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Featured Author Event: Jasmine Guillory (Denver)
17 July 2019

Colorado colleagues are cordially invited to a Romance Readings event, with novelist Jasmine Guillory, who will discuss and read from her new Berkley book, THE WEDDING PARTY. Fellow Berkley author Alexa Martin, whose novels were inspired by the eight years she spent as an NFL wife, will also appear and read an excerpt her latest title, FUMBLED. Both authors will sign their books at this free event , which will take place beginning at 2;00 p.m. on Sunday, July 21 at the Tattered Cover Book Store in Denver.

Colleagues in and around the Bay Area are invited to join Penguin Press author Margaret O’Mara for a lunchtime discussion of her new book, THE CODE: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America. The event , which also includes a book signing, begins at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday, July 18, at Book Passage's Ferry Building location in San Francisco.

Before Andy Weir became recognized internationally as the #1 New York Times-bestselling, award-winning author of THE MARTIAN (Crown/Broadway), he spent his free time writing fanfiction and web comics. With the help of illustrator Sarah Andersen, one of his early web comics has been adapted into a lushly illustrated new graphic novel, CHESHIRE CROSSING, published by Ten Speed Press on July 9.

Written, illustrated, and hand-lettered by Jimmy Kimmel himself, THE SERIOUS GOOSE is an interactive picture book that challenges readers of all ages to turn a very Serious Goose into a very Silly Goose, and will be published on December 3, 2019, it was announced today by Barbara Marcus, President & Publisher, Random House Children’s Books. North American rights were negotiated with Suzanne Gluck, William Morris Entertainment. The book will release with a first printing of 500,000 copies.

Sandford, THE CHALK MAN 2019 ThrillerFest Honorees
16 July 2019

John Sandford, the beloved #1 bestselling Putnam author of more than thirty novels in the respective series featuring relentless law-enforcement officials Lucas Davenport (Prey) and Virgil Flowers, was honored as the 2019 ThrillerMaster at the International Thriller Writers (ITW) July 13 closing ceremony, concluding the 14th annual five-day ThrillerFest Convention in Manhattan. Earlier that Saturday, Sandford sat for a rare and revealing interview, conducted by his long-time editor, now-retired Putnam Associate Publisher and Editor in Chief Neil Nyren.

Our Three Finalists for the 2019 George Washington Prize
15 July 2019

Finalists have been announced for the 2019 George Washington Prize, which recognizes the "best written works on the nation's founding era, especially those that have the potential to advance broad public understanding of early American history."

We know you love reading, but…what’s your favorite podcast? It’s hard to keep up with what to listen to with new series’ launching at such a rapid pace. Did you know many of the most informative and entertaining podcast hosts are also authors? We think if you like their take on things - their smarts and style - you’ll surely enjoy their books!

As we continue to support diversity and inclusion, Penguin Random House is piloting a Diversity Library program with ten Title One high schools from across New York City’s five boroughs. Each institution selected to be part of the program will receive a total of 20 titles by diverse authors geared towards high-school-aged students, published by Random House Children’s Books and Penguin Young Readers imprints. The books will become a part of the schools’ libraries.

Basketball and book clubs? Not a common combination, but an important one to Ekpe Udoh. A professional player for the National Basketball Association’s Utah Jazz, Mr. Udoh is a voracious reader and has his own book club, which attracted the interest of Michelle Obama earlier this year. “Do I get a vote?” Mrs. Obama tweeted to Mr. Udoh’s request for help choosing his next book. “Of course, no voter suppression here! We will read BECOMING next,” he replied. “At #EkpesBookClub we encourage the thoughts of individuals from all walks of life. It would be an honor if you could stop by for a discussion or join our Twitter discussion.”

Are your kids languishing on the couch this summer? Glued to their screens while you try to place books in their hands or tout the wonders of the out-of-doors or even getting together with friends? We hear talk of the “summer slide” each season and most schools have summer reading requirements. Possibly, the young ones in your life are bookworms rejoicing that they finally have more time for non-assigned reading. Whatever the case, the following hot new releases are sure to satisfy readers of all ages, levels and tastes and great to take on trips!

PRH Partners with Drag Queen Story Hour to Produce Literary Drag Show at NYPL
9 July 2019

Last month, Penguin Random House partnered with Drag Queen Story Hour to produce an exciting Literary Drag Show as part of The Library After Hours: Pride edition. Hosted by the New York Public Library with support from the Penguin Random House LGBTQ Network, the June 21 show featured performances by Harmonica Sunbeam, Miz Jade, Witti Repartee, Lee VaLone, Ash Blight, and Cétait BonTemps.

Berkley author Kali Wallace has had a lifelong passion for science and storytelling, both shining through brilliantly in her new novel, SALVATION DAY, released on Tuesday, July 9. Robert J. Sawyer, a Hugo Award Winner and fellow Berkley author, praised her book as “one of the major science-fiction debuts of 2019.” In this incredibly fast-paced, claustrophobic thriller, a lethal virus is awoken on an abandoned spaceship set in a universe where humanity has been forced to rebuild after near extinction.

Colleagues in and around NYC are invited to join Optimism Press for a special event featuring the new imprint’s very first author, Summer Rayne Oakes. She will be in conversation with imprint founder, Chief Optimist and New York Times bestselling author Simon Sinek at the New York Botanical Gardens in the Edible Academy Amphitheater (2900 Southern Boulevard in the Bronx ) on Wednesday, July 10, from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., to celebrate the much-anticipated publication of HOW TO MAKE A PLANT LOVE YOU: Cultivating Green Space in Your Home and Heart. As part of Wellness Wednesdays at the NYBG, Oakes will be talking all-things plants and the importance of bringing nature indoors, making for a dynamic conversation between her and Sinek. To RSVP for this event, click here.

Are you ready for the long holiday weekend? Looking for something relevant to read? The Fourth of July—also known as Independence Day or July 4th—has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941, but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution. To honor the occasion, this week we turn to no lesser topic than America itself with something for everyone. So here’s to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness!

Christopher Myers Accepts the 2019 Children's Literature Legacy Award for his Father, Walter Dean Myers
2 July 2019

Walter Dean Myers is the posthumous recipient of the 2019 Children’s Literature Legacy Award honoring an author or illustrator, published in the United States, whose books have made a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children. His numerous and award-winning works include “Fast Sam, Cool Clyde, and Stuff” (Viking, 1975) and “On a Clear Day” (Ember, 2015).

Meacham and McGraw Explore the Power of Song to Unite and Shape Our Nation
1 July 2019

As we near the 4^th of July holiday, this week’s Igloo Book Buzz selection is, appropriately, the New York Times bestselling Random House title SONGS OF AMERICA: Patriotism, Protest, and the Music that Made a Nation by Jon Meacham and Tim McGraw. From “The Star-Spangled Banner” to “Born in the U.S.A.,” this creative partnership between a Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer and a chart-topping country music superstar takes readers on a moving and insightful journey through eras in American history and the songs and performers that inspired us. Meacham chronicles our history, exploring the stories behind the songs, and McGraw reflects on them as an artist and performer. Their perspectives combine to create a unique view of the role music has played in uniting and shaping a nation.

PRH and WNDB Announce 2019 Creative Writing Awards Winners
1 July 2019

The winners of the 2019 Creative Writing Awards have been announced by Penguin Random House, in partnership with We Need Diverse Books (WNDB), a national grassroots organization that advocates for diversity in children’s literature. Now in its twenty-sixth year, the competition for the first time was expanded beyond greater New York to become a nationwide search, awarding scholarships and other resources that will recognize and encourage the next generation of talented writers.

Colleagues planning to head to the Hamptons over the July 4th weekend are invited to meet author Cristina Alger, who will be signing copies of her new Putnam book, GIRLS LIKE US, on Saturday, July 6, at Berry & Co. in Sag Harbor, beginning at 5:00 p.m.

Through the lenses of protest, power, and pride, WE ARE EVERYWHERE by Matthew Reimer and Leighton Brown, published by Ten Speed Press, is a rich, sweeping and empowering photographic history of the Queer Liberation Movement. The creators and curators of the popular Instagram account @lgbt_history, Reimer and Brown combine exhaustively researched narrative with meticulously curated photographs. The resulting coffee-table-sized volume traces queer activism from its roots in late-nineteenth-century Europe–long before the pivotal Stonewall Riots of 1969–to the gender warriors leading the charge today.

On Monday, June 24, at the Tishman Auditorium in New York, Random House brought together four leading voices in cultural journalism to celebrate their highly anticipated summer books and discuss the ways in which pop culture — everything from binge-worthy TV to ubiquitous celebrities to the rise of athleisure — influences how we behave as a society. Co-hosted by the New School's Creative Writing Program and Lang Literary Studies Program, the event welcomed some of the most sought-after journalists and emerging authors for an engaging discussion.

There's a Book for That: Chernobyl
26 June 2019

HBO’s acclaimed “Chernobyl” miniseries has just been reported by Forbes Magazine as the highest audience-scored show in history on IMDB (International Movie Database). With talk and interest in the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster seeing such a resurgence, we present the following books on the topic:

Australia is a long way from New York, but when Stephen Morrow, Vice President, Executive Editor, Dutton, recently participated in the Australia Council for the Arts’ Visiting International Publishers 2019 program, it felt like a homecoming. Stephen is originally from the continent Down Under and was selected to be among the 12 visiting international publishing representatives contingent, which also included Kokila Editor Joanna Cárdenas.

Don’t miss out, Bay Area colleagues. Jamil Zaki will discuss his Crown book, THE WAR FOR KINDNESS: Building Empathy in a Fractured World, on Wednesday, June 26, at the Commonwealth Club. His talk begins at 7:00 pm, followed by a book signing at 8:00 pm.

UNDER ONE ROOF Brings Storytellers Together in Celebration of World Pride
25 June 2019

Penguin Random House hosted UNDER ONE ROOF, a live storytelling event in celebration of World Pride, on Thursday, June 13, at The Ace Hotel in New York City. The evening featured a wide spectrum of queer literature and the storytellers who reinforce the importance of publishing a diversity of voices. Filled with ebbing moments of reflection and jubilance, audience members heard from some of our leading authors in queer literature.

Ballantine's Sara Weiss Tells Why Linda Holmes’s RomCom Novel is Your Next Summer Read
25 June 2019

Linda Holmes, the host of NPR’s “Pop Culture Happy Hour” podcast, has written a sparkling debut novel, EVVIE DRAKE STARTS OVER, published by Ballantine, set in a sleepy seaside town in Maine, about an unlikely relationship between a young woman who’s lost her husband and a major league baseball pitcher who’s lost his game. Meet recently widowed Eveleth “Evvie” Drake, who rarely leaves her large, painfully empty house nearly a year after her husband’s death in a car crash, and Dean Tenney, a former major league baseball pitcher, who can’t throw straight anymore, and, even worse, he can’t figure out why. Evvie and Dean must reckon with their current realities and their murky pasts—the friendships they’ve damaged, the secrets they’ve kept—but in life, as in baseball, there’s always a chance—up until the last out.

Featured Author Event: Lauren Mechling (NYC)
21 June 2019

Mark your calendars New York-based colleagues. Author/journalist/editor Lauren Mechling is presenting her debut adult novel, HOW COULD SHE, published by Viking, on Thursday, July 27, at McNally Jackson Booksellers on Prince Street in NYC. Mechling will be in conversation with author/journalist Rumaan Alam at this free event, which begins at 7:00 pm.

SJP for Hogarth Author Claire Adam Wins Desmond Elliott Prize for GOLDEN CHILD
21 June 2019

Claire Adam has won the 12th annual Desmond Elliott Prize for her debut novel, GOLDEN CHILD, published in the U.S. by SJP for Hogarth. Adam takes home the £10,000 (about $12,700) prize, which the Daily Telegraph calls the “UK’s most prestigious award for first-time novelists.”

Colleagues in the vicinity of Washington, D.C., take note: Knopf author Bren Smith will be discussing his new book EAT LIKE A FISH: My Adventures as a Fisherman Turned Restorative Ocean Farmer at Politics & Prose Bookstore at the Wharf on Monday, June 24. Smith will be in conversation with Miriam Goldstein, managing director for Energy and Environmental Policy and the director for Ocean Policy at American Progress. This free event is from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.

Poet Ocean Vuong’s just-published novel, ON EARTH WE’RE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS (Penguin Press), is being praised far and wide - as is the audiobook edition, which is read by the author. Currently on tour, Ocean Vuong’s bookstore audiences are standing-room only. He speaks eloquently about the power of language, about the craft and writers he admires. In that spirit, we turn this week to the acknowledgment section of the novel where Ocean Vuong gives “a deep bow to the following artists and musicians whom I leaned on, repeatedly, while writing this book.” The poets and writers he names there, and elsewhere, provide a master class to their readers. Among them…

Sally Rooney Wins Encore Award for NORMAL PEOPLE
20 June 2019

Sally Rooney has won the Royal Society of Literature's £10,000 (about $12,590) Encore Award for best second novel of the year for NORMAL PEOPLE (Hogarth). The Royal Society of Literature, founded in 1820, is a UK charity dedicated to the advancement of literature. The 2019 judges are RSL Fellows Edmund Gordon, Nikita Lalwani and Eley Williams.

Elizabeth Gilbert’s CITY OF GIRLS is #1 Pick on Amazon’s “Best Books of the Year So Far” List
19 June 2019

Elizabeth Gilbert’s CITY OF GIRLS, published by Riverhead, was named the #1 pick, topping Amazon’s selections for its Best Books of the Year So Far. Sarah Gelman, Editorial Director, Amazon Books, said of the novel, “It has so many elements that make reading fun – the sparkle of youth, indiscretions, sassy characters, and freedom in a city that doesn’t sleep – perfect summer reading in our book.”

June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Awareness Month and the Alzheimer’s Association (ALZ) has launched their #goPurple campaign. According to ALZ, 50 million people worldwide are living with Alzheimer's and other dementias. The more people know about Alzheimer's, the more action can be taken. In support of all who struggle with dementia, we present the following books: memoirs from beloved authors, groundbreaking health and science titles and stories for younger readers in order to educate as well as offer hope for the future:

Colorado colleagues in the vicinity of Denver are in for a treat. Celebrated author James Ellroy will be presenting his latest novel, THIS STORM, published by Alfred A Knopf, at the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver on Colfax Street on Friday, June 21. This free event begins at 7:00 p.m.

The Bertelsmann Foundation and Humanity in Action have teamed up with Andrew Keen – host, author and Silicon Valley entrepreneur – to present “How to Fix Democracy,” a video and podcast series that features interviews on democracy’s past, present and future. Launched in January 2019, this series explores why democracy is not delivering in Europe and North America and how it can be reinvigorated.

Knopf’s THE LONG TAKE by Robin Robertson Wins Walter Scott Prize
18 June 2019

Robin Robertson’s THE LONG TAKE, published by Alfred A. Knopf, has won the £25,000 (about $31,470) 2019 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, which "celebrates quality, and innovation of writing in the English language, and is open to books published in the previous year in the U.K., Ireland or the Commonwealth... the majority of the storyline must have taken place at least 60 years ago." Robertson is the first Scot and first poet to win the prize in its 10-year history.

Featured Author Event: Mona Awad (Denver)
17 June 2019

Attention colleagues in Colorado: Mona Awad, author of BUNNY, published by Viking, is appearing at Tattered Cover Book Store on Colfax Avenue in Denver on Wednesday, June 19. Awad’s talk will be followed by a Q&A and book signing.

Random House Author Emily Ruskovich Wins International Dublin Literary Award for IDAHO
17 June 2019

IDAHO by Emily Ruskovich (Random House) has won the 2019 International Dublin Literary Award, which "aims to promote excellence in world literature" by honoring a novel written in English or translated into English. The €100,000 (about $112,890) award represents one the world’s largest literary prizes. Sponsored by Dublin City Council and managed by Dublin City Libraries, the competition featured a total of 141 titles, nominated by libraries in 115 cities across 41 countries. Ruskovich is only the fourth American to win the award in its 24-year history.

Bill Loverd, who, as the Director of Publicity at Knopf Publishers for nearly forty years, championed the work of some of the most distinguished writers of the last half of the twentieth century, died yesterday at his home in New Jersey. He was 78. The cause was cancer.

Friday Reads: Walking
14 June 2019

Above all, do not lose your desire to walk: every day I walk myself into a state of well-being and walk away from every illness. —Søren Kierkegaard

Come out on Monday, June 17, to Books Are Magic in Brooklyn to see New York Times bestselling author Esi Edugyan discuss her latest book, WASHINGTON BLACK, published by Knopf/Vintage. This free, one-hour event begins at 7:30 p.m., and Edugyan will be signing copies of her book after her talk.

Featured Author Event: Ocean Vuong (San Francisco)
14 June 2019

Colleagues based in the Bay Area are invited to join poet/author Ocean Vuong for a discussion of his new Penguin Press book, ON EARTH WE’RE BRIEFLY GORGEOUS, with Penguin author Rebecca Solnit, on Tuesday, June 18, at Green Apple Books on the Park in San Francisco. The event begins at 7:30 pm.

Following the success of the inaugural Writing Business Bootcamp in Philadelphia last fall, the Authors Guild Foundation and Penguin Random House continued their partnership, bringing the bootcamp series to underserved communities across the country, including Cincinnati, OH, Decatur, GA, New Orleans, LA, Seattle, WA, and Santa Fe, NM earlier this year. As the initiative’s exclusive publishing partner, Penguin Random House sponsored two employees per city to share their publishing expertise and work experience with diverse groups of aspiring authors.

Our new Igloo Book Buzz selection is HOW TO SKIMM YOUR LIFE, published by Ballantine on June 11. Carly Zakin and Danielle Weisburg, founders and co-CEOs of theSkimm, reveal, “This book’s journey really began four years ago. We didn’t know what to read over Memorial Day weekend, and we decided that our Skimm’rs could probably relate. So we started a section in the Daily Skimm e-mail newsletter called ‘Skimm Reads,’ where we recommended a book we thought our audience might want to have for the long weekend. Our audience liked it, so we recommended another one the next week. Fast-forward to today, and we’re humbled to say that theSkimm is a leader in recommendations, the biggest one being books. HOW TO SKIMM YOUR LIFE is the embodiment of our mission, and covers it all: personal finance, career, stress management, global politics, civic engagement, and more. We hope that you use it as a reference tool as you navigate the big moments in your life. We hope that you share it with a friend. You never know when you’ll end up starting a business together.”

There's a Book for That: Father's Day
12 June 2019

I believe that what we become depends on what our fathers teach us at odd moments, when they aren't trying to teach us. We are formed by little scraps of wisdom. - Umberto Eco Sunday, June 16, is Father’s Day. Like all profound relationships, the one between father and child is complex. To honor the fathers in our lives, we’ve assembled some of the best books that dad may like on a wide range of subjects, with even some fiction thrown in for good measure. Whether dad’s a birder, history buff, chef, armchair scientist, runner, film and/or jazz connoisseur we’ve got books for those interests and more!

In the ongoing spirit of giving back to our communities, Penguin Random House has been a longtime supporter of Shakespeare in the Park, one of the cornerstones of the Public Theater’s mission to bring performing arts to the people of New York City. Since 1962, over five million have experienced more than 150 free productions of Shakespeare and other classical works and musicals.

