a Denver bookstore chain, to donate more than 1,200 baseball-related children's books to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver, in celebration of the 2021 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, which took place at Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies, on July 13.
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July 26, 2021
Marie Benedict and
Victoria Christopher Murray, authors of
THE PERSONAL LIBRARIAN (
Berkley), will their discuss their
New York Times bestselling historical novel, a
Good Morning America Book Club pick, at a virtual event hosted by the Detroit Public Library on
Wednesday, July 28 at 6:00 pm (ET). To register, click
here.
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July 26, 2021
Jessica Goodman, author of
THEY’LL NEVER CATCH US (
Razorbill), is launching her new YA novel in conversation with writer and reporter Kelsey McKinney at a virtual event hosted by Greenlight Bookstore (Brooklyn, NY) via Zoom on
Tuesday, July 27 at 7:30 pm (ET). To register, click
here.
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July 26, 2021
For the past nine years,
Penguin Random House has supported the
Starlight Children’s Foundation Book Mobile Program, which offers pediatric patients at local hospitals the chance to explore fictional worlds through books. The program provides a much-needed pastime for severely ill children throughout their hospital stays and helps them cope with feelings of fear, loneliness, and anxiety.
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July 26, 2021
The
2021 World Fantasy Awards finalists for works released in 2020 have been announced and include two books published by
Penguin Random House imprints. The awards will be presented during
World Fantasy Convention 2021, to be held November 4-7, at the Hotel Bonaventure in Montreal, Quebec.
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July 23, 2021
The
Marlon & Jake Read Dead People podcast has returned for a highly anticipated second season. Hosted by Booker Prize-winning and internationally bestselling author
Marlon James and his editor,
Jake Morrissey, Executive Editor at Riverhead Books, the podcast features their uncensored literary conversations about works by dead authors. Since launching in January 2020, this podcast has achieved more than 220,000 downloads, with close to 800 listener ratings.
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July 23, 2021
It’s surely shorts weather… have you found the perfect pair? As Shakespeare once wrote, “brevity is the soul of wit.” We readers know that short stories run deep. Curated for you below are some of the best short story collections to dive into this summer – piece by piece.
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July 22, 2021
Camilla Läckberg, author of
SILVER TEARS (
Knopf), will discuss her latest novel in conversation with
Crown author
Lisa Unger at a virtual event hosted by Books & Books (Coral Gables, FLA) via
Crowdcast on Sunday, July 25 at 12:00 pm (ET).
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July 22, 2021
Jonathan Segal, Vice President and Executive Editor at Knopf, has written an intimate and perceptive essay about his late two great friends and colleagues:
Sonny Mehta, office neighbor, Knopf head and Editor-in-Chief, who died in late December 2019, and
Dan Frank, Pantheon Editorial Director, whom we lost May 24. Just published by
The Atlantic, his essay expands upon his recollective appreciation for his subjects’ professional and personal uniqueness to discuss his impressions of the impact social media and social-justice movements are having on the book-publishing culture Mehta and Frank helped define.
Click
here for this must-read.
July 22, 2021
Penguin Random House is a longtime partner of
Behind the Book, a nonprofit organization that inspires students to love reading by bringing accomplished authors and their books into classrooms through innovative literacy programs. They partner with classroom teachers and work directly in NYC public schools – exclusively those at which 75% or more of the student population lives at or below the federal poverty line. All programs are designed to meet Common Core Learning Standards and fit the class curriculum.
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July 22, 2021
2021 marks the debut of surfing at the Summer Games. The best competitive surfers from all over the world will meet at Japan’s Shidashita Beach beginning this weekend and vie for a historic gold medal. The event will likely bring unprecedented global attention to a sport that has already captivated many. Coinciding with the games is the release of HBO’s new documentary series, “100 Foot Wave,” which follows big wave surfers as they attempt to ride the largest waves humanly possible. The following books speak to the beauty and unpredictable nature of the ocean which makes surfing such a unique endeavor, no matter the size of the waves.
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July 22, 2021
In partnership with Higher Ground, Penguin Random House announced today the October 26, 2021, global publication of
RENEGADES: Born in the USA, a collection of candid, intimate, and entertaining conversations between
Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States, and legendary musician
Bruce Springsteen. The news was announced by Markus Dohle, CEO of Penguin Random House, who acquired world rights from Deneen Howell of Williams & Connolly LLP.
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Although the calendar says it is mid-summer, the fall literary prize season is underway with the July 27 announcement in London of the thirteen-volume Longlist for this year’s Booker Prize, the U.K.’s most prestigious Fiction award, with its international cache and resonance.
Here are the Penguin Random House titles, which are in contention:
Penguin Random House U.S.