Featured Author Event: Ryan Jacobs (Boulder, CO)
11 June 2019

Colorado colleagues in the vicinity of Boulder, take note: Author, writer, and editor Ryan Jacobs will be discussing his book THE TRUFFLE UNDERGROUND: A Tale of Mystery, Mayhem and Manipulation in the Shadowy Market of the World's Most Expensive Fungus, published by Clarkson Potter, on Friday, June 14. This free event will be taking place at Boulder Book Store, and Jacobs will sign copies of his book following his talk.

Did you know that June is Audiobook Month? As the recent Audio Publishers Association survey revealed, 50% of Americans have now listened to an audiobook. Readers who love print books love audiobooks, too, and book clubs often supplement their reading with audio. The advent of podcasts has revived the oral tradition for a new generation and the stigma is off… audiobook listening is not cheating! Here are some of the best new releases for your weekend and summer road trip listening:

Lambda Literary, the nation’s leading organization advancing lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) literature, has announced the winners of its 31st Annual Lambda Literary Awards (the “Lammys”), with Riverhead author Masha Gessen receiving the Visionary Award, and Beacon Press author Imani Perry winning the LGBTQ Nonfiction Prize.

Attention colleagues in the vicinity of Washington, DC: Knopf author Martin Walker will be discussing his new book THE BODY IN THE CASTLE WELL during a special event at the Politics & Prose Bookstore in DC on Monday, June 10. This stop on Walker’s author tour kicks off at 7:00 p.m.

In June we celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month (LGBT Pride Month) which honors the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. First, President Bill Clinton declared June "Gay & Lesbian Pride Month" on June 2, 2000. In 2009, President Barack Obama declared June Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. LGBTQ Pride Month events attract millions of participants around the world. The purpose of the commemorative month is to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally. To honor the occasion, we’ve selected some of the best nonfiction on the topic, including new releases, historical perspectives and young readers titles:

Meryl Streep to Narrate New Audiobook Recording of E.B. White’s Classic CHARLOTTE’S WEB
5 June 2019

Academy Award-winning actress Meryl Streep headlines a new full-cast audiobook recording of E. B. White’s classic children’s book CHARLOTTE’S WEB, on sale October 29, from Listening Library.

With the 2019 major league baseball season in full swing, our new Igloo Book Buzz selection is PLAY HUNGRY: The Making of a Baseball Player, published by Penguin Press on June 4. Pete Rose tells the personal, inside story of how he became one of the greatest and most controversial players in the history of baseball. He shattered records that were thought to be unbreakable. During the 1970s, he was the leader of the Big Red Machine, the Cincinnati Reds team that dominated the game. But he’s also the greatest player who may never enter the Hall of Fame because of his lifetime ban from the sport. Perhaps no other ballplayer’s story is so representative of the triumphs and tragedies of our national pastime.

Our Igloo Volunteer Spotlight features Penguin Random House colleagues who lend their support, time, and compassion to charitable and/or not-for-profit organizations in communities near and far. These interviews provide insights into employees’ experiences, as well as their passion and commitment to helping others in need. Today, we present Kimberly “KAZ” Woods, Director of Sales, Higher Education, Penguin Random House. She recently returned from a volunteer service project in Ethiopia.

Chautauqua Institution announced that Anjali Sachdeva’s ALL THE NAMES THEY USED FOR GOD: Stories (Spiegel & Grau/Random House) is the 2019 winner of The Chautauqua Prize, an annual award that celebrates a book of fiction or literary/narrative nonfiction that provides a richly rewarding reading experience and honors the author for a significant contribution to the literary arts.

The Binc Foundation and Penguin Random House announced that the Blue Manatee Literacy Project and Bookstore in Cincinnati, Ohio has been awarded the inaugural Indies with Impact prize. Through this award, Penguin Random House recognizes, supports, and strengthens the connections bookstores have with their neighbors by providing funding for the winner’s community-based initiative.

Friday Reads: Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month
31 May 2019

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month and Penguin Random House has a wealth of related novels for you to discover. We recommend you immerse yourself in the characters, settings and cultural themes of the following new and noteworthy titles, including several for young adults:

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, observed at this time each year since 1949, when it was established by Mental Health America. To show support, we urge you to pick up a book and learn about the people who deal with mental illness daily, as sufferers or caretakers, and to consider the signs.

In January 2020, Viking, Penguin Books, and Pamela Dorman Books will debut a new publishing program that will live across all three imprints and focus on inspiration, personal development, lifestyle, and healthy living—Viking Life, Penguin Life, Pamela Dorman Books Life.

It is with great sadness that Penguin Press shares the news that Pulitzer-prize winning journalist and bestselling author Tony Horwitz died suddenly on May 27 in Washington, D.C. of an apparent cardiac arrest. He was 60 years old.

On Monday, May 27^th, we pay tribute to the American men and women who have died in service to our country. To honor the occasion we have curated a list of nonfiction titles – for adults and young readers - that honor the service and sacrifice of our nation’s military.

Our Winners of 2019 IACP Awards
23 May 2019

The International Association of Culinary Professionals announced the winners of its prestigious IACP awards, recognizing the very best food writing and publishing of the year, from cookbooks and journalism to photography and digital media, at the annual IACP conference on May 18 in Manhattan. Our imprints Ten Speed Press and Lorena Jones Books, America’s Test Kitchen, a PRHPS client, as well as our online food and cooking magazine, TASTE, took home awards.

Penguin Random House colleagues based at our Westminster distribution center had 4 teams participate in the Literacy Council of Carroll County’s 20th Annual Spelling Bee last month.

Riverhead Sets Fundraising Record: $10,000 Raised for NYC Anti-Violence Project
23 May 2019

Team Riverhead Books ran in the Brooklyn Half Marathon on May 18 to support the New York City Anti-Violence Project. In less than two weeks, the team was able to raise over $10,000 for the nonprofit, breaking their own fundraising record.

On Saturday, May 18, groundbreaking speculative fiction author William Gibson was named the 35th Damon Knight Grand Master by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA). The award was presented by SFWA President Cat Rambo at the 54th Annual Nebula Conference and Awards Ceremony in Woodland Hills, California.

Penguin Random House Invests In Growth Of Leading Independent Publisher Sourcebooks
22 May 2019

PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE INVESTS IN GROWTH OF LEADING INDEPENDENT PUBLISHER SOURCEBOOKS Companies To Forge Unique & Collaborative Partnership (Naperville, Illinois and New York, May 22, 2019)—Sourcebooks, one of the country’s fastest-growing independent publishers, has sold a significant minority-ownership stake to Penguin Random House. The transaction, which was announced today by Dominique Raccah, Sourcebooks’ CEO and Founder, and Madeline McIntosh, Penguin Random House U.S. CEO, will create a performance- and growth-oriented partnership between the two companies. Sourcebooks retains its majority ownership of 55%, with no changes in its leadership, management, publishing autonomy, or entrepreneurial culture. Penguin Random House now owns 45%, as a collaborative investor in the Illinois-based company. Terms were not disclosed.

RHCB to Publish Marie Kondo’s Debut Children’s Picture Book in Fall 2019
22 May 2019

International tidying superstar and New York Times bestselling author Marie Kondo will bring her unique method to young readers in KIKI & JAX: The Life-Changing Magic of Friendship, a charming picture book about how tidying up creates space for joy in all parts of your life, co-written and illustrated by beloved children’s book veteran Salina Yoon, it was announced today by Barbara Marcus, President & Publisher, Random House Children’s Books. North American rights were negotiated with Neil Gudovitz, Gudovitz & Company Literary Agency (for Marie Kondo) and Jamie Weiss Chilton, Andrea Brown Literary Agency (for Salina Yoon). The book will release with a 250,000-copy first printing on November 5, 2019 and be published by the Crown Books for Young Readers imprint.

Riverhead Celebrates Jacqueline Woodson’s RED AT THE BONE at Weeksville Heritage Center
22 May 2019

Riverhead Books hosted a magical evening in Brooklyn earlier this month to celebrate National Book Award-Winning author Jacqueline Woodson’s stunning new adult novel, RED AT THE BONE, which will be published by Riverhead on September 17. The festivities were held at Weeksville Heritage Center, a historic house museum in Crown Heights dedicated to preserving the history of the 19th century African American community of what was known a century ago as Weeksville, Brooklyn—one of America’s many free black communities. Four wood-frame homes from the 1860s still exist, and have been restored to reflect the different eras of Weeksville’s history.

Last Sunday night’s “Game of Thrones” series finale on HBO drew a staggering 19.3 million viewers. The conclusion to the cultural phenomenon that began 8 years ago had mixed reviews. So mixed, in fact, that a petition demanding a rewrite of the last season has garnered more than 1 million signatures as of this post. The show is unique in that it ended before the book series has. The Winds of Winter, the sixth book in what Martin hopes will be a seven-book series, still has yet to be published. Thus, interest in the SONG OF FIRE AND ICE series is piqued and viewers and readers may enter the realm where it all began via the books below:

Random House’s Modern Library has launched a new trade paperback series, Modern Library Torchbearers, to "honor a more inclusive vision of classic books" by "recognizing women who wrote on their own terms, with boldness, creativity, and a spirit of resistance."

Crown to Publish New Rachel Maddow Book, BLOWOUT, in October
21 May 2019

Rachel Maddow unveiled the title, cover and publication date of her upcoming book last night on her MSNBC TV program, The Rachel Maddow Show. BLOWOUT: Corrupted Democracy, Rogue State Russia, and the Richest, Most Destructive Industry on Earth, will be published by Crown on October 1.

RHCB and Dr. Seuss Enterprises Launch 2nd Annual #SeussWordChallenge
21 May 2019

With the success of last year’s first-ever Dr. Seuss’s Word Challenge (#SeussWordChallenge), which resulted in over 20 million Dr. Seuss words being read by young readers over the summer, Random House Children’s Books (RHCB) and Dr. Seuss Enterprises (DSE) are upping the ante this year and challenging readers to read even more than they did in 2018. This year’s goal is reading 250 million Dr. Seuss words nationwide. Consumers can enter the challenge via Seussville.com and track their progress from May 21 to July 15.

Penguin Young Readers hosted a celebration for the launch of Kokila, a new imprint dedicated to centering stories from the margins, on Monday, May 13, at Housing Works Bookstore Café in New York City. The imprint’s debut list includes works from Newbery Honor winner Veera Hiranandani, Pablo Cartaya, Matthew A. Cherry, Vashti Harrison, Zeke Peña, Randy Ribay, and Isabel Quintero.

We’ve got the music in us this week! With the attention Ani Di Franco is getting for her new memoir, NO WALLS AND THE RECURRING DREAM, it’s a good time to share the stage for some encores. The following memoirs, from some of the most iconic musicians, have extraordinary tales to tell (often with lyrics) and will surely move readers to listen to their music with enhanced appreciation:

Vintage Español will publish the Spanish-language edition of Michael Wolff’s upcoming book, SIEGE: Trump Under Fire (ASEDIO: Trump en el punto de mira), releasing the Spanish-language eBook edition on June 4, and the Spanish-language trade paperback original as well as the audio edition in Spanish on June 11.

May is Jewish American Heritage Month – officially proclaimed in 2006 by President George W. Bush to honor the more than 350-year history of Jewish contributions to American culture. News outlets have been covering the rise in anti-Semitic violent attacks in the US after two deadly synagogue attacks within months of each other. The following books pay tribute to Jewish Americans across a range of subjects and genres for adult and young readers:

Ani DiFranco Shares Her Passion and Hard-Won Wisdom on the Page
10 May 2019

When celebrated singer-songwriter and social activist Ani DiFranco was conceiving her memoir, NO WALLS AND THE RECURRING DREAM, she admitted, “Writing songs is not really about discipline. There’s work, yes, but also to really get it right the clouds must part and a shaft of light come down, in a living moment things must align. Writing prose has already presented itself differently to me. It feels like sitting in front of a huge slab of timeless stone and staring unfocused until a figure appears, and then chipping … and chipping, and then again un-focusing the eyes. A much more Zen exercise in its ritual and manual labor. I am very excited about exploring this new kind of writing and making a book.”

Take time to the smell the roses… and to appreciate mothers this Sunday. We happen to like the smell of a book’s pages as they turn. Our bouquet of one dozen “rosy” reads includes memoir, romance, crime, history, poetry and literary fiction. Each book as unique as mom and her tastes:

Penguin Random House hosted students from the City University of New York (CUNY) for a day-long seminar on the publishing industry, professional development, and creative expression, entitled DREAMing Out Loud, on May 3. The career symposium was organized in collaboration with the NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and PEN America, and part of the DREAMing Out Loud Writing Workshop, a program aimed at students of diverse immigration statuses enrolled at such CUNY schools as Lehman College, Queens College, and Medgar Evers College. In addition to guidance from Teaching Artists and notable authors, the participants in the program receive one-on-one editorial mentoring from professional writers.

The James Beard Foundation announced its 2019 Restaurant and Chef Awards on Monday, May 6, in Chicago. We are thrilled to share that among the winners are culinary artists with published books or who have forthcoming books from Penguin Random House imprints Alfred A Knopf, Ten Speed Press and Lorena Jones Books.

Our new Igloo Book Buzz selection, FURIOUS HOURS: Murder, Fraud and the Last Trial of Harper Lee by Casey Cep, published by Alfred A. Knopf on May 7, has two intertwined mysteries at its heart – a shocking true-crime story, and the mystery of why, despite her fascination with the case, copious research, and years of effort, Harper Lee was never able to write a book about it.

There's a Book for That: Biodiversity
8 May 2019

“It is not too late to make a difference” is a motivating note of hopefulness in the United Nations report, Nature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’; Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating’, which finds that up to 1 million animal and plant species are on the verge of extinction, and that the rate of extinction is accelerating. Biodiversity is the key to a healthy planet and we’ve known about the damage humans have done for decades. Bees, bats, Emperor Penguins, porpoises are some of the endangered species and coral reefs are in dire straits. Citizens of the world need to be informed and work together to maintain our biodiversity. To that end, we offer the following array of excellent titles on the topic:

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences awarded Netflix’s The Who Was? Show, a live-action sketch comedy series for children adapted from Penguin Young Readers’ #1 New York Times bestselling biography series, Who Was?, a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Live Action Program, on Sunday, May 5. The show received nominations in several other categories, including: Outstanding Children’s or Family Viewing Series; Outstanding Writing for a Children’s, Preschool Children’s, Family Viewing; Outstanding Main Title and Graphic Design for a Live Action Program; and Outstanding Single Camera Editing.

Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights announced the 2019 recipients of its 2019 Book & Journalism Awards, and the RFK Book Award went to Penguin Press author Shane Bauer for AMERICAN PRISON: A Reporter’s Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights President Kerry Kennedy said, “Shane Bauer’s riveting expose of the criminal legal system exemplifies my fathers’ moral imagination. This year’s journalists serve our country with undaunted bravery at a time when those who speak truth to power are dismissed as dissidents rather than lauded as the patriots they are.”

Colleagues in and around NYC are invited to attend a special appearance by New York Times bestselling author Chris Pavone, on Wednesday, May 8, at Barnes & Noble Tribeca (97 Warren St.). Beginning at 7:00 p.m., Pavone will talk about his new novel, THE PARIS DIVERSION, published by Crown, with a Q&A to be followed by a book signing. For more details about this event, click here.

Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial colleagues in Florida take note: Dutton author Brian Jay Jones will be discussing his new book, BECOMING DR. SEUSS: Theodor Geisel and the Making of the American Imagination, on Tuesday, May 7 at Books & Books in Coral Gables, Florida. The event starts at 8:00 p.m.

DOOKU: Jedi Lost Random House Audio Exclusive On Sale Now: Watch Trailer
3 May 2019

Set in a galaxy far, far away, DOOKU: Jedi Lost (Star Wars) delves into the history of the sinister Count Dooku in this Random House Audio exclusive, released on Tuesday, April 30. Caught between the world of the Jedi, the ancient responsibilities of his lost home, and the alluring power of the relics, Dooku struggles to stay in the light—even as the darkness begins to fall.

“Before Breakfast” Podcast Hosted by Author Laura Vanderkam Crosses 1 Million Downloads
3 May 2019

Before Breakfast, a podcast hosted by Portfolio author Laura Vanderkam and developed in partnership with How Stuff Works and PRH’s Author Platforms team, has reached more than 1 million downloads just one month after its release.

Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial Acquires Ediciones Salamandra
3 May 2019

The global trade books publishing group reinforces its leadership in the Spanish-language market, both in Spain and Latin America Ediciones Salamandra’s author catalog includes J.K. Rowling, Andrea Camilleri and Zadie Smith Barcelona, 3 May 2019—Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, the global Spanish-language division of Penguin Random House, has signed an agreement to acquire leading independent publisher Ediciones Salamandra, established in October 2000 in Barcelona by Sigrid Kraus and Pedro del Carril.

Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial Compra Ediciones Salamandra
3 May 2019

El grupo mundial de ediciones generales consolida su liderazgo en lengua española en todo el mundo. El catálogo de Ediciones Salamandra incluye autores como J.K. Rowling, Margaret Atwood o Zadie Smith Barcelona, 3 de mayo de 2019 - Penguin Random House, editorial de publicaciones generales de ámbito mundial, ha firmado la adquisición de Ediciones Salamandra, creada en octubre del año 2000 por Pedro del Carril y Sigrid Kraus.

Would you like a little whoof! In your weekend reading? We’ve got some doggedly good fiction for you then. Meet canine narrators, protectors, detectives, and saviours in classic and contemporary fiction from some of our best authors who explore the intense bond between humans and dogs in their books. Take one on a walk - no leash necessary!

Craig County Public Library, New Castle, Virginia, Wins ALA’s First PRH Award for Innovation Through Adversity Award
2 May 2019

The Craig County Public Library, New Castle, Virginia, has been named the 2019 winner of the ALA’s first Penguin Random House Award for Innovation Through Adversity Award. The award, supported by the Penguin Random House Foundation, recognizes U.S. libraries and staff who overcome adversity and create lasting innovative community service programs that successfully inspire and connect with new readers.

The American Ballet Theater (ABT) is adapting the Charlotte Brontë novel JANE EYRE—published by Penguin Classics—for New York City’s Metropolitan Opera main stage. The limited run, June 4-10, features three different Janes performing on alternating nights: principal dancers Misty Copeland, Isabella Boylston (she has a ballerina bookclub), and Devon Teuscher will all inhabit the role. JANE EYRE is the first full-length ballet brought to the Metropolitan Opera House stage by a female choreographer since 1980. On Friday, May 3, the JANE EYRE ballerinas will be joined at the 92nd Street Y by the ballet’s choreographer Cathy Marston for a panel discussion moderated by Elda Rotor, Vice President & Publisher of Penguin Classics.

The American Booksellers Association (ABA) has announced the winners of the 2019 Indies Choice, E.B. White Read Aloud, and Indie Champion Awards. Our authors received two Indies Choice Awards, determined by independent booksellers from ABA member stores, selecting their favorite titles published last year, and casting their votes via online balloting. These booksellers also chose an Indie Champion Award and three new inductees into the Picture Book Hall of Fame, including two of our classic young readers titles. All prizes and honors will be presented and celebrated on Thursday, May 30, at the ABA Indies Choice Awards ceremony at BookExpo 2019 at the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan.

Publication of Amélie Wen Zhao’s BLOOD HEIR Set for This Fall
1 May 2019

Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, will publish BLOOD HEIR, the first volume in Amélie Wen Zhao’s debut young adult fantasy trilogy, on November 19, 2019 with a hardcover first printing of 150,000 copies, it was announced by Delacorte Press SVP & Publisher Beverly Horowitz. The audiobook edition of BLOOD HEIR will be simultaneously released by Listening Library, an imprint of Penguin Random House Audio.

This week’s headlines regarding the U.S. measles outbreak are alarming: U.S. officials say measles cases hit 25-year record high (The Washington Post). The controversy and consequences surrounding vaccination are of concern and lead us to feature the following books about vaccines throughout history and in current parenting guides:

Featured Author Event: Dustin Lance Black (Washington, D.C.)
30 April 2019

Colleagues in the vicinity of Washington, D.C. take note: Dustin Lance Black will be discussing his new book, MAMA'S BOY: A Story from Our Americas (Alfred A. Knopf) on Thursday, May 2, at Politics & Prose Bookstore (5015 Connecticut Ave NW). This free event begins at 7:00 p.m.

The Debut of "Madeline’s Picks"
29 April 2019

“Madeline’s Picks” — a new penguinrandomhouse.com feature presenting personally curated book selections by Madeline McIntosh, debuted on Saturday, April 27. “Madeline’s Picks” builds on the popularity of prh.com’s “Staff Picks,” which are e-mailed to consumers on a regular basis.

The James Beard Foundation announced the winners of its prestigious Cookbook, Broadcast Media, and Journalism awards for 2019 on April 26, at a dinner in Manhattan. Books and authors published by Penguin Random House imprints Avery, Clarkson Potter and Ten Speed Press were among those who took home prizes.

Friday Reads: Comedian Memoirs
26 April 2019

Comedy is tragedy plus time. – Carol Burnett Do you need some comic relief in your weekend? We thought so! Culling through the comedian memoirs published by Penguin Random House one thing is apparent: humor is often born out of pain and vulnerability. The following books aren’t just funny, they are poignant reflections told by beloved celebrities who make us laugh until we cry:

DK Unveils Anthony Daniels’ Memoir, I AM C-3PO: The Inside Story at Star Wars Celebration
25 April 2019

Star Wars actor Anthony Daniels (best known as the golden droid, C-3PO) revealed the title and jacket of his upcoming memoir, I AM C-3PO: The Inside Story in the DK booth at Star Wars Celebration in Chicago on Saturday, April 13. With help from Penguin Random House colleagues, an in-booth photo op with 100 eager fans, and many more on-lookers, followed the reveal. Daniels had previously teased the reveal in the highly anticipated Episode IX panel, as well as during an appearance on The Star Wars Show Live!

Give Back for World Book Day
23 April 2019

At Penguin Random House, as a global community of book lovers, today and every day is World Book Day. We believe in the power of books to transform lives and are passionate about making a positive difference in the world with our publishing and by giving back to local communities around the world.

Random House to Publish THE BEAUTIFUL ONES by Prince This Fall
23 April 2019

Random House is thrilled to announce the publication on October 29, 2019, of THE BEAUTIFUL ONES by Prince, the American artistic visionary—singer, songwriter, musician, producer, actor, and filmmaker. Originally acquired from Prince in 2016, this newly envisioned memoir will feature never-before-seen photos, original scrapbooks and lyric sheets written in Prince’s own hand, and the early pages of the memoir Prince began writing before his death, framed by an introduction from Dan Piepenbring, the writer handpicked by Prince to collaborate on this project. World rights were acquired by Chris Jackson from Esther Newberg and Dan Kirschen at ICM Partners. The memoir is being published in an exclusive partnership and in collaboration with the Prince Estate.

Five authors published by Penguin Random House are on the 16^th annual TIME 100 Most Influential People List: Michelle Obama, among the Icons, as well as Marlon James, Samin Nosrat , Chrissy Teigen and Tara Westover, among the Pioneers. The 2019 honorees were revealed late last week and are featured in TIME magazine’s April 29 – May 6 double-issue print edition. The TIME 100 gala takes place on Tuesday, April 23, in New York City.

In celebration of yesterday’s National High Five Day and the release of HIGH FIVE (Dial Books for Young Readers; on sale Tuesday, April 16), the highly anticipated new picture book from the creators of DRAGONS LOVE TACOS, members of the Penguin Young Readers team spent Thursday morning in the 1745 Broadway lobby greeting everyone with a high five.

On April 12^th, Library of America (LOA), a Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS) client, was honored at The Los Angeles Times Book Prizes ceremony with Los Angeles Times’ Innovator’s Award for bringing cultural heritage “into the future.” Since 1980, the Los Angeles Times has awarded a set of annual Book Prizes that include the Innovator’s Award, which recognizes the people and institutions that bring books, publishing, journalism, ideas and storytelling into the future. LOA joins such recent recipients as Margaret Atwood, John Green, Dave Eggers, LeVar Burton, Powell’s Bookstore, and Glory Edim of Well-Read Black Girl, among others. (Library of America)

Doubleday’s Bill Thomas and "K" Author Tyler Kepner Capture the Craft of MLB's Strikeout Artists
18 April 2019

From New York Times baseball columnist Tyler Kepner, K: The History of Baseball in Ten Pitches, published by Doubleday, is an enthralling look at the national pastime as told through the craft of pitching. Kepner traces the colorful stories and fascinating folklore behind baseball’s ten major pitches. Each chapter highlights a different pitch, from the fastball, curve and slider, to the knuckleball, cutter and spitball. Each pitch has its own history, evolving through the decades as the masters pass it down to the next generation.

There is still time to vote for Fatima Farheen Mirza’s A PLACE FOR US (SJP for Hogarth), our Penguin Random House finalist for the 2019 “One Book, One New York” campaign, the citywide initiative that brings book-loving New Yorkers together to read the same book at the same time. Throughout the month of April (deadline is April 30), you can cast your vote here to help determine the one book NYC will read together. To view all five of this year’s “One Book, One New York” finalists, click here.

Cantú, Makkai, Braithwaite Win L.A. Times Book Prizes, PRHPS Client Receives Innovator’s Award
17 April 2019

The Los Angeles Times announced the winners its 39th annual Book Prizes, including three titles published by Penguin Random House imprints, on Friday, April 12, at the University of Southern California, preceding last weekend’s Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. Library of America, a Penguin Random House Publisher Services client, was honored with the Innovator’s Award, which spotlights efforts to bring books, publishing and storytelling into the future.

Protect our Planet! Earth Day, Monday, April 22, marks nearly 50 years since millions of people took to the streets to protest industrial pollution on April 22, 1970. In July of that year, the Environmental Protection Agency was created and now Earth Day is a global event with 192 countries participating. Coordinated by The Earth Day Network, it is the largest civic-focused day of action in the world. To support greener living as as well as global and local conservation efforts (inspired by our PRH Social Impact Committee), Penguin Random House is launching PRH Green Week on Earth Day. As the countdown continues, check out the following classics that inspire a deeper appreciation of our beautiful, fragile planet:

Vintage Publishes New E L James Novel THE MISTER Today
16 April 2019

E L James’s new novel, THE MISTER, on sale from Vintage today, April 16, launches with a million-copy first printing. The first novel from Ms. James following the record-breaking success of her #1 bestselling FIFTY SHADES trilogy (150 million copies sold worldwide), THE MISTER is a contemporary romance set in London, Cornwall, and Eastern Europe that introduces readers to the privileged and aristocratic young Englishman Maxim Trevelyan and the mysterious, talented, and beautiful Alessia Demachi, who’s recently arrived in London owning little more than a dangerous and troublesome past. THE MISTER is also available in Spanish and as an audiobook.

Hogarth’s Alexis Washam on What Makes Sally Rooney’s NORMAL PEOPLE Contemporary and Timeless
16 April 2019

Sally Rooney’s NORMAL PEOPLE, published by Hogarth, winner of the Costa Novel Award, a finalist for the Man Booker Prize, and acclaimed by reviewers and readers alike, explores the subtleties of class, the electricity of first love, and the complex entanglements of family and friendship. “Arguably the buzziest novel of the season, Sally Rooney’s elegant sophomore effort . . . is a worthy successor to Conversations with Friends. Here, again, she unflinchingly explores class dynamics and young love with wit and nuance.”—The Wall Street Journal, “12 Best Books of Spring” “Remarkably precise — she captures meticulously the way a generation raised on social data thinks and talks.”—New York Review of Books In this “Three Questions for an Editor” Igloo interview, Hogarth Editorial Director Alexis Washam shares insights into what initially drew her to Rooney’s writing, the process of working with the author on NORMAL PEOPLE, and why this novel is resonating with so many readers.

Penguin Random House has partnered with STORY at Macy’s, the narrative-driven retail concept shop, bringing to life an editorial approach to retail in 36 Macy’s stores nationwide. Opening with “Color” as its inaugural theme, STORY at Macy’s invites customers to explore and experience color through a rainbow of curated, giftable products, including a wide range of books from across Penguin Random House’s imprints.

The International Association of Culinary Professionals announced the finalists of its prestigious IACP awards, recognizing the very best food writing and publishing of the year, from cookbooks and journalism to photography and digital media. We received 23 nominations for books, authors and editors from Alfred A. Knopf, Ten Speed Press, Clarkson Potter, Lorena Jones Books and Rodale as well as America’s Test Kitchen, a Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS) client. Winners will be announced at the annual IACP conference on May 18 in Manhattan.

Have you seen it? Astronomers have captured an image of a black hole: a cosmic abyss so deep and dense that not even light can escape it. The first breathtaking image, in a galaxy about 55 million light-years from Earth, was unveiled on Wednesday, April 9 – the result of an international collaboration involving 200 members and nine telescopes. According to Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, in a black hole matter, space and time come to an end. As far as the team of astronomers can tell, the shape of the shadow is circular, as Einstein’s theory predicts. We have our own prediction … a gravitational pull toward the science and scientists related to this revelation!

Our new Igloo Book Buzz selection, Stewart O’Nan’s HENRY, HIMSELF, published by Viking on April 9, is a wry, warmhearted portrait of an American original -- a man who believes he’s reached a dead end only to discover life is full of surprises.

Tokarczuk and Vásquez Finalists for 2019 Man Booker International Prize
10 April 2019

Riverhead Books publishes two of the six books on the Man Booker International Prize 2019 shortlist: acclaimed Polish author Olga Tokarczuk’s DRIVE YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD and renowned Colombian writer Juan Gabriel Vásquez’s THE SHAPE OF RUINS. Tokarczuk won the 2018 Man Booker International Prize for her “non-traditional” narrative fiction, FLIGHTS.

Launched nearly a quarter of a century ago, the Autism Society declared April National Autism Awareness Month as an excellent opportunity to promote autism awareness, autism acceptance and to draw attention to the tens of thousands facing an autism diagnosis each year. Through our publishing, Penguin Random House is part of the effort to educate and broaden perspectives about Autism Spectrum Disorder. Below are a range of titles that serve to expand our understanding:

The International Thriller Writers (ITW) revealed the 2019 ITW Thriller Awards finalists, which include 7 titles published by Penguin Random House imprints. ITW will announce the winners at ThrillerFest XIV on July 13 at the Grand Hyatt in New York City.

The Cleveland Foundation has shared the winners of its 84th Annual Anisfield-Wolf Book Awards, the only national juried prize for literature that confronts racism and explores diversity. This year’s award recipients including Knopf author Tommy Orange (Fiction) and Penguin Press author Andrew Delbanco (Nonfiction), with a Lifetime Achievement award going to Sonia Sanchez, published by Beacon Press, a Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS) client. Dr. Henry Louis Gates Jr. chaired the Anisfield-Wolf Awards jury, which also included poet Rita Dove, novelist Joyce Carol Oates, psychologist/Penguin Random House author Steven Pinker, and historian Simon Schama.

Vote for PRH Instagram and “The Cat in the Hat Builds That” App, Our Webby Nominees
8 April 2019

Penguin Random House has two Webby Award and Webby People's Voice Award nominees: Penguin Random House Instagram in the “Corporate Communications” portion of the Social Media category and The Cat in the Hat Builds That Random House Children's Books book series and PBS Kids show app, produced by Traci Lawson (RHCB Digital Marketing), Lynn Kestin Sessler, and Alison Folino (RHCB Digital Marketing) for "Best Family & Kids app," in the Apps, Mobile & Voice category, it was announced by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS).

Our Finalists for 2019 Indies Choice, E.B. White Read-Aloud, Indie Champion, and Picture Book Hall of Fame
8 April 2019

The American Booksellers Association has announced the finalists for the 2019 Indies Choice Awards, the E.B. White Read-Aloud Awards, as well as nominees for the Indie Champion Award and Picture Book Fall of Fame honors — and Penguin Random House adult and children’s titles across our divisions are prominently represented. Through “Indies Choice,” independent booksellers from ABA member stores have the opportunity to select their favorite titles published last year, voting for them through April 24 via online balloting. Winners will be announced on May 1 and celebrated, along with the honor book recipients, on Thursday, May 30 at BookExpo 2019 at the Javits Convention Center in New York City.

Finalists for the 2019 Hugo Awards have been announced and include four books published by Penguin Random House imprints. The Hugos are the most prestigious prizes in the science fiction genre, honoring literature and media as well as fan activities. The awards, voted on by members of the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and sponsored by the World Science Fiction Society, were first presented in 1953, and have been presented every year since 1955. Winners of the 2019 Hugos will be announced at Worldcon 77 in Dublin, Ireland on August 18.

Random House Graphic Imprint Now on Twitter and Instagram
5 April 2019

Random House Children’s Books graphic novel imprint Random House Graphic has launched dedicated social media accounts on Twitter and Instagram. These accounts will feature RHG graphic novels, as well as content from other RHCB graphic novels.

For National Poetry Month, how about novels in verse? The young adult genre is rife with popular novels told in poems … and they appeal to adults as well. Add to those classic and contemporary tales written for adults and included in our round-up of acclaimed and prize-winning novels in verse:

The Academy of American Poets designated April as the official month to focus attention on poetry, beginning in 1996. This annual celebration highlights the extraordinary legacy and ongoing achievement of American poets while marking poetry’s important place in our culture and everyday lives. You are invited to celebrate National Poetry Month by signing up for Knopf’s Poem-A-Day program. Each day throughout April, Knopf e-mails out a free poem by a new or established poet drawn from the extensive list of books published by our family of imprints.

There's a Book for That: National Poetry Month
3 April 2019

Poetry is not only dream and vision; it is the skeleton architecture of our lives. It lays the foundations for a future of change, a bridge across our fears of what has never been before. - Audre Lorde Viva Poetry! It’s National Poetry Month, a time when the love of poetry is celebrated the world over. Whether it’s spoken word, poems on the page, from “the academy” or the poets of Instagram that move you most, poetry as an art form is experiencing a renaissance.

The 50th NAACP Image Awards were revealed on Saturday, March 30, in Los Angeles, with books by Penguin Random House authors Michelle Obama, Jacqueline Woodson and Daymond John among the winners. The NAACP Image Awards are considered the preeminent multicultural awards show celebrating the accomplishments of people of color in the fields of television, music, literature and film, and also honors individuals or groups who promote social justice through creative endeavors.

It’s been over two and a half years since Amor Towles’ sophomore novel A GENTLEMAN IN MOSCOW was released in hardcover by Viking, with over 1.5 million copies sold in all formats. It was a New York Times hardcover bestseller for 59 weeks and on the National Indie Bestseller list virtually every week since it was published, through the end of 2018.

Beloved entertainer and dedicated philanthropist John Cena has created a new picture-book series all about perseverance and believing in yourself, featuring a little monster truck named ELBOW GREASE, published by Random House Books for Young Readers. John will be appearing for a “meet & greet, book signing and photo opportunity” at The Strand bookstore in New York City on Friday, April 5, from 4:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Featured Author Event: Matthew Gray Gubler (Brooklyn)
29 March 2019

Criminal Minds actor/director Matthew Gray Gubler is also the author and illustrator of a charming and inspiring new book, RUMPLE BUTTERCUP: A Story of Bananas, Belonging, and Being Yourself, published by Random House Books for Young Readers on Tuesday, April 2. That night, beginning at 7:00 p.m., Gubler will appear for a special “meet & greet” at WORD bookstore in Brooklyn.

Riverhead Table Serves BLACK LEOPARD, RED WOLF-Inspired Dishes, Author Marlon James Chats with Chef Evan Hanczor
29 March 2019

Riverhead Table took a dramatic turn last week, when award-winning chef Evan Hanczor created a 10-course meal inspired by Marlon James’s New York Times-bestselling novel, BLACK LEOPARD, RED WOLF. Tickets to the event at Egg Restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn were sold out, with an extensive waiting list. Appetizers included dates and spiced nuts in medieval pouches, followed by increasingly outlandish dishes: raw goat,

alligator, antelope, and more. A few guests assumed Chef Evan’s menu descriptions were just metaphorical – this turned out to be wishful thinking.

Penguin Random House Audio has announced that playwright Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize‒winning ANGELS IN AMERICA: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes will be available as an audiobook for the first time, narrated by the full cast of the National Theatre’s 2018 Tony Award®‒winning Broadway revival. The audiobook will be released on CD and as a digital download from Random House Audio on May 14.

Hope springs eternal! Major League Baseball’s 2019 season has just begun with the traditional Opening Day. Anything is still possible for your favorite team. Baseball is also setting two age-related firsts this season: at 19, Blue Jays right-handed pitcher Elvis Luciano is the first player in MLB history born in the 21st century. In addition to that milestone, there are officially no more major-leaguers who played in the 1990s, which means there are no more active players from the 20^th century. For the love of the game, dip into some of these fan favorites:

Given the popularity of the current HBO documentary, “Inventor” - about the rise and fall of Theranos, the one-time multibillion-dollar healthcare company founded by Elizabeth Holmes - Silicon Valley’s darker side continues to be a fascinating topic. As we contemplate privacy and social mores in a brave new world, the following books are here to keep readers savvy about the power of Silicon Valley:

Family Secrets Podcast Hosted by Author Dani Shapiro Crosses 1 Million Downloads
28 March 2019

Family Secrets, a podcast hosted by Knopf and Vintage author Dani Shapiro, developed in partnership with How Stuff Works and PRH’s Author Platforms team, has reached 1.1 million downloads just six weeks after its release. On the podcast, Shapiro shares stories of guests who have discovered long-hidden secrets in their families. “It is a program,” says Shapiro, “about secrets that are kept from us, secrets we keep from each other, and the secrets we keep from ourselves.”

Penguin Random House Acquires UK-Based Children’s Publisher Little Tiger Group
27 March 2019

Penguin Random House, the world’s largest trade book publisher, is expanding its international leading position in the children’s book market with its purchase of Little Tiger Group (LTG), the London-based publisher and packager of acclaimed and bestselling children’s books, from birth to young adults. The acquisition was announced today by Markus Dohle, CEO, Penguin Random House, and Monty Bhatia, CEO and Cofounder, Little Tiger Group. Terms of the transaction, which closes on April 1, were not disclosed.

Penguin Random House Acquires UK-Based Children’s Publisher Little Tiger Group
27 March 2019

Contacts: Claire von Schilling: PRH, (212)782-9876; cvonschilling@penguinrandomhouse.com

Dominique Cimina: RHCB, (212)782-9314; dcimina@penguinrandomhouse.com

Lauren Ace, LTG: +44 (0) 20 7386 6723; lace@littletiger.co.uk

Now that spring is here, got the travel bug? Then you may want to check out Emily Nathan’s MY TINY ATLAS: Our World Through Your Eyes, newly published by Ten Speed Press. This book is a stunning visual feast of creative photography and inventive design, with a wanderlust-inspiring and transporting collection of images showing some of the world’s most astounding places. As tour guide, the founder of Tiny Atlas Quarterly—one of the most trusted sources for authentic and inspiring travel photography— takes readers to all corners of the world, from Paris, San Francisco, London, and Buenos Aires to the Arctic Circle, Tanzania, Tahiti, and Mongolia. MY TINY ATLAS visually explores new destinations with an intimate, insider’s view—not of the usual monuments and tourist attractions, but of real people, verdant flora, wild animals, architectural gems, and other details that make you feel what it’s like to truly be in another place.

Individuals can take many different paths to careers in book publishing. The route taken by Hilary Redmon, Vice President & Executive Editor, Random House, was particularly circuitous.. Among Redmon’s career highlights: she edited Tara Westover’s acclaimed #1 New York Times bestseller EDUCATED – an unforgettable memoir about a young girl who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University. The book has been on The New York Times bestseller list for more than a year (57 weeks and counting). To watch Westover’s recent appearance on The Ellen Show, click here. In this “Three Questions for an Editor” interview, Redmon tells us about her pre-Random House life, her first editorial experiences, why EDUCATED resonates with so many readers, and the process of working with Westover on her book.

Special Markets' Lisa Dolin Takes a Sabbatical for the Birds
22 March 2019

Lisa Dolin, Director of Sales for Special Markets Product Management, Penguin Random House, journeyed to the Amazon Rainforest in Peru to volunteer at the Tambopata Macaw Project last summer. In this “On Sabbatical” feature, Lisa presents bird’s-eye glimpses into her amazing adventure – with stories, photos, and even an audio clip of an actual macaw call. To learn why Lisa describes her sabbatical as “by far one of the greatest experiences of my lifetime,” read on.

Celebrating Our Readerlink Children's Publisher Award
22 March 2019

Members of our home-office-based Mass Merchandise Sales team were together in Chicago the night of March 20 to celebrate PRH winning the 2018 Children's Publisher Award bestowed by Readerlink, our valued distribution partner, and North America's largest full-service trade-book distributor.

The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced yesterday that Netflix’s The Who Was? Show, a live-action sketch comedy series for children adapted from Penguin Young Readers’ #1 New York Times bestselling biography series, Who Was?, has been nominated for five Daytime Emmy Awards in the following categories: Outstanding Children’s or Family Viewing Series; Outstanding Writing for a Children’s, Preschool Children’s, Family Viewing; Outstanding Main Title and Graphic Design for a Live Action Program; Outstanding Single Camera Editing; and Outstanding Sound Editing For A Live Action Program.

Last week in Seattle, readers attending Emerald City Comic Con had a special opportunity. In partnership with ReedPOP and the Emerald City Comic Con Writer’s Block Program, Del Rey and Penguin Publishing Group hosted exclusive book club events during the show. Penguin Publishing Group selected SALVATION DAY by Kali Wallace (Berkley, on sale July 9) as the featured title for the science fiction book club. Del Rey selected GODS OF JADE AND SHADOW by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (on sale August 6) as the featured title for the fantasy book club.

Happy Spring! And happy birthday to Reese Witherspoon on Friday, March 22^nd. Reese’s Hello Sunshine Book Club is nearly two years old – it began with ELEANOR OLIPHANT IS COMPLETELY FINE and the current selection is DAISY JONES & THE SIX. Reese’s Hello Sunshine company is described on its site as “a media brand anchored in storytelling, creating and discovering content that celebrates women and puts them at the center of the story. We tell stories big and small, funny stories, complex stories, those that shine a light on where women are at right now and those that help chart a new path forward.” Is this the book club for you? Try one of these Hello Sunshine selections, thus far, from Penguin Random House (with Reese’s comments in quotes):

Readerlink, North America's largest full-service book distributor, has honored Penguin Random House as its 2018 Children's Publisher of the Year.

Three of Our Authors Win 2019 Lukas Prizes
21 March 2019

The Columbia Journalism School and the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard have announced the winners of the 2019 J. Anthony Lukas Prize Project Awards, with three of the five prizes going to one Crown and two Penguin Press authors. They will receive their awards at a ceremony on Tuesday, May 7, at the Nieman Foundation in Cambridge, MA. Established in 1998, the Lukas Prizes recognize excellence in American nonfiction writing from both published books and works in progress on history and topics of American political or social concern.

Tommy Orange Wins 2019 PEN/Hemingway Award—His 3rd Prestigious First-Novel Prize—for THERE THERE
20 March 2019

PEN America announces that Knopf author Tommy Orange’s acclaimed debut, THERE THERE, has won the 2019 PEN/Hemingway Award, which honors a distinguished first novel. Mr. Orange will receive $25,000 underwritten by the Hemingway Family and the Hemingway Foundation, as well as a month-long Residency Fellowship at the Ucross Foundation in Wyoming, a retreat for artists and writers, valued at $10,000.

As high school seniors are finding out which colleges have accepted them, the largest prosecuted college admissions scandal in U.S. history has dominated the news and public conversation. High profile celebrities, CEOs, college coaches and many others have been accused of "cheating the system." Going beyond the headlines, we present the following books:

Penguin Press authors Steve Coll and Zadie Smith, and Alfred A. Knopf first-time novelist Tommy Orange were among the winners of 2018 National Book Critics Circle (NBCC) Awards conferred last night, March 14, during a ceremony at Manhattan’s New School.

Friday Reads: Irish Lit
15 March 2019

“I read hungrily and delightedly, and have realized since that you can’t write unless you read.” ― William Trevor Once again, we turn to the fertile literary ground of Ireland in honor of St. Patrick’s Day this Sunday. Here is some of the most compelling recent fiction and nonfiction hailing from Eire this year:

Riverhead Publishes 3 of 13 Man Booker International Prize Longlisted Titles
15 March 2019

Last year, Riverhead Books published the winner of the Man Booker International Prize, FLIGHTS by Polish author Olga Tokarczuk. The Penguin Random House imprint may have another prize winner on its hands this year. The 2019 The Man Booker International Prize longlist has been announced, and of the 13 titles, three are currently published or forthcoming from Riverhead. Tokarczuk is back on the longlist with her new novel, DRIVE YOUR PLOW OVER THE BONES OF THE DEAD, forthcoming from Riverhead this August. Also on the longlist are two current Riverhead titles: MOUTHFUL OF BIRDS by rising Argentinian star Samanta Schweblin, and THE SHAPE OF RUINS by renowned Colombian writer Juan Gabriel Vásquez.

Random House author Danielle McLaughlin, Penguin Books author Rebecca Solnit, along with Penguin Random House Canada / McClelland & Stewart author David Chariandy, were among the eight winners of the prestigious Windham-Campbell Prizes for 2019, announced on March 12 in London. Each of the winners will receive a $165,000 cash award to support their creative works.

Calling all music fans! Daisy Jones & The Six just released to an already dedicated following … destined to top the charts! The novel’s milieu of '70s rock 'n’ roll and the triumphs and travails of a band and its beautiful singer caused us to riff on the theme. So here’s your backstage pass to hang with the bands … in books:

Fantasy fiction fans in Colorado take note: New York Times bestselling author Anne Bishop will be discussing her new Ace novel, WILD COUNTRY, on Thursday night at the Tattered Cover bookstore in Denver. This free event begins at 7:00 p.m. and Bishop will sign copies of her book following her talk and an audience Q&A.

The 2019 shortlists for the prestigious J. Anthony Lukas Prize Project Awards, sponsored by the Columbia Journalism School and the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, include five of our authors. Established in 1998, these awards recognize excellence in American nonfiction writing from both published books and works in progress on history and topics of American political or social concern.

Lauren Groff’s FLORIDA Wins The Story Prize
8 March 2019

Lauren Groff's FLORIDA, published by Riverhead Books, has won the 15th annual Story Prize for short fiction, it was announced on Wednesday, March 6, at an awards ceremony at the New School in Manhattan. Groff received $20,000 and an engraved silver bowl. Judges praised Groff's book as an "immersive experience" into the "beauty and awfulness" of the state of Florida. Her story collection was previously named a 2018 National Book Award Fiction finalist. Among the many fans of FLORIDA is former President Barack Obama, who listed the title among his favorite books of 2018.

Madeline McIntosh was the Benefit Chair of last night’s Poets & Writers gala in Manhattan. This annual event, celebrating America’s largest nonprofit service organization dedicated to fostering the professional development of poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers, brought together people from across the book industry, and raised a record $750,000.

Today, we celebrate International Women’s Day. In 1977, the United Nations General Assembly invited member states to proclaim March 8 as the UN Day for women's rights and world peace. This year, The International Women's Day 2019 campaign theme of #BalanceforBetter is “a call-to-action for driving gender balance across the world.” Forward the cause by reading one, or all, of our featured titles including Nobel Prize winners, graphic memoirs, diaries and oral histories from war zones as well as bestselling biographies of women who have left an indelible mark on our world:

Pamela Dorman Books/Viking is pleased to announce the publication of Jojo Moyes’s new stand-alone novel, THE GIVER OF STARS. Publisher Pamela Dorman acquired North American rights from Sheila Crowley at Curtis Brown, Ltd. The book will be published in the United States in hardcover, e-book, and audio formats on October 8, 2019.

Today, Live Nation and Crown Publishing announced all remaining moderators for the final tour dates of “BECOMING: An Intimate Conversation with Michelle Obama.” Produced by Live Nation, the tour continues next Wednesday, March 13, in St. Paul, MN, with Michele Norris joining as moderator. Before the highly successful tour wraps, Mrs. Obama will bring out an incredible array of moderators to join her on the final dates of her journey, including comedian and television show host Conan O’Brien, chef and television personality Carla Hall, former Let's Move! executive director Sam Kass, broadcaster Robin Roberts, late-night host Jimmy Kimmel, television host Rachael Ray, comedian Phoebe Robinson, actress and comedian Jessica Williams, late-night host Stephen Colbert, journalist Isha Sesay, former senior adviser to President Barack Obama Valerie Jarrett, and television personality Gayle King.

Random House Acquires New Samin Nosrat Cookbook
6 March 2019

Random House has acquired a new cookbook by Samin Nosrat, the James Beard Award–winning and New York Times bestselling author of SALT, FAT, ACID, HEAT. World rights, excluding UK, were preempted and negotiated by Gina Centrello, President of Random House, from Kari Stuart at ICM. Random House Editor In Chief Andy Ward will edit the book, to be titled WHAT TO COOK, for Ten Speed Press, an industry-leading publisher of food, lifestyle, and design books based in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Penguin Random House South East Asia Unveils Debut Publishing Program
6 March 2019

Penguin Random House South East Asia has unveiled its first publishing catalog and plans to publish more than 90 titles from various genres this year, beginning in April. The announcement of the program marks a key milestone in the history of this Penguin Random House subsidiary, which was founded in October 2018.

Welcome Women’s History Month! In 1987, after being petitioned by the National Women’s History Project, Congress designated the month of March “Women’s History Month.” While women’s rights and issues have continued to see progress since then, there is more to do. The Equal Rights Amendment has yet to become part of the United States Constitution and many young people don’t know what it is. Women's History Month allows for reflection and education - where we've been and where we need to go. It's also a time to honor all the activists, leaders, creators, pioneers, athletes, artists that have furthered, and continue to strengthen, the role and visibility of women in the world. Here are some of the more recent, excellent books about inspiring women and their achievements that do so:

This time of year, parents with teens bound for college are grappling with how to best help their children make a smooth transition to this all-important next life chapter of their lives. Dr. Monique Rinere’s COUNTDOWN TO COLLEGE: The Essential Steps to Your Child’s Successful Launch (Ballantine) presents a unique month-by-month road map to a college experience that is rich, rewarding, and successful for teens and parents alike. Dr. Rinere, a three-time Ivy League dean, distills lessons and shares stories (some cautionary, some entertaining, all helpful) from her long college advisory career.

Penguin Random House Audio won five prizes, including two for Tara Westover’s #1 New York Times bestseller EDUCATED, last night, March 4, at the 24th annual Audie Awards® ceremony in New York. The Audio Publishers Association (APA) annually presents the premier awards program for audiobooks in the United States, recognizing excellence in audiobooks and spoken-word entertainment.

Penguin Random House Supports the NYPL by Tripling Donation Amounts
5 March 2019

As part of our ongoing commitment to supporting a culture of reading and building the widest possible audience for our authors, Penguin Random House is proud to once again partner with the New York Public Library via a program to triple gift amounts donated to NYPL. Together, PRH and NYPL are providing people with essential benefits that go beyond the access to free books. Donations received from the campaign will ensure that New Yorkers continue to have access to critical free resources such as computers, early literacy workshops, job training classes, and more.

The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment has announced the finalists for the 2019 “One Book, One New York” campaign, the exciting citywide initiative that brings book-loving New Yorkers together to read the same book at the same time. Now in its third year, in partnership with BuzzFeed Book Club, and coinciding with Women’s History Month, “One Book, One New York” features five acclaimed books, all written by women, including Fatima Farheen Mirza’s A PLACE FOR US (SJP for Hogarth, paperback edition on sale now). To view all of this year’s finalists, click here.

Penguin Random House and the National Council of Teachers of English announce a new partnership to recognize the nation’s most dynamic and resourceful teachers who use their creativity to inspire and successfully instill a lifelong love of reading in students. Two teachers will be awarded $10,000 grants to help make their innovative reading programs possible. In addition, honorable mentions will receive book donations for their classrooms from Penguin Random House.

The fascinating tale of a fictional ‘70s rock band is chronicled in DAISY JONES & THE SIX, Taylor Jenkins Reid‘s riveting new novel written as an oral history – a literary roller-coaster ride marked by sex, drugs and rock & roll, with fly-on-the-wall glimpses of life in the recording studio, on the road and backstage. #1 on the March Indie Next list and the Penguin Random House Spring Title Wave pick, this Ballantine book has already earned many fans, including actress Reese Witherspoon, who raved, “I devoured DAISY JONES & THE SIX in a day, falling head over heels for it. Taylor Jenkins Reid transported me into the magic of the ’70s music scene in a way I’ll never forget. The characters are beautifully layered and complex. Daisy and the band captured my heart, and they’re sure to capture yours, too.”

Featured Author Event: Amber Tamblyn (NYC)
4 March 2019

Amber Tamblyn, author, actor and director, is discussing her new Crown Archetype book, ERA OF IGNITION: Coming of Age in a Time of Rage and Revolution, at The Strand bookstore in Manhattan on Tuesday, March 5, from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tamblyn will be in conversation with Cecile Richards, a national leader for women’s rights and social and economic justice. For more information about this Featured Author Event, click here.

Friday Reads: Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!
1 March 2019

“Remember me and smile, for it's better to forget than to remember me and cry.” ― Dr. Seuss Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss! 28 years after the beloved author's death we continue to honor the life and work of Dr. Seuss who was born Theodor Seuss Geisel on March 2^nd, 1904 in Springfield, Massachusetts. Reading parties are taking place in libraries, schools and bookstores across the country in celebration. Through its Seussville site, Penguin Random House offers parents, children, librarians and teachers resources and activities they need to keep reading on the calendar 365 days a year! The following hilarious, silly, wise, colorful, eccentric titles are among Dr. Seuss’ lesser known books - well worth discovering! And be sure to read to the bottom for exciting new releases!

The Binc Foundation and Penguin Random House have announced INDIES WITH IMPACT, a new grant opportunity open to independent bookstores. Two grants will be awarded to two bookstores that work in tandem with a community nonprofit or organization of their choice for a program that strengthens their local communities and encourages a passion for reading. Applications will be accepted March 1 – May 1, 2019 and again during this period in 2020. A total of $3,000 will be awarded over the two years.

A new Dr. Seuss children’s book about creating and experiencing art will be published by Random House Children’s Books on September 3, 2019, with a first printing of 250,000 copies, it was announced today by Mallory Loehr, SVP, Publisher, Random House Books for Young Readers, and Susan Brandt, President, Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. The original manuscript for DR. SEUSS’S HORSE MUSEUM was discovered in the late author’s La Jolla home 21 years after his death, alongside the manuscript for the 2015 #1 New York Times bestseller What Pet Should I Get?

PEN America, the U.S. chapter of the world’s leading international literary-human rights organization, celebrated the winners of its 2019 Literary Awards last night, February 26, at a Manhattan ceremony. Will Mackin’s short story collection, published by Random House, and three titles published by Penguin Random House Publisher Services publisher clients, took home prizes. Vintage author Sandra Cisneros was presented with the PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature.

There's a Book For That: Grand Canyon National Park Turns 100!
27 February 2019

You cannot see the Grand Canyon in one view, as if it were a changeless spectacle from which a curtain might be lifted, but to see it, you have to toil from month to month through its labyrinths. - John Wesley Powell Happy 100^th birthday Grand Canyon! The national park opened to the public on February 26, 1919 Colorful graphic of Grand Canyon

and centennial events will be ongoing throughout this year. One of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World, “Grand Canyon welcomes approximately six million domestic and international visitors each year. After 100 years, whether it’s hiking a corridor trail, taking a stroll on the rim or enjoying the landscape from an overlook, Grand Canyon continues to provide a space for all visitors to connect with the outdoors.” (NPS.gov) To honor the centennial, we are featuring the following natural history titles that continue to educate and inspire readers of all ages:

Our 5 Finalists for 2019 Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards
26 February 2019

The Children’s Book Council and Every Child a Reader have announced the finalists for the 12th annual Children’s and Teen Choice Book Awards, the only national book awards voted on entirely by children and teens. Five of the nominated titles are published by Penguin Random House imprints or Penguin Random House Publisher Services clients. The three categories of children’s finalists were chosen in pre-voting by kids in different regions of the U.S., with supervision by the International Literacy Association. The finalists in the teen category were nominated by young readers at TeenReads.com.

Thirty-five years ago, Sue Grafton launched one of the most acclaimed and celebrated mystery series of all time with A IS FOR ALIBI, and with it created the model of the modern female detective with Kinsey Millhone, a feisty, whip-smart woman who is not above breaking the rules to solve a case or save a life. Like her fictional alter ego, Grafton was a true original, a model for every woman who has ever struck out on her own independent way.

Colleagues in and around Los Angeles take note: Chris Cander, author of THE WEIGHT OF A PIANO, published by Knopf, is appearing at Skylight Books in Los Angeles on Wednesday, February 27. Cander will be in conversation with Helga Kasimoff, who operates a Pasadena piano dealership, well known for restoring and placing Blüthner pianos (a key element in Cander’s novel) in homes, colleges and universities.

Lights, camera, action! The 91st Academy Awards show is this Sunday, February 24, at The Dolby Theatre in the heart of Hollywood. This puts us in the mood for novels about Hollywood and its stars, past and present. Over the weekend, roll out the red blanket and get cozy with these tales of tinsel town, both new and classic:

The Aspen Words Literary Prize has announced this year's five finalists, including two books published by Penguin Random House imprints: Jennifer Clement’s GUN LOVE (Hogarth) and Tommy Orange’s THERE THERE (Alfred A. Knopf). The Aspen Institute's annual prize was established in 2018 to recognize “an influential work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue and demonstrates the transformative power of literature on thought and culture.”

Our 16 L.A. Times Book Prize Finalists, and Our Innovator’s Award Honoree
21 February 2019

The Los Angeles Times announced the finalists for its 39th annual Book Prizes, 16 of which are published by Penguin Random House imprints. Library of America, a Penguin Random House Publishers Services client, is being honored with the Innovator’s Award, which spotlights efforts to bring books, publishing and storytelling into the future.

There's a Book for That: Black History Month
20 February 2019

Exhaust the little moment. Soon it dies. And be it gash or gold it will not come again in this identical guise. -Gwendolyn Brooks In honor of Black History Month we present classics and contemporary biographies, memoirs, essays, history, even poetry, from a broad spectrum of voices. Speaking to slavery, civil rights, the arts and current events, these books will educate and engage readers of all ages. For more excellent resources visit https://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov.

Climbing the highest mountain in Africa requires rigorous training, a long-range plan, strong drive, courage and commitment; Jessica Wells, Director, Customer Operations, Penguin Random House, exhibited all of these as she successfully summited Mt. Kilimanjaro last month. In this special Igloo Interview, Jessica talks about what inspired her to take on this personal challenge, offers colorful insights into her remarkable journey and trek (accompanied by some amazing photos), and shares what accomplishing this feat meant to her.

On Monday, February 18, we celebrate Presidents’ Day. Established in 1885, it is still officially called “Washington’s Birthday” by the federal government. As we reflect on our American Presidents past and present, 2020 presidential hopefuls are beginning to declare their candidacy for the office and a number of them have books that are published by Penguin Random House. Kids and adults can get to know these potential presidential candidates better in the following titles:

It is with sadness that we share that prolific military fiction author William E. Butterworth III, known the world over as W.E.B. Griffin, died on Tuesday, February 12. He was 89.

HOW DEMOCRACIES DIE Wins 2019 Goldsmith Book Prize
14 February 2019

HOW DEMOCRACIES DIE by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, published by Crown, Broadway, and Random House Audio, has been selected as the trade category winner of the 2019 Goldsmith Book Prize, awarded to the trade and academic books published in the United States in the last 24 months that best fulfill the objective of improving democratic governance through an examination of the intersection between the media, politics and public policy. The prize is judged by faculty members affiliated with Harvard’s Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy.

Vintage Author Sandra Cisneros Wins PEN/Nabokov Award
14 February 2019

Sandra Cisneros, a celebrated Mexican American novelist, poet and short story writer whose Vintage books include THE HOUSE ON MANGO STREET, WOMAN HOLLERING CREEK and MY WICKED WICKED WAYS, has won the PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature. PEN America Literary Awards program director Nadxieli Nieto credited Cisneros with "inspiring a new era of Latinx writers we see emerging today," and noted, "A focus on cross-cultural dialogue, translation and international literature has long been at the heart of PEN America's Literary Awards program, and it is especially fitting that a binational writer with such an impressive and lyrical body of work is the PEN/Nabokov honoree this year. We are immensely honored to present this award to Sandra Cisneros.” She will receive her award on February 26 at the 2019 PEN America Literary Awards Ceremony in New York City.

Putnam author Randy Wayne White has won the 2019 Florida Lifetime Achievement Award for Writing, this year’s honor shared with historian Raymond O. Arsenault. The Florida Humanities Council sponsors the award to “recognize divergent writers who have introduced Florida culture and history to a wide audience.” A five-person panel of judges praised White and Arsenault as “giants in their respective fields.”

There’s a Book For That: Love Poems
13 February 2019

“Love shook my heart Like the wind on the mountain rushing over the oak trees.” ― Sappho Whether or not you’ve been struck with cupid’s arrow, Valentine’s Day is THE auspicious occasion for love poetry. And we’ve got beautiful volumes to captivate the smitten and non-smitten alike: From lyrical to haiku to prose poems, Instagram to humorous verse. Reflecting various periods and cultures, these classic and contemporary poets, including our recently passed Mary Oliver, speak to the passions of the newly entangled, the long-married, the happily single, the hopeful, and heartbroken lovers amongst us. Happy Valentine's Day!

Anyone who has ever been swept up in the magical Land of Oz will enjoy reading Elizabeth Letts’ FINDING DOROTHY, our new Igloo Book Buzz selection. Published by Ballantine, this richly imagined novel tells the story behind The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, the book that inspired the iconic film, through the eyes of author L. Frank Baum’s wife, Maud.

Featured Author Event: Jill Santopolo (Denver)
11 February 2019

Attention colleagues in Colorado: Jill Santopolo, Philomel Associate Publisher and bestselling author, will present her new book, MORE THAN WORDS (Putnam) on Wednesday, February 13, at the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver. This free event begins at 9:00 p.m., Santopolo’s reading and talk to be followed by a Q&A and book signing.

As a young mother facing a terminal diagnosis, Julie Yip-Williams began to write her story, a story like no other. What started out as the chronicle of an imminent and early death became something much more—a powerful exhortation to the living. With humor, bracing honesty, and the cleansing power of well-deployed anger, Julie set the stage for her lasting legacy and one final miracle: the story of her life, which became her newly published Random House book, THE UNWINDING OF THE MIRACLE: A Memoir of Life, Death, and Everything That Comes After.

Chris Jackson One of TIME’s “12 Leaders Who Are Shaping the Next Generation of Artists”
8 February 2019

The Art of Optimism, a TIME Magazine special issue edited by Ava Duvernay, on newsstands for two weeks beginning February 8, features an article, “12 Leaders Who Are Shaping the Next Generation of Artists,” in which Chris Jackson, Publisher and Editor in Chief, One World, is one of the dozen individuals recognized.

The Audio Publishers Association has announced its 2019 Audie Awards finalists, including 17 Penguin Random House Audio titles. These awards recognize excellence in audiobooks and spoken word entertainment. The winners will be announced at a gala awards ceremony on March 4 in Manhattan.

Chinese New Year and its culminating celebration, The Lantern Festival on February 19^th, incorporate ancient Taoist traditions. Taoism (or “The Way”) is a Chinese philosophy attributed to Lao Tzu and is popular in the West through martial arts, mindfulness, yoga and other practices. “The Tao” advocates a life of complete simplicity in harmony with nature and is a metaphor for one’s essence, or philosophy of living. This week, we are anchoring our otherwise pop-cultural approach with the acclaimed new translation of the essential Taoist text, the Tao Te Ching:

How Delia Owens Created Her Breakout Debut Novel, Starring Kya “The Marsh Girl”
7 February 2019

Legions of readers continue to flock to WHERE THE CRAWDADS SING (G. P. Putnam’s Sons), the mesmerizing first novel by Delia Owens, propelling the title to #1 on The New York Times hardcover fiction and combined print & eBook fiction bestseller lists. One of the book’s most enthusiastic fans is actress Reese Witherspoon, who made it a Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine Book Club Pick, is producing a feature film adaptation, and said, “I can’t even express how much I love this book! I didn’t want this story to end!” Throughout the narrative, Kya Clark, “The Marsh Girl,” emerges as a literary character for the ages.

Clarkson Potter and Ten Speed Press took home awards at the 2018 André Simon Food and Drink Book Awards, the most prestigious food and drink book honors in the U.K., essentially the equivalent of the James Beard Awards in the U.S., at a ceremony in London on Tuesday, February 5. The Ten Speed Press title, THE SOMMELIER’S ATLAS OF TASTE: A Field Guide to the Great Wines of Europe by Rajat Parr and Jordan Mackay, won the André Simon Drink Award. This marks the second year in a row that a TSP book has won this prize. The Clarkson Potter title, TOGETHER: Our Community Cookbook by the HUBB Community Kitchen, with a foreword by HRH The Duchess of Sussex, received an André Simon Special Commendation Award.

Soon to be a major motion picture: THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR, the #1 New York Times bestseller and National Book Award Finalist from Delacorte Press author Nicola Yoon, also the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING. THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR hits theaters nationwide on May 17. Warner Brothers Pictures released the film’s first trailer this week. The paperback movie tie-in edition of THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR goes on sale April 16, and will feature key movie cover art as well as a photo insert.

“Gripping, action-packed … The literary equivalent of a Marvel Comics universe — filled with dizzying, magpie references to old movies and recent TV, ancient myths and classic comic books, and fused into something new and startling by his gifts for language and sheer inventiveness.” That is how book reviewer Michiko Kakutani describes Marlon James’ BLACK LEOPARD, RED WOLF, published on February 5 by Riverhead, in The New York Times Book Review.

There's a Book for That: The Year of the Pig
6 February 2019

I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it. - George Bernard Shaw Welcome to the Year of the Pig! Chinese New Year was celebrated on February 5^th and according to the Chinese lunar calendar, 2019 is the year of the pig/boar. Publisher North Atlantic Books tells us: “Legend has it that when the Lord Buddha summoned all of the animals to bid him farewell before he departed the Earth, only 12 showed up. And to show his appreciation, he named a year for each animal in the order of its arrival. The animal that rules the year of your birth is said to have a profound influence over your life. Hence, the Chinese have coined the saying, “This is the animal that hides in your heart.” The Smithsonian Channel is airing “Amazing Pigs” this month showcasing pigs’ remarkable senses, intelligence, and adaptability. Seems like a fine time to learn more about them. Pig tales both true and fictional await readers of all ages:

First Set of Moderators Announced for “BECOMING: An Intimate Conversation with Michelle Obama” 2019 Tour Dates
5 February 2019

Today, Crown Publishing and Live Nation announced the first set of moderators for the 2019 tour dates of “BECOMING: An Intimate Conversation with Michelle Obama.” Produced by Live Nation, the extension of the highly successful tour kicks off in Tacoma, WA, this Friday, February 8, at the Tacoma Dome with late-night TV show host Jimmy Kimmel. Additionally, Phoebe Robinson will join Mrs. Obama on stage once again as moderator at the Moda Center in Portland, OR, on February 9, with Valerie Jarrett moderating the February 12 event at the Comerica Theater in Phoenix, AZ.

The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) has released its annual Notable Children’s Recordings list, which recognizes recordings for children 14 years of age and younger of especially commendable quality that demonstrate respect for young people’s intelligence and imagination. The 2019 Notable Children’s Recordings list includes 7 audiobook titles published by Penguin Random House Audio’s Listening Library:

You are invited to hear author Sigrid Nunez talk about THE FRIEND, winner of the 2018 National Book Award for Fiction, in conversation with Lisa Lucas, Executive Director of the National Book Foundation, on Friday, February 8, at Books Are Magic in Brooklyn. This free event begins at 7:30 p.m.

The Rainbow Book List Committee has announced its 2019 Rainbow Book List, recognizing books with significant gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer/questioning content, for young readers and teens 18 and under, with 13 titles published by Penguin Random House imprints, and 4 by Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS) clients:

Four of the six finalists for Barnes & Noble’s 2018 Discover Great New Writers Awards are published by Penguin Random House imprints. The finalists share a cash prize totaling $105,000. The winners, who will each receive $30,000, will be announced on Wednesday, March 6, at an awards ceremony in New York City.

Featured Author Event: Joseph Finder (NYC)
1 February 2019

You are invited to join New York Times bestselling author Joseph Finder, who will be discussing his new Dutton book, JUDGMENT, with his brother, Henry Finder, New Yorker Editorial Director, on Monday, February 4 at Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center (1 E 65^th St.) in NYC.

This week marks the 45^th anniversary of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, which launched the great tradition of role-playing games in 1974 with an unprecedented mix of adventure and strategy, dice-rolling, and storytelling. It became a phenomenon by tapping into the innate human need to gather with friends and tell an exciting story together. In honor of the occasion, we are highlighting the most popular and forthcoming D&D tie-in titles to escape into…

THE CUT OUT GIRL Wins Costa Book of the Year Award
31 January 2019

Bart van Es' THE CUT OUT GIRL: A Story of War and Family, Lost and Found, published by Penguin Press in the U.S. and Canada, has won the £30,000 Costa Book of the Year Award, after winning a Costa Book Award in the Biography category earlier this year. Telling the extraordinary true story of Lien de Jong, the narrative chronicles how a young Jewish girl survived in Holland during World War II, hiding from the Nazis in the homes of an underground network of foster families, one of them the author’s grandparents. Mr. van Es accepted the prize at the Costa Awards ceremony in London on Tuesday, January 28, with Ms. de Jong at his side.

Rounding out our coverage of this week’s American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter meeting, a DK book and multiple Penguin Random House Audio titles were the recipients of awards and honors:

The American Library Association (ALA) announced more prize winners and honorees at their Midwinter Meeting. Our titles recognized for the following awards and honors:

RH Copy Chief Benjamin Dreyer on His Second Career As An Author + Some Grammatical Tips
30 January 2019

“Can a book about grammar be fun? Yes! Random House’s longtime copy chief offers friendly guidance on everything from when to use the dreaded 'whom,' to words you should dump immediately …” So begins a rave People Magazine Pick for DREYER’S ENGLISH: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style by Benjamin Dreyer, published by Random House on January 29. Publishers Weekly bestowed a starred review, saying: “This work is that rare writing handbook that writers might actually want to read straight through, rather than simply consult.”

Colleagues in the vicinity of the San Francisco Bay Area take note: Howard Schultz, the longtime CEO and chairman of Starbucks, will be discussing his new Random House book, FROM THE GROUND UP: A Journey to Reimagine the Promise of America, on Friday, February 1, at the Jewish Community Center in San Francisco.

Happy publication week to Claire Adams and her debut novel from SJP for Hogarth, GOLDEN CHILD. Set in the author’s native Trinidad, the novel’s compelling narrative and setting brought to mind other Caribbean fiction. Given the news, and warnings, about this week’s arctic blast hitting many states in the U.S., we figure an immersive journey to warmer climes would be welcomed.

The American Library Association (ALA) continues to announce a cavalcade of award winners and honorees at their Midwinter Meeting, underway. Among our recognized titles:

The annual American Library Association (ALA) Midwinter Meeting is the occasion for an array of coveted prizes and honors bestowed upon distinguished children’s and adult books and audios, published (mostly) in the past year. The first group of awards were announced last night, Sunday, January 27, led by the Andrew Carnegie Medals.

Penguin Random House Launches New Award with the ALA: Innovation Through Adversity
28 January 2019

This past weekend, the American Library Association (ALA) Council announced the debut of the Penguin Random House Library Award for Innovation Through Adversity, an exciting new partnership created to support the librarians and staff at libraries nationwide. Through this program, a principal awardee will receive $10,000 in cash and four runners-up will receive $1,000 each. The criteria for the winners is to have overcome adversity to create lasting innovative community service programs that inspire and connect with readers.

MAKE ME A WORLD, New RHCB Imprint Led by Christopher Myers, to Launch First List This Fall
25 January 2019

MAKE ME A WORLD, a new Random House Children’s Books imprint led by Christopher Myers, award-winning author and artist and son of the late acclaimed author Walter Dean Myers, will launch its first list in Fall 2019, it was announced by Michelle Frey, Executive Editor, Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers.

The Mystery Writers of America (MWA) has announced the nominees for the 2019 Edgar Allan Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction as well as television teleplays published or produced in 2018. Seven books published by Penguin Random House imprints and Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS) publisher clients earned nominations in the following categories:

Last Friday, the Riverhead Pop-Up Reading Room took over lunch hour at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, a creative hub for over 400 businesses and 9,000 employees. The Pop-Up series, which in the past has centered around Caribbean Heritage Month and Banned Books Week, selected “Read to Reinvent” as the theme of this pop-up, with the goal of celebrating new ideas and playful creativity in the spirit of reinvention this New Year.

Friday Reads: James Baldwin
25 January 2019

“You read a book, and everything is activated. You watch a movie, and it's a very passive experience. In a book, the author describes the smell. Through synesthesia, you intellectually smell this thing in your head.” – Barry Jenkins, Director of If Beale Street Could Talk If Beale Street Could Talk, the first feature film adaptation in English of a James Baldwin novel, is nominated for three Academy Awards, including best supporting actress and best adapted screenplay. As its director, Barry Jenkins, said in a PBS NewsHour interview about the process: “Baldwin's stock and trade was the interior voice, the interior life.” Penguin Random House is the proud publisher of James Baldwin’s oevre which we invite you to discover (or rediscover):

Our Finalists for the 2019 PEN America Literary Awards
24 January 2019

PEN America has announced the shortlists for its 2019 Literary Awards in the categories of debut novel, debut short story collection, nonfiction, essay, biography, literary sports writing, literary science writing, and translation as well as the PEN/Jean Stein Book Award. The 13 finalists published by Penguin Random House imprints and Penguin Random House Publisher Services publisher clients are below:

As the U.S. federal government shutdown continues in its fifth week, more than 800,000 workers across the country are experiencing unexpected and sudden income loss. To help support these furloughed federal employees during this difficult time, Penguin Random House has donated to #ChefsForFeds, which is providing free meals to them through World Central Kitchen, a network of restaurants and food trucks established by Jose Andrés. Andrés is a chef, philanthropist, and author of Penguin Random House titles MADE IN SPAIN (Clarkson Potter, 2008) and TAPAS (Clarkson Potter, 2005).

New E L James Novel THE MISTER to Be Published by Vintage in April 2019
24 January 2019

E L James to publish her first novel following the blockbuster global phenomenon and #1 worldwide bestselling Fifty Shades of Grey series. Vintage Books sets publication of James’s THE MISTER in April 2019.

Housing and homelessness are critical issues in America. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the current government shutdown is negatively affecting vulnerable populations, including the homeless, who are living without a safety net. And a growing share of the nation’s renters cannot afford to live in the cities where they work. Penguin Random House publishes a number of books about the topic – from sociological studies to memoirs and even young readers’ fiction. These are titles that examine varied roots and causes while creating empathy and inspiring action:

WINNERS TAKE ALL Named 800-CEO-READ Business Book of the Year
22 January 2019

Anand Giridharadas’s WINNERS TAKE ALL: The Elite Charade of Changing the World (Alfred A. Knopf) has received the 800-CEO-READ Business Book of the Year Award for 2018. The award was presented last week at the company’s annual industry gathering in New York City.

Our 8 NBCC Award Finalists
22 January 2019

Congratulations to our 8 National Book Critics Circle finalists for their 2018 Awards. Founded in 1974, the NBCC now comprises more than 1,000 working critics and book-review editors throughout the country, who annually vote and bestow its awards in six categories, honoring the best books published in the past year in the United States.

This week The Walter Dean Myers Award for Outstanding Children’s Literature was announced. Named for prolific children’s and young adult author Walter Dean Myers (1937-2014), “The Walter” awards honor Myers’ memory and literary legacy. A two-time Newbery Award winner, Walter Dean Myers was the third National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature, appointed in 2012 by the Library of Congress. He was a champion of diversity in children’s books.

Colleagues in the vicinity of Washington, DC take note: New York Times bestselling author Dani Shapiro will be discussing her new book, INHERITANCE: A Memoir of Genealogy, Paternity and Love, published by Alfred A. Knopf, on Monday, January 21, at Politics & Prose. Shapiro will be in conversation with journalist Jennifer Mendelsohn, whose work has appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post and Slate. This free, one-hour event begins at 7:00 p.m.

There's a Book for That: Diversity at Work
16 January 2019

"The more conversations you have … the more awareness and empathy there will be for the unique challenges people of color face at work." – Porter Braswell, author of LET THEM SEE YOU As we talk about diversity in the workplace, and actively listen to one another, books can enlighten and assist the conversation. To that end, we are highlighting the following titles that inspire discussion and growth:

LET THEM SEE YOU Author Porter Braswell Tackles Workplace Diversity and Inclusion
15 January 2019

Porter Braswell, the CEO and co-founder of Jopwell, the leading career advancement platform for Black, Latinx, and Native American students and professionals, shares straight-talking advice and mentorship for diverse careerists, from college students to mid-level professionals, in LET THEM SEE YOU: The Guide for Leveraging Your Diversity at Work, published by Lorena Jones Books/Ten Speed Press on Tuesday, January 15.

Thank you, Claudio, and farewell!
14 January 2019

Dear all,

All of us are deeply shocked and greatly saddened over the events of the last 24 hours. I am still struggling to come to grips with the idea that Claudio has left us and will not be coming back. Claudio was, is and will be a great editor, a truly outstanding one, who devoted his whole life to his passion, which was no other than texts, books and authors. He felt that passion so keenly that he turned it into a craft, to which he dedicated all his energy and his wisdom. With his passing, we have lost an icon and one of the most influential figures of Spanish language publishing. We have also lost a great friend and colleague.

Join Karen Thompson Walker, the New York Times bestselling author of THE AGE OF MIRACLES, for a discussion of her new novel, THE DREAMERS, with fellow Penguin Random House author Emily St. John Mandel (STATION ELEVEN), on Tuesday night, January 15, at Books Are Magic in Brooklyn. The hour-long free event begins at 7:30 p.m.

“The wall” is a dominant image and concept of the moment. Throughout history, walls have gone up and come down. Many books about walls are often really about building bridges, metaphorically speaking. This weekend, you can bridge a gap in your reading life and consider the following fiction and memoir set in lands near and far for adults and kids, each with a wall as the central construct:

Virginia Governor Ralph R. Northam proclaimed that February 10-16, 2019 will be recognized as “Random Acts of Kindness Week” for the commonwealth of Virginia, and referenced the works of Crown author Jamil Zaki, Professor of Psychology at Stanford University: Studies show that “people imitate not only the particulars of positive actions, but also the spirit underlying them … this implies that kindness in itself is contagious and that it can cascade across people, taking on new forms along the way.” -- Jamil Zaki

Penguin Random House has partnered with lululemon, the pioneering technical athletic apparel company, to launch a cozy pop-up library in lululemon’s HUB Seventeen community space in NYC’s Flatiron building. The pop-up library is an opportunity to connect Penguin Random House books and authors with wellness-focused readers, yoga enthusiasts and other mindful consumers.

Featured Author Event: Chris Bohjalian (Westminster)
9 January 2019

New York Times-bestselling author Chris Bohjalian will be discussing his novel, THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT, on Thursday, January 10, in Westminster, Maryland at “A Likely Story Bookstore” event at Carroll County Community College’s Scotts Center Theater, beginning at 7:00 p.m.

In this month of resolutions, most of us want sustainable solutions for our health and happiness rather than the quick fix. When you sort through the overwhelming spate of diet and nutrition information – from Ayurvedic to Keto to Vegan to Zone diets – plant-based eating rises to the top of healthy recommendations. And, although January 10^th is Houseplant Appreciation Day – we do not recommend nibbling on your spider plant! Here are some of the most popular books in the category:

”DK Life Stories” Launches with Six New Biographies for Young Readers
8 January 2019

Albert Einstein, Anne Frank, Gandhi, Helen Keller, Katherine Johnson, and Martin Luther King, Jr. are the subjects of the first six titles featured in DK Life Stories, a new biography series for children. Published on Tuesday, January 8, each book goes beyond the basic facts to tell true life stories of some of history's most interesting people.

Michelle Obama's BECOMING is USA TODAY's #1 Book of 2018
7 January 2019

BECOMING by Michelle Obama (Crown) has earned the top spot on USA TODAY’s 100 bestsellers of 2018 list, according to final 2018 data announced by the newspaper on Saturday, January 5. USA TODAY reporters Christopher Schnaars and Mary Cadden commented: “While the majority of the top 100 bestsellers in 2018 are fiction, it was one heartfelt memoir that topped this year's list. Former first lady Michelle Obama, a.k.a. America’s most admired woman, dominated book sales in 2018, landing the No. 1 spot on the USA TODAY’s year-end top 100 best-selling books. Pretty impressive considering BECOMING was only published this past November.”

Six books published in the past year by Penguin Random House imprints – whose “covers,” a.k.a. "jackets," were created by our talented art directors and designers – are among the 12 recognized by The New York Times Book Review for its list of “Best Book Covers of 2018,” published in the December 23 print edition. Congratulations to our colleagues, whose distinctive and wonderfully imaginative work can be viewed below:

“Let Them Read”– PRH and Legal Aid Bringing Books to Kids in Court
4 January 2019

Last week, the Legal Aid Society announced a new campaign in collaboration with Penguin Random House called “Let Them Read,” which brings books into courtrooms for young New Yorkers to read while they wait for their cases to be called. PRH donated more than 200 titles for the launch of the pilot program in Brooklyn.

“If, then, my awareness of the past and future makes me less aware of the present, I must begin to wonder whether I am actually living in the real world.” - Alan Watts Are you present in the New Year? How can we avoid living in the past, or for the future, and missing the moment? What motivates us to achieve mind/body balance and our creative potential while letting go of our fears and keeping our appetites in check? For this first Friday Reads post of 2019, let us turn for inspiration to some of our favorite writers, thinkers and spiritual leaders. So serve yourself up some joy and serenity…now rather than later:

Looking to adopt a healthier lifestyle as the year 2019 begins? Marco Borges, New York Times bestselling author and CEO of 22 Days Nutrition, introduces inclusive, practical, and revolutionary plant-based lifestyle plans in his new book, THE GREENPRINT, published by Harmony on Monday, December 31. By following its 22 proven effective guidelines, readers have the opportunity to shift their mindset, improve their health, lose weight, and impact the planet for the better.

PEN America has announced the longlists for its 2019 Literary Awards in the categories of debut fiction, diversity, nonfiction, essay, biography, sports writing, science writing, and translation. The 17 longlisted titles published by Penguin Random House imprints and Penguin Random House Publisher Services publisher clients are presented below.

Before the end of 2018, former President Barack Obama shared some of the books, movies and music he found “most inspiring, thought-provoking or just plain loved,” posting his year-end list on Facebook.

A Very Visual Year – 2018 Highlights from PRH Digital Video
20 December 2018

“This was another banner year for our video team,” says Richard Wylde, Promotions Manager, Penguin Random House Digital Video. “The final numbers are still coming in, but in the past twelve months we’ve worked with more than 400 authors, made over 900 videos, and generated over 6 million views. We worked with divisions and verticals across the company to produce, shoot, edit, distribute, promote, and stream videos, and our studio has been revamped to produce podcasts and virtual media tours. This is just a taste of some of the things we’ve been up—from ads to book trailers to ongoing series to fun social content. More to come next year!”

As we wrap up 2018, “Best of the Year” lists abound. Last week, the anticipated issue of Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” was published. For 2018, the choice was not one person, but rather a group of journalists under the heading “The Guardians and The War on Truth” honoring the dedication and life-threatening risks that journalists take. In that vein, topping our list of Penguin Random House’s annual publications are two books on politics and journalism. Care for lighter or fictional fare? We’ve also got science fiction, short story collections, as well as cooking and art titles to offer:

The spirit of giving back and helping those in need in our communities is strong throughout Penguin Random House. As this year winds to a close, we take a look back at a number of the charitable activities by colleagues who work at our distribution centers in Crawfordsville, Indiana and Westminster, Maryland.

Happy Holidays, one and all! The team here at PRH Audio is thrilled to celebrate the many traditions that make the season sparkle, and we’ve started a new tradition of our own.

At its Annual Benefit & Awards Dinner on Tuesday, December 11, the Center for Fiction presented awards to Sonny Mehta, Chairman and Editor in Chief of the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, and to Penguin Random House authors Toni Morrison and Tommy Orange. Event co-chairs and renowned authors Lee Child and Michael Ondaatje welcomed the hundreds of guests who gathered to celebrate these talents at the benefit, which was held in New York.

Friday Reads: Christmas Lit
14 December 2018

Oh come all ye readers! We’ve got more than a stocking’s full of Christmas fiction for you to savor this season, spanning genres and settings. From contemporary family stories to classic tales, here are some of the best holiday books on our list – some with gorgeous illustrations. Take a break from the chaos and settle in for a long winter’s read:

On Tuesday evening, Riverhead Books hosted their annual holiday fundraiser with hundreds of merry-making guests. This year’s festivities raised $4600 for Community-Word Project, a New York City arts-in-education organization that inspires children in underserved communities to read, interpret and respond to their world.

With a shared mission of empowering and publishing authors from all backgrounds, the Authors Guild Foundation and Penguin Random House are partnering to produce a series of Writing Business Bootcamps across the country. Available at no charge to participants due in part to an award from the National Endowment of the Arts, from the end of 2018 through spring 2019 six bootcamps will be held in underserved communities nationwide. In addition to Authors Guild and Penguin Random House representatives, local published authors will lead each session, bringing a variety of experience and knowledge.

WaterBrook Author LaTasha Morrison Receiving Up to $1 Million for “Be the Bridge,” Joins Facebook Community Leadership Program
13 December 2018

LaTasha Morrison, author of BE THE BRIDGE: Moving Toward Racial Reconciliation, to be published by WaterBrook next fall (10/15/19), and founder of the non-profit Be the Bridge, an organization that focuses on racial reconciliation, was recently selected as a Resident in Facebook’s Community Leadership Program. LaTasha is one of five Residents worldwide, the only one from North America, in this newly-created program, which comes with up to $1 million in grant money for Be the Bridge.

Portfolio’s Seth Godin to Receive Jack Covert Award
13 December 2018

Seth Godin is the recipient of the fifth annual Jack Covert Award for Contribution to the Business Book Industry, it was announced by business book authority 800-CEO-READ. The Jack Covert Award is named for 800-CEO-READ’s now-retired founder and president. Covert played a major role in the expansion of the business book industry and the award recognizes others central to the industry’s growth and success.

Madeline McIntosh Speaks at New York Public Library
12 December 2018

On Monday, December 10, Penguin Random House U.S. CEO Madeline McIntosh joined a panel discussion with several authors as part of the “Who Owns the Word” speaker series co-presented by the Authors Guild and the New York Public Library.

At last month’s 8th annual YALLFest – one of the largest teen book festivals in the world, bringing some 70 authors and 12,500 fans to Charleston, South Carolina -- Random House Children’s Books colleagues asked attendees to pose with branded WONDER march signs for the WONDER photo wall.

2019 Dates for Final Leg of Michelle Obama’s Book Tour Announced
11 December 2018

After a highly successful 2018 12-event arena tour across 10 cities, Live Nation and Crown Publishing are pleased to announce that additional dates and cities have been added to “BECOMING: An Intimate Conversation with Michelle Obama.” Click here for a video compilation from Mrs. Obama’s tour thus far.

Business book authority 800-CEO-READ has announced the shortlist for the company’s 12th annual Business Book Awards and Penguin Random House imprints publish four of the eight titles. The shortlist spans the breadth of the business genre. 800-CEO-READ will announce the 2018 Business Book of the Year at their annual awards ceremony and business book industry celebration in New York City on Thursday, January 17, 2019.

PRH Grupo Editorial’s Verónica Cervera Earns B&N Award
10 December 2018

Verónica Cervera, Sales Manager at Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial, was presented with the Barnes & Noble Rep of the Year Award for University Press, Small Press or Specialty Publishing last week. Verónica has been at Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial USA for 23 years (including 19 years with Santillana USA), giving her great expertise in the US Hispanic market. She specializes in several Spanish-language categories, including Fiction, Nonfiction, Romance, Children’s, Cooking and Motivational, among others.

Our Colleague Laurie Stark Receives Industry Connector Award from BISG
7 December 2018

Our colleague Laurie Stark, Vice President, Business Process and Support, Penguin Random House, was honored by the Book Industry Study Group (BISG) a Service Award at the Committee Town Hall Celebration event on Thursday, December 6 in New York. She received the BISG’s Industry Connector Award, which recognizes "an individual whose work helps BISG serve as an information hub for the industry." Warm congratulations to Ms. Stark on this well-deserved recognition.

Nominations for the 76th annual Golden Globe Awards were announced on Thursday morning, December 6th, from the Beverly Hilton Hotel. Many of the nominees, in both television and film, are adaptations of Penguin Random House books. You can access the entire list of nominees at Variety.com. Sandra Oh and Andy Samberg will host the 2019 Golden Globes Awards on January 6th. Before then, we highly recommend reading the writing that gave rise to your favorite viewing:

As is tradition, Barnes & Noble presented publisher-achievement awards at their annual holiday party Wednesday night, December 5, and I’m pleased to share the news that three of our colleagues were recognized. These special honors are voted on by the B&N buyers, and this year’s focus was on those reps that delivered most on sales, as well as initiatives that helped differentiate Barnes & Noble in the marketplace.

Two Tana French Novels Adapted for DUBLIN MURDERS TV Series
6 December 2018

Tana French’s first two novels, IN THE WOODS and THE LIKENESS (both bestsellers published by Viking/Penguin), are being adapted into an eight-episode television crime drama series, Dublin Murders, to air on Starz in 2019. Starz acquired U.S. and Canadian broadcast rights from Freemantle. Production is underway in Belfast and Dublin. Killian Scott (C.B. Strike) and Sarah Greene (Penny Dreadful) lead the cast as detectives Rob Reilly and Cassie Maddox, central characters in French’s Dublin Murder Squad series.

NPR’s Selected Shorts partnered with Symphony Space to host a memorable evening honoring 25 years of Riverhead Books on Wednesday, November 28. An assortment of Broadway actors read aloud six different short stories, and some of Riverhead’s marquis authors took the stage along with them, including National Book Award winner James McBride, two-time National Book Award finalist Lauren Groff, and story writers Daniel Alarcón and Lesley Nneka Arimah.

Madeline McIntosh to Speak at New York Public Library, December 10
5 December 2018

Penguin Random House U.S. CEO Madeline McIntosh will participate in the Who Owns the Word speaker series at the New York Public Library (476 Fifth Avenue) on Monday, December 10 to share her industry-leading insights on promoting and supporting authors and championing free speech. Co-presented with the Authors Guild, Who Owns the Word is a series of discussions led by journalists, authors, and industry leaders regarding the future of published writing in our increasingly competitive and digital era. The event begins at 6:30 pm.

This year, Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, began at sundown on Sunday, December 2nd and will last until sundown on Monday, December 10th. Hanukkah is Hebrew for “dedication" and commemorates the victory of the Maccabees over the Syrian Greek army, the re-dedication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, and restoring its menorah, or lamp. The “miracle” of Hanukkah is that only one vial of oil was found with just enough oil to illuminate the Temple lamp for one day, and yet it lasted for eight full days. As families gather to light the menorah, enjoy latkes, and exchange gifts, we are highlighting the following popular Hanukkah titles for young readers:

Winners of the 2018 Goodreads Choice Awards have been announced and feature 4 books published by Penguin Random House imprints in the Fiction, Romance, Memoir & Autobiography, and Food & Cookbooks categories. Heralded as the only major book prizes determined by readers, the Goodreads Choice Awards are a true reflection of public opinion. Congratulations to all of our award-winning authors as well as their editors and publishers.

Last month, Riverhead Executive Editor Courtney Young spent a week in Amsterdam as part of a fellowship hosted by the Dutch Foundation for Literature. The fellowship was intended to introduce English-language nonfiction editors to the publishing market in the Netherlands and build relationships between Dutch, English, and American publishers. Courtney joined nine editors from the UK – including Penguin Random House UK editors Jack Ramm from Viking, Sarah Rigby from Hutchinson, and Laura Stickney from Penguin Press – for visits to bookstores, publishers, and art galleries, where they networked and heard mini-lectures on art, philosophy, history, politics, and science.

Penguin Random House has launched a Good Vibes skill for Amazon Alexa that provides a daily dose of inspiration from PRH’s bestselling books and authors. The skill features a wide range of uplifting, motivational quotes from audiobooks narrated by many of our authors, including Mindy Kaling, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Elizabeth Gilbert, William Shatner, Gretchen Rubin, Nick Offerman, and Fred Rogers , among others.

Remembering George H.W. Bush: 1924 – 2018
3 December 2018

People around the world are mourning the passing of George H.W. Bush, the 41st President of the United States, who died on Friday, November 30, at the age of 94, at his home in Houston, Texas. His last words – “I love you, too” – were spoken to his son, George W. Bush, the 43rd President, author 41: A PORTRAIT OF MY FATHER, among other books. He announced the death of his “dear dad” Friday night, saying, “George H.W. Bush was a man of the highest character and the best dad a son or daughter could ask for. The entire Bush family is deeply grateful for 41’s life and love, for the compassion of those who have cared and prayed for dad, and for the condolences of our friends and fellow citizens.”

Josie Silver’s ONE DAY IN DECEMBER is the New “Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine” Book Pick
3 December 2018

Reese Witherspoon has selected Josie Silver’s captivating American debut, ONE DAY IN DECEMBER (Broadway Books), as her “Reese’s Book Club x Hello Sunshine” book pick for December. Upon making the announcement on Saturday, December 1, Witherspoon tweeted: “Do you believe in love at first sight? We think you’ll fall head over heels for this month’s book pick: #OneDayInDecember by @JosieSilver_! When Laurie locks eyes with a stranger one day in December, she feels an instant connection—and spends the next year looking for him.”

Michelle Obama's BECOMING Is The Best Selling Book of 2018
30 November 2018

Penguin Random House announced today that former First Lady Michelle Obama’s memoir BECOMING sold more than 2 million units in all formats and editions in the U.S. and Canada during the first 15 days of its publication on November 13. According to NDP BookScan data, the hardcover edition of BECOMING has sold more copies than any other book published in the United States in 2018.

Have you noticed that, in the competitive lexicon of one-word responses, “perfect!” seems to have overtaken “absolutely!” in our communiques? While we strive to be judicious with our superlatives and keep it real even in e-mail, our use of “perfect” is surely well-intentioned. In titles, the word “perfect” often tips to a story of unraveling ideals, and sometimes horror. Find out for yourselves in this selection of novels… just how perfect are they?

In their Sunday, December 2 print edition, the New York Times Book Review presents “the best” of this year’s picture books, middle grade, and young adult fiction and nonfiction, in the opinion of the publication’s children’s books editor. Five of the twenty-five are published by our Penguin Young Readers and Random House Children’s Books imprints.

Netflix Partners With The Roald Dahl Story Company On New Slate Of Dahl Animated Stories
28 November 2018

Netflix has partnered with The Roald Dahl Story Company to extend the Roald Dahl universe of stories for global family audiences with an exclusive new slate of original animated event series, based on the books from the acclaimed and award-winning author’s best-selling library, including CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, MATILDA, THE BFG, THE TWITS, and many other beloved titles, published in the U.S. by Penguin Young Readers Puffin imprint.

Bay Area colleagues take note: Kirsten Gillibrand, the United States Senator from New York, is discussing her new book, BOLD & BRAVE: Ten Heroes Who Won Women the Right to Vote (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers), on Friday, November 30, at the Nourse Theater in San Francisco as part of Books Inc’s City Arts & Lecture series. This special event begins at 7:30 p.m.

Today it was announced that Margaret Atwood’s forthcoming novel, THE TESTAMENTS, will be published on September 10, 2019. THE TESTAMENTS is set fifteen years after Offred’s final scene in The Handmaid’s Tale and is narrated by three female characters.

Michelle Obama’s memoir, BECOMING, is soaring as she holds audiences in rapt attention at sold-out events across the country. At least part of Michelle Obama’s popularity is the perspective she offers from the 8 years she spent as First Lady of the United States and our fascination with the role as well as the lives and accomplishments of the women who have inhabited the position. In fact, Penguin Random House has published a number of excellent biographies and memoirs of other First Ladies, a selection of which you may find here, accompanying BECOMING, for your reading or gift-giving pleasure:

As part of the annual campaign #GivingTuesday, Penguin Random House authors are supporting chosen causes as part of a donation match drive led by Facebook and PayPal. Three authors have been highlighted by Facebook to shine a light on their efforts and maximize giving. Credit goes to their marketing representatives Elina Vaysbeyn (Dutton); Jin Yu (Berkley); and Brianne Sperber and Shauna Barry (Crown) for helping to make these connections. Since launching these donation drives, the authors have already raised tens of thousands of dollars in contributions.

Hank Green, supporting Partners in Health
Laurell K. Hamilton, supporting COMTREA, a not-for-profit comprehensive health center
Shalane Flanagan, supporting New York Road Runners Team for Kids

As a reminder: all authors are encouraged to participate in #GivingTuesday and can find fundraising set up and tips here: https://www.facebook.com/fundraisers/ For any questions, please reach out to Kate Rados.

Penguin Random House and Worldreader Team Up for Giving Tuesday
27 November 2018

We are proud to announce that starting today, on Giving Tuesday, November 27, all purchases made through PRH.com will include a donation to Worldreader, our long-term partner organization that champions digital reading, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa. A $1 contribution for each purchase from Penguin Random House will ensure that one new eBook is made available to students in Worldreader programs. This special event will run for one week on PRH.com, from November 27 until December 4.

Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers to Publish R.J. Palacio’s Debut Graphic Novel
26 November 2018

R.J. Palacio, author of the blockbuster phenomenon WONDER, makes her graphic novel debut with WHITE BIRD: A Wonder Story, an unforgettable tale about the power of kindness in a time of war, it was announced by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books. WHITE BIRD will be published on September 3, 2019, with a first printing of 250,000. Knopf acquired North American open market rights from Alyssa Eisner Henkin of Trident Media.

Have plans tonight? You are invited to join New York Times bestselling author and prominent sports journalist Mike Lupica for a special Monday night event at Mysterious Bookshop in Manhattan. Beginning at 6:30 p.m., Lupica will discuss ROBERT B. PARKER’S BLOOD FEUD (Putnam, 11/27), then participate in an audience Q&A before signing books. Go and you will still be able make it home in time to watch Monday Night Football.

Kristin Cochrane, CEO of Penguin Random House Canada, has for the fourth time been named to Toronto Life magazine's “50 Most Influential” list.

Our Appreciation for Teachers Nationally: PRH 2018 Teacher Awards at NCTE
21 November 2018

The Penguin Random House Foundation’s 2018 Teacher Awards for Literacy winners received their well-deserved grants at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) Annual Convention during its opening session on November 15 in Houston, TX. These hard working educators applied to the PRH Teacher Awards for Literacy and earned the top awards by successfully engaging their students to become lifelong readers through unique reading programs like our first place recipient’s “MONSTER LITERACY NIGHT” and the Maya Angelou Teacher Award for Poetry recipient’s “DRAFGON FLY CAFÉ.” Each unique reading program connected student readers with students outside their classrooms as well as the greater local community - creating even a greater impact.

There's a Book for That: Thanksgiving
21 November 2018

Gratitude begins in our hearts and then dovetails into behavior. It almost always makes you willing to be of service, which is where the joy resides. ― Anne Lamott Tomorrow we celebrate Thanksgiving – a time where many will be gathering with family and friends for a feast. The original American holiday, Thanksgiving is also a time for connecting with, and serving, our communities as we reflect on what we are grateful for in our lives. With this in mind, we give thanks for a varied harvest of books that help nourish us, literally and figuratively!:

Last week, #1 New York Times-bestselling author Janet Evanovich, celebrated the launch of her milestone 25th Stephanie Plum novel, LOOK ALIVE TWENTY-FIVE, published by Putnam on November 13.

The "100 Notable Books of 2018" selected by the editors of the New York Times Book Review will include 40 titles published by our U.S. imprints: 19 Fiction & Poetry and 21 Nonfiction. Their complete list is now online, and will be published in the Sunday, December 3 edition. Here are this year's Penguin Random House "Notable Books":

Edugyan’s WASHINGTON BLACK (Knopf U.S.), 2018 Scotiabank Giller Prize (Canada) Winner
20 November 2018

WASHINGTON BLACK, an epic 19th-century globe-spanning adventure by Esi Edugyan, published in the U.S. by Knopf and Random House Audio, has been selected as the 2018 winner of Canada’s most prestigious award for excellence in fiction, the Scotiabank Giller Prize. The award was announced Monday, November 19 at a dinner in Toronto attended by the five judges and leading members of the national and local cultural community, including Kristin Cochrane and our colleagues at Penguin Random House Canada.

In the wake of the tragic Pittsburgh synagogue shooting last month, Kristen Keller, a librarian at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in Squirrel Hill “turned to books” for grief support. After she created a “wish list” for her library, Penguin Random House Sales and Customer Service quickly responded, setting in motion donations of multiple copies of such Random House Children’s Books titles as ALL ARE WELCOME, WE RISE, WE RESIST, WE RAISE OUR VOICES, ELMORE, THE FOREVER TREE and I WALK WITH VANESSA: A Story About a Simple Act of Kindness and such Penguin Young Readers titles as HARBOR ME, LOVE and THE RABBIT LISTENED.

Michelle Obama’s BECOMING Sells More Than 725,000 Units in U.S. and Canada on First Day of Publication
19 November 2018

Penguin Random House has announced that BECOMING, the highly anticipated memoir by Former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama, sold more than 725,000 units in all formats and editions in the U.S. and Canada on the first day of its publication, Tuesday, November 13.

On Thursday, November 15, while in Los Angeles for her BECOMING book tour, former First Lady Michelle Obama made a surprise visit to the Para Los Niños Tina and Rick Caruso Early Education Center, located in Skid Row, to spend time and read with a group of four-year-old children from an underserved area of L..A.

Simon Sinek Partners with Portfolio on New Imprint, OPTIMISM PRESS
15 November 2018

Simon Sinek, the New York Times bestselling author of START WITH WHY, LEADERS EAT LAST, TOGETHER IS BETTER, FIND YOUR WHY, and the forthcoming THE INFINITE GAME, is partnering with his longtime publisher, Portfolio, to launch a new imprint called Optimism Press.

Attention Colorado colleagues with middle-grade level children: Jeff Seymour, author of NADYA SKYLUNG AND THE CLOUDSHIP RESCUE (G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers), is presenting his new book on Monday, November 19, at the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver. The event begins at 7:00 p.m., beginning with a reading, followed by a discussion and book signing.

We celebrate THE FRIEND by Sigrid Nunez, published by Riverhead, chosen by the panel of five judges from 368 submissions, as the recipient of the 2018 National Book Award for Fiction, announced this evening at the annual National Book Foundation dinner in downtown Manhattan.

Vintage to Reissue 1965 Bestselling Thriller NIGHT OF CAMP DAVID About an “Unhinged President”
14 November 2018

Fletcher Knebel’s novel NIGHT OF CAMP DAVID was a radical look at the presidency in 1965, exploring what our nation’s leaders would do if they came to discover that the president was unstable and unfit to continue in office. Fifty-three years later, this prescient novel that poses the question “What would happen if the President of the USA went stark-raving mad?” still resonates in America’s discussion of national politics and problems that are all too real. On November 20, Vintage will reissue NIGHT OF CAMP DAVID in paperback and as an eBook. The novel will also be available as an audio book from Random House Audio on the same date.

PRH to Install Water Bottle Filling Stations to Help Reduce Plastic Pollution
14 November 2018

Help Penguin Random House reduce plastic pollution and protect our oceans by using our new water refilling stations. We are happy to announce that Water Bottle Filling Stations will be installed on our floors at 1745 Broadway. Responding to frequent requests from many of you at both our uptown and downtown NYC locations, and in support of our sustainability efforts, our company has acquired FW-PRO Kitchen Counter Water Purifiers. In addition to saving money, you can now also help reduce and eliminate plastic pollution as part of your daily routine.

Portfolio Acquires New Book on Justice Brett Kavanaugh from NYT Reporters Kate Kelly and Robin Pogrebin
14 November 2018

New York Times journalists Kate Kelly and Robin Pogrebin have reached a publishing agreement with Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, for a new book about the early years of the newest Associate Justice, titled THE EDUCATION OF BRETT KAVANAUGH. Executive Editor Bria Sandford acquired world, audio and eBook rights from PJ Mark of Janklow & Nesbit Associates.

November is National Novel Writing Month and where would we be without our novelists? We marvel at their feats of imagination, storytelling gifts, research, craft and discipline. But the road to publication is usually a long one, rife with hills and valleys. That brave, creative journey is all the more reason to celebrate the following selection of debut novels published this year – spanning genre and region, but each having received myriad accolades from reviewers, librarians, booksellers and the reading public:

Finalists for the 2018 Goodreads Choice Awards have been announced and feature 72 titles published by Penguin Random House imprints as well as Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS) client publishers, across such categories as Fiction, Mystery & Thriller, Historical Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Science Fiction, Horror, Humor, Nonfiction, Memoir & Autobiography, History & Biography, Science & Technology, Food & Cookbooks, Graphic Novels & Comics, Poetry, Debut Author, Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction, Middle Grade & Children’s Books and Picture Books. This year, there is a new category, Best of the Best, where you can choose your favorite Goodreads Choice Award winner of the past ten years. Votes for the Finalists for the Goodreads Best Books of the Year can be cast through November 26. Here are our Goodreads Choice Awards 2018 Finalists:

Featured Author Event: Blair Imani (Washington, D.C.)
13 November 2018

Colleagues in the vicinity of Washington, D.C. take note: Ten Speed Press author Blair Imani will be discussing her new book, MODERN HERSTORY: Stories of Women and Nonbinary People Rewriting History, during a special event @ Politics and Prose at Union Market in DC on Wednesday, November 14. Imani will be in conversation with Mia Ives-Rublee, from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.

THIS JUST IN: O, The Oprah Magazine and OWN announced this morning that it has chosen Michelle Obama’s BECOMING its newest Oprah’s Book Club selection. In making the announcement, Oprah Winfrey said, “This book is everything you wanted to know and so much you didn’t even know you wanted to know. I believe it’s going to spark within you the desire to think about your own becoming … It’s so well-written I can hear her voice; I can hear her expressions; I can feel her emotion. What she allows us to see is how she was able to discover, define and then refine her voice.”

This morning, Amazon.com announced its selections for the Best Books of 2018, naming Tara Westover’s EDUCATED: A Memoir(Random House) the Best Book of the Year and Kekla Magoon’s THE SEASON OF STYX MALONE (Wendy Lamb Books) #1 Children’s Book.

Election-Day Opening: THE FRONT RUNNER, the Film Adaptation of Matt Bai’s ALL THE TRUTH IS OUT
6 November 2018

THE FRONT RUNNER, the new film starring Hugh Jackman, based on Matt Bai’s Vintage book, ALL THE TRUTH IS OUT: The Week Politics Went Tabloid, opens in theaters nationwide today, November 6, Election Day. Chronicling the promising rise and rapid fall of Colorado Senator Gary Hart as a U.S. presidential candidate, the book and film present a tour de force portrait of the American way of politics at the highest level, deepening our understanding of how we elect our presidents and how the bedrock of American values has shifted under our feet.

To kick off the season of giving while also celebrating National Family Literacy Month in November, zulily, the online retailer obsessed with bringing special finds to its customers every day, is teaming up with Penguin Random House to help provide books to children in need across the U.S. There’s nothing quite like the immersive, imagination-inspiring power of books. Storytime is a treasured pastime for all, but many children may not have the opportunity to experience the magic of books.

Play New Election Mad Libs Game and Be Sure to Vote!
5 November 2018

Election Day is Tuesday, November 6. In a novel new way to help #BooktheVote and inspire more people to go to the polls, Penguin Young Readers and HeadCount , a non partisan voter engagement organization, have teamed up to create Election Mad Libs. Players can choose their own nouns, verbs and adjectives, and also fill in how and where they’ll vote. If someone doesn’t know their polling location, a link appears where they can easily access that information. The game makes it easier than ever for voters to create an Election Day plan for themselves – a practice that’s proven to increase the chances someone will vote.

The Baillie Gifford Prize for Nonfiction, the most prestigious nonfiction award in the UK, has announced its six-title 2018 shortlist. Three of the finalists are published in the U.S. by Penguin Random House imprints. Formerly known as the Samuel Johnson Prize, the Baillie Gifford Prize aims to reward the best of nonfiction and is open to authors of any nationality, honoring all nonfiction in the areas of current affairs, history, politics, science, sport, travel, biography, autobiography and the arts.

Cheer On Our Colleagues Running in Sunday's New York City Marathon
2 November 2018

Penguin Random House will be well represented at this year’s New York City Marathon, which takes place across NYC’s five boroughs on Sunday, November 4. Among the more than 50,000 participants, there will be at least six of our colleagues – three first-timers and four veterans – running the 26.2-mile course. Whether you will be among those who observe the race live in the city or catch parts of it on television, we encourage you to join us in cheering on — in person or in spirit -- our runners. And make note of their marathon bib numbers, shown below, to help you pick them out along the course. Meet our Penguin Random House 2018 NYC Marathoners

Friday Reads: Shirley Jackson
2 November 2018

So long as you write it away regularly nothing can really hurt you. - Shirley Jackson For Dia De Los Muertos, we honor Shirley Jackson, who died at the young age of 49 in 1965, but is enjoying a renaissance: The Haunting of Hill House is a hit Netflix series and "The Lottery" is celebrating 70 years since its publication in The New Yorker. Jackson’s literary legacy has perhaps never been stronger with recent coverage in Rolling Stone, Bustle, Mental Floss, to name but a few. Certainly, a new generation is discovering her oevre – from horror to humor. You are hereby invited to enter the world of Shirley Jackson's imagination:

Time for hope? Beloved Riverhead author Anne Lamott believes so. In a major New York Times profile, Lamott is declared the “Lefty Guru of Optimism”: “Like a feminist C.S. Lewis, Anne Lamott talks about God, politics and other unmentionables, and gently exhorts her readers, as she does herself, to find joy in a bleak and chaotic world.” As Lamott shares, she came to

There’s a Book for That: Ghost Stories
31 October 2018

Happy Halloween! Whether you are in costume, trick-or-treating or on door duty, get in the spirit with this gathering of ghost stories for all ages. These storytellers sure know how to put the BOO in books!

The Stranger Things publishing program officially launched on Tuesday, October 30, with the on-sale of STRANGER THINGS: Worlds Turned Upside Down from Del Rey, shortly followed by a children’s title, HOW TO SURVIVE IN A STRANGER THINGS WORLD, on sale in two weeks (11/13). To celebrate, Del Rey and Random House Children’s Books brought a taste of Hawkins, Indiana to the 1745 Broadway lobby.

The eagerly-awaited BEASTIE BOYS BOOK goes on sale today, October 30, in hardcover and eBook editions from Spiegel & Grau and as an audiobook from Random House Audio. Formed as a New York City hardcore band in 1981, Beastie Boys struck an unlikely path to global hip-hop superstardom. For more than thirty years, this band has had an inescapable and indelible influence on popular culture.

Penguin Random House U.S. CEO Madeline McIntosh delivered the keynote address earlier this week at the Toronto International Festival of Authors to an audience of several hundred industry colleagues and authors in Canadian publishing.

Attention Colorado colleagues with children: young readers author Melissa Savage will talk about and read from her new Random House Children’s Books title, THE TRUTH ABOUT MARTIANS, at BookBar in Denver on Saturday, October 27, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. Melissa will also be signing copies of her charming middle-grade novel, packed with adventure and heart, about a boy and his best friends, who set out to discover the aliens that crash-landed next to their Roswell, New Mexico farm.

Friday Reads: Witch Lit
26 October 2018

Something witchy this way comes… In the spirit of Halloween we’ve gathered a coven of books which are sure to cast a spell on you this weekend!

The 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction six-title shortlist has been announced and includes 4 books published by Penguin Random House imprints. Established by the American Library Association in 2012, the Carnegie Medals for Excellence serve as an ALA guide to help adults select quality reading material.

Attention colleagues in New York and Washington, D.C: Neil MacGregor, former head of the British Museum (and author of the bestselling A History of the World in 100 Objects, and the recent Germany: Memories of a Nation) will be discussing his beautifully illustrated new book, LIVING WITH THE GODS: On Beliefs and Peoples (Knopf, Oct. 30) at special events next week in NYC and DC. On Monday (10/29), MacGregor appears at the Morgan Library & Museum (225 Madison Avenue), with his talk to begin at 6:30 p.m. On Thursday (11/1), he will be at The Smithsonian (S. Dillon Ripley Center, 1100 Jefferson Drive, S.W.), doors opening at 6:15 p.m., with his presentation, audience Q&A, and book signing concluding by 8:45 p.m.

Since Book the Vote launched in early September, we have seen amazing enthusiasm and energy from our authors, readers, and employees who have spread the word about this campaign. Thanks to your great work, there have been 36 million unique web impressions for the hashtag #BooktheVote!

Behind the Pages of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ART & ARCANA
24 October 2018

DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ART & ARCANA: A Visual History, published on October 23 by Ten Speed Press, is an illustrated guide to the history and evolution of the iconic role-playing game told through the paintings, sketches, illustrations, and visual ephemera behind its creation, growth, and continued popularity. The superstar author team of Michael Witwer, Kyle Newman, Jon Peterson and Sam Witwer created the most comprehensive collection of D&D imagery ever assembled. There are more than 700 pieces of artwork—from each edition of the core role-playing books, supplements, and adventures; as well as Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance novels; decades of Dragon and Dungeon magazines; and classic advertisements and merchandise; plus never-before-seen sketches, large-format canvases, rare photographs, one-of-a-kind drafts. In this “Behind the Pages” Igloo interview, the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS authors discuss their passion for the game and its colorful history, what was involved in putting this book together, the project’s personal rewards, and their views on why Dungeons & Dragons is experiencing a resurgence in popularity.

There's a Book for That: Breast Cancer Awareness Month
24 October 2018

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign, symbolized by pink ribbons, to increase awareness of the disease and to raise funds for research into its cause, prevention, diagnosis, treatment and cure. Please find below a selection of some of the best books Penguin Random House publishes to educate and support those confronting breast cancer. Visit http://www.nationalbreastcancer.org/breast-cancer-awareness-month for more information.

Featured Author Events: Ryder Carroll (Brooklyn, Manhattan)
23 October 2018

Ryder Carroll is the author of THE BULLET JOURNAL METHOD: Track the Past, Order the Present, Design the Future, on sale from Portfolio today, October 23. Read on for details about this book and two special author events. Everyone is invited to hear Ryder talk about his new book in conversation with Amber Rae at a book launch tonight at Powerhouse Arena (28 Adams St.) in Brooklyn, from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Wednesday night, October 24, at NYC’s NeueHouse (110 E 25th St.), Ryder will engage in a discussion and experiential event in conversation with New York mag “Science of Us” editor and fellow Portfolio author Melissa Dahl, whose book, CRINGEWORTHY: A Theory of Awkwardness, was published last February, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. RSVPs are required for the Wednesday (10/24) event. To RSVP, click here.

Can a book jacket design be so iconic and recognizable that it can have a life beyond the book itself? This was the question addressed at an art + design conference, October 19-20, in Milan, Italy by the Riverhead Art Director Helen Yentus and Riverhead Associate Publisher Jynne Dilling Martin. The Italian cultural foundation Mondadori partnered with Mimaster Illustrations to fly Helen and Jynne to Milan, where they spoke to professional illustrators, designers, editors and publishers about the unique Riverhead approach to design. They described how each jacket is created in a collaborative process with publicity and marketing, so it can be carried through a campaign and used across many platforms. The team asked if the design can become the visual “identity” for the book, even when stripped of its text. Helen (far left) and Jynne (far right) are pictured with the Mondadori and Mimaster Illustration executives.

Barnes & Noble, Inc., the world’s largest retail bookseller, has announced that Dr. Seuss’s THE GRINCH will take over its stores this holiday season, with special displays in 536 stores featuring exclusive books, holiday ornaments, puzzles, games and toys starting today, Monday, October 22. B&N’s bookstores around the country will also be hosting a free Grinch Storytime on Saturday, November 3, ahead of the November 9 release of The Grinch movie, based on Dr. Seuss’s timeless book, HOW THE GRINCH STOLE CHRISTMAS! (Random House Children’s Books).

Attention colleagues in the San Francisco Bay Area: Jill Soloway will be discussing and signing copies of their new Crown Archetype book, SHE WANTS IT: Desire, Power, and Toppling the Patriarchy on Wednesday, October 24, at Kanbar Hall in San Francisco. Hosted by the JCC of San Francisco, the event promises to be a night of candor, humor and creative brilliance, charting Jil’s evolution from straight, married mother of two to identifying as queer and nonbinary.

Milestone Spotlight: Dave Zimmer
19 October 2018

Milestone Spotlights feature an interview with a recent recipient of a Penguin Random House Milestone Award, which is given out to employees who have reached 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and more years of service with the company. The Employee Milestone Spotlight interview allows us to celebrate our colleagues’ service by highlighting their successes within the company, and is a chance for them to share some fun and personal information about themselves. This month, we shine the spotlight on Dave Zimmer, Manager, Corporate Communications. He celebrated his 15-year milestone earlier this year. Get the scoop on Dave by checking out his interview below:

Friday Reads: Thurber Prize for American Humor
19 October 2018

Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility. - James Thurber Let’s all resolve to laugh more! Thurber House (the home of humorist, author, and New Yorker cartoonist James Thurber) has unveiled the finalists for the $5,000 Thurber Prize for American Humor. The winner will be announced December 5 in Columbus, Ohio. Among this year’s finalists are two Penguin Random House titles which we’ve paired with books by James Thurber himself and previous Thurber Prize winners. It’s their world and welcome to it…

CITY OF DOGS Author & Photographer Kick Off NYC Tour In Conversation with Jacqueline Woodson
19 October 2018

Ken Foster and photographer Traer Scott kicked off their five-borough tour for CITY OF DOGS: New York Dogs, Their Neighborhoods, and the People Who Love Them, just on-sale from Avery, with a fantastic event at Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn. The two were in conversation with fellow Penguin Random House author Jacqueline Woodson, who is featured in the book with her dogs, Toffee and Shadow (you can check out an excerpt of Jacqueline’s chapter on The Bark). If you missed the Brooklyn CITY OF DOGS event, you can still catch Ken & Traer at Boris & Horton Dog Cafe in the East Village on 10/23, Comic Book Jones in Staten Island and Kew & Willow Books in Kew Gardens on 11/3, or Bronx Barx on 11/4. Furry friends are welcome to attend all events! The book and canines will be featured in an upcoming edition of The New York Times. Stay tuned!

Penguin Random House Acquires Will Smith’s Autobiography
19 October 2018

World-renowned actor Will Smith is writing his autobiography for Penguin Random House, with Penguin Press to publish the book in the U.S. Penguin Press Vice President & Publisher Scott Moyers acquired North American rights. Penguin Random House UK imprint Century will publish in the UK and Commonwealth, excluding Canada.

PRH Creative Writing Awards Alumnus Elizabeth Acevedo NBA Finalist
18 October 2018

Elizabeth Acevedo, an alumnus of Penguin Random House’s Creative Writing Awards (CWA), is a finalist for a 2018 National Book Award in the Young People's Literature category for her book, POET X (Harper Teen), a New York Times bestseller. Elizabeth was the recipient of a 2^nd place scholarship award of $5,000 for her poem “Vicious Cycle” in our 2006 CWA program – then called Bertelsmann’s World of Expression Scholarship program. $2.6 million dollars in scholarships have been awarded to New York City high school writers since the program’s inception in 1993.

PRH Education, NCTE and The Moth Partner for 10th Annual Event for Educators
17 October 2018

Last week, Penguin Random House Education held their Tenth Annual Event for Educators. In partnership with the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and The Moth, our Education team hosted several dozen teachers in the L’Amour Room at 1745 Broadway for a storytelling workshop.

October is National Bullying Prevention Month - established in 2006 by Pacer's National Bullying Prevention Center which “actively leads social change, so that bullying is no longer considered an accepted childhood rite of passage.” National Bullying Prevention Month recognizes bullying as a serious community issue that impacts education, physical and emotional health, and the safety and well-being of students. For ideas, events and resources visit: www.stopbullying.gov. To help parents and children avoid and overcome bullying, we offer the following fiction and nonfiction for parents, educators, children and teens:

Refinery29 recently posted How These Instagrammable Book Covers Are Tricking People Into Reading Romance by Elena Nicolaou, an article that explores the visual power of cover design on such romance novels as Jasmine Guillory’s THE WEDDING DATE, Helen Hoang’s THE KISS QUOTIENT and Alexa Martin’s INTERCEPTED. Nicolaou notes that these books (as well as several other titles mentioned) “have three crucial elements in common. First, they’re novelized takes on cinematic rom-com, in which the lovers’ banter is just as memorable as their sex scenes. Second, they’re sold as trade paperbacks, which are physically wider and more expensive than mass market romance novels. Finally, they’re published by Berkley.”

Music fan colleagues in the vicinity of Washington, D.C. take note: longtime jazz critic, columnist and author Nate Chinen will be discussing his new Pantheon book, PLAYING CHANGES: Jazz for the New Century, in conversation with Lauren Onkey, senior director of NPR Music, on Saturday, October 20, 7:00 – 8:00 p.m., at Politics & Prose Bookstore in D.C.

TSP Editor-In-Chief Lorena Jones on Yotam Ottolenghi and His New “SIMPLE” Cookbook
16 October 2018

Yotam Ottolenghi, bestselling cookbook author, renowned chef and restaurant owner, has collected 130 easy, flavor-forward recipes in his new Ten Speed Press book, OTTOLENGHI SIMPLE. Featuring Ottolenghi’s signature Middle Eastern–inspired flavors, all of the recipes are simple in at least (and often more than) one way: made in 30 minutes or less, with 10 or fewer ingredients, in a single pot, using pantry staples, or prepared ahead of time for deliciously simple meals. In this special “Behind the Pages” Igloo interview, Ten Speed Press Editor-In-Chief Lorena Jones shares personal insights into Ottolenghi’s singular cooking style, his impact on the American culinary landscape, the process involved when editing his books for US readers, and several of her favorite OTTOLENGHI SIMPLE recipes.

Penguin Random House Joins Leading Renewable Energy Alliance
15 October 2018

We are excited to announce that Penguin Random House has become the first book publisher to sign onto the Renewable Energy Buyers’ Principles, part of the Renewable Energy Buyers Alliance (REBA), which informs utilities and other suppliers what industry-leading, multinational companies are looking for when buying renewable energy from the grid. The program, which is supported by the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), launched in July of 2014 with just 12 signatories. Penguin Random House is now the 78th company to sign.

Johns Hopkins University is naming a new building after Henrietta Lacks, a Baltimore woman whose cells were the basis of research for numerous modern medical breakthroughs. The building is planned for Hopkins’ East Baltimore campus and expected to be completed in 2022.

Former President Barack Obama posted a message on his Facebook page on Friday, October 12, that began, “I wanted to share a handful of books and articles that speak to the current political moment and something I’ve been talking about around the country this fall.” Among the books that Obama has read and recommends that everyone consider reading before Election Day on November 6 are three titles published by Penguin Random House imprints:

In its first week on-sale from TarcherPerigee, BLEND: The Secret to Co-Parenting and Creating a Balanced Family by Mashonda Tifrere with contributions from her co-parents—Swizz Beatz and his wife, Grammy-Award winning singer and songwriter Alicia Keys—sparked major media attention and exciting events, including a book launch celebration at Urban Zen in NYC. Pictured (left to right) Mashonda, her son Kasseem Jr., Alicia Keys, and Swizz Beatz.

With 250,000 attendees, New York Comic-Con, October 4-7, was the biggest it’s ever been and continues to grow. Penguin Random House had a successful year with strong sales and appearances by many of our talented authors and illustrators. With events taking place at the Javits Center, Shop Studios, and Hammerstein Ballroom, this year’s show was packed with exciting programming.

Markus Zusak and His BRIDGE OF CLAY Display @ 1745 Broadway
12 October 2018

This week Markus Zusak was the author of the moment at the Penguin Random House 1745 Broadway offices in NYC. Celebrating the October 9 Alfred A. Knopf publication of his extraordinary new novel, BRIDGE OF CLAY, the highly anticipated follow-up to his #1 international bestseller, THE BOOK THIEF, a dazzling display to herald the book’s release was featured in the 1745 lobby. It was a sight to behold and was graced by a visit from the author himself. Zusak is pictured with his editor, Erin Clarke, Senior Executive Editor, Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers.

Are you game? It’s that time of year again, as baseball’s magnificent Fall Classic approaches, but before you can play in the World Series, you have to get there. This weekend begins the league championship series’ in which baseball’s final four – the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Boston Red Sox, the Houston Astros and the Milwaukee Brewers – will compete for that coveted World Series berth. To enhance your viewing, we’re pitching the following books we know to be hits…

Let’s hear it for the girls! It’s International Day of the Girl. Since its United Nation’s declaration in 2012, October 11 has been marked as the International Day of the Girl, focused on the needs and challenges girls face, while promoting their empowerment and human rights. The theme for 2018 is “With Her: A Skilled Girl Force.” From unwomen.org: “The 1.1 billion girls of today’s world are challenging the status quo. They’re redefining girlhood, and they’re doing so against the odds. Across the world, girls face adversities that hinder their education, training and entry into the workforce. They have less access to information, communication technology and resources. And yet, they persist, they succeed. They are innovating technology to solve global challenges, they are standing up for the environment, they are raising their voices against violence and they are preparing to run for office.” Penguin Random House publishes an array of relevant books on the topic of girls in the world and we begin with a Nobel Prize winner:

Devoted readers of Tana French’s award-winning, bestselling “Dublin Murder Squad” novels, including THE TRESPASSER, THE SECRET PLACE and IN THE WOODS, will be mesmerized by THE WITCH ELM, her new spellbinding standalone mystery, published by Viking on Tuesday, October 9. This week’s Igloo Book Buzz selection has been called “Tana French’s best and most intricately nuanced novel yet. . . Get ready for the whiplash brought on by its final twists and turns.” –The New York Times

Presenting the five finalists for the 2018 National Book Awards published by Penguin Random House U.S. imprints:

Markus Zusak's U.S. Book Tour Includes Events This Week in NYC and Washington, DC
9 October 2018

With the October 9 Alfred A. Knopf publication of Markus Zusak’s new novel, BRIDGE OF CLAY, the international bestselling author is embarking on a 17-date national U.S. book tour, including events this week in New York City and Washington, DC. Colleagues in NYC and Westminster take note: on Wednesday, October 10, Zusak appears at Symphony Space in NYC. For Symphony Space event tickets, click here. On Friday, October 12, he will be at the Cleveland Park Public Library (presented by bookseller Politics & Prose) in DC. For Cleveland Park Public Library event tickets, click here.

Beloved international bestselling author Markus Zusak has written an extraordinary new novel, BRIDGE OF CLAY, published by Alfred A. Knopf on October 9. Began 13 years ago, Zusak’s latest brilliant tome is the story of five brothers, raised in a world run by their own rules. At the center of the family is Clay, a boy who will build a bridge—for his family, for his past, for greatness, for his sins, for a miracle. As the Dunbar boys love and fight and learn to reckon with the adult world, they discover the moving secret behind their father’s disappearance.

Netflix has secured the rights to international bestselling author Blake Crouch’s upcoming novel RECURSION for Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beer’s Shondaland and Matt Reeves’ 6th & Idaho for a feature film as well as a television universe. RECURSION will be published by Crown on June 11, 2019.

Random House author Kelly Link is among the MacArthur Foundation’s 25 MacArthur Fellows of 2018, “extraordinarily creative people who inspire us all.” She will receive a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant” – $625,000 paid out over five years to people who "show exceptional creativity in their work and the prospect for still more in the future.” Link was praised by the Foundation for “pushing the boundaries of literary fiction in works that combine the surreal and fantastical with the concerns and emotional realism of contemporary life."

On the eve of the 2018 Frankfurt Book Fair, the annual international celebration of the global book marketplace, Penguin Random House, the world’s largest trade-book publisher, announces the extension and expansion of its commitment to local publishing in Asia, currently represented by its Penguin Random House North Asia and Penguin Random House India companies, with the launch of its Penguin Random House South East Asia publishing operation in 2019.

Crown Group, Grupo Editorial Author Nadia Murad Awarded 2018 Nobel Peace Prize
5 October 2018

Nadia Murad, a former captive of the Islamic State, was one of the two winners of the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize, announced today by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Her book, THE LAST GIRL, published by Crown Publishing Group imprint Tim Duggan Books, is an intimate memoir of survival, chronicling her harrowing and ultimately inspiring experiences.

The film rights for THE EDITOR, an upcoming Putnam title from Steven Rowley, have been acquired by Fox 2000. Greg Berlanti, director of Love Simon, has been set to direct and produce the film, as reported by Variety. Rowley will write the screenplay and executive produce, with Berlanti producing alongside Rob Weisbach and Sarah Schechter. Erin Siminoff and Molly Saffron will oversee for Fox 2000.

Andy Warhol was certainly prescient in 1968 when he said "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes" in a catalog for an exhibition of his work. Widespread fame has never been more available to the masses than in the 21^st century where digital cameras and the internet make “going viral” possible – for better or worse. Not surprisingly, internet fame is a tantalizing theme for novelists – for reasons of social commentary and compelling character studies. The following diverse books, for adult and young adults, all share a “video goes viral” plot point. Topping the charts, of course, is Hank Green’s debut novel:

Rose Byrne's Desert Island Books: PRH Publishes 6 of Her 10 Picks
4 October 2018

Actress Rose Byrne, most recently starring in the film adaptation of Nick Hornby’s JULIET, NAKED (Riverhead), was asked by bookseller One Grand Books to name 10 titles she would take to a desert island. Among her picks were 6 books published by Penguin Random House imprints. See these titles below, with personal thoughts about each one by Ms. Byrne:

The 2019 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction Longlist has been announced and includes 20 books published by Penguin Random House imprints. Established by the American Library Association in 2012, the Carnegie Medals for Excellence serve as an ALA guide to help adults select quality reading material.

Random House to Publish FROM THE GROUND UP by Starbucks’ Howard Schultz in February 2019
3 October 2018

The Random House Group has announced it will publish long-time CEO, Chairman, and current Chairman Emeritus of Starbucks Howard Schultz’s most revelatory and visionary book yet, FROM THE GROUND UP: A Journey to Reimagine the Promise of America, on February 12, 2019. North American publishing rights, including audio and first serial, were acquired by Random House President Gina Centrello from Jennifer Rudolph Walsh of WME. The book will be edited by Chris Jackson for Random House.

There's a Book for That: Hispanic Heritage Month
2 October 2018

Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 through October 15, during which time we honor the contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the United States and celebrate their heritage and culture. Hispanic Heritage Month, whose roots go back to 1968, begins each year on September 15, the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. Mexico, Chile and Belize also celebrate their independence days during this period and Columbus Day (Día de la Raza) is October 12 (observed this year in the U.S. on Monday, October 8). Enjoy the following array of titles for all ages – biography, cooking, history, poetry and fiction – to mark the occasion.

Two Penguin Random House Canada authors, plus one Penguin Random House U.S. author, are in the running for the 25^th-Anniversary Scotiabank Giller Prize, as finalists on the 2018 shortlist, announced on Monday.

Crown Publishing Group is thrilled to share the news that PBS and the New York Times selected Nate Blakeslee’s AMERICAN WOLF (Crown/Broadway Books) for their October Book Club. This title was an Amazon Best Science Book of the Year Selection, a Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection, an IndieBound Bestseller, an NPR Science Friday Best Science Book of the Year Selection, and received numerous other accolades.

The Children’s Book Council's CBC Diversity Committee has announced the winners of the inaugural CBC Diversity Outstanding Achievement Awards. Among the award recipients are Jen Loja, President and Publisher of Penguin Young Readers, and Phoebe Yeh, VP & Co-Publisher of Crown Books for Young Readers/Random House Children’s Books. Jen Loja is honored for demonstrating “exemplary allyship by supporting diverse voices across PYRG’s publishing program and encouraging diversity and inclusion in hiring.” Phoebe Yeh is honored for supporting and helping launch the careers of some of today’s leading diverse voices, including Kwame Alexander, Ellen Oh, Lamar Giles, and Soman Chainani. “If it were not for Phoebe,” says the CBC, “the fight for diversity in children's books would be years or even decades behind what it is today.”

Featured Author Event: Ben Reiter (Washington, DC)
28 September 2018

Colleagues in the vicinity of Washington, D.C. take note: this is the last weekend of the MLB regular season, and with no Nationals home games on tap, consider joining Ben Reiter for a discussion of his fascinating baseball book, ASTROBALL: The New Way to Win It All (Crown Archetype) on Saturday night, from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Politics & Prose Bookstore in D.C.

Throughout Banned Books Week, September 23 – 29, we will be highlighting frequently banned and challenged books to help raise awareness of how the right to freedom of expression and the protection against censorship are essential to the development of our society and cultures around the world. Keep reading for Banned Books reading list inspiration, and stay tuned all week for more recommendations.

Attention fans of Robert Redford, Sissy Spacek and David Grann: the film adaptation of Grann’s story, “The Old Man and the Gun,” opens in theaters today, September 28. Starring Redford, in what is being billed as his final screen role, The Old Man & the Gun is based on a story by Grann that was first published in The New Yorker in 2003, then included in Grann’s 2010 collection, THE DEVIL AND SHERLOCK HOLMES: Tales of Murder, Madness and Obsession (Doubleday/Vintage), and now headlines a movie tie-in edition, THE OLD MAN & THE GUN: And Other Tales of True Crime, published by Vintage earlier this month.

Let’s send September out with literary strains on music…it’s Classical Music Month and we have a concert of excellent titles on composers for your reading, and listening, pleasure. Classical Music Month was first proclaimed by President Clinton in 1994. The proclamation eloquently states: “Classical music is a celebration of artistic excellence…This month we exalt the many talented composers, conductors, and musicians who bring classical music to our ears. Whether in new American works or in the masterpieces of the great composers of old, music is a unifying force in our world, bringing people together across vast cultural and geographical divisions. Classical music speaks both to the mind and to the heart, giving us something to think about as well as to experience.”

Riverhead Pop-Up Reading Room Supports Banned Books Week
28 September 2018

Riverhead Books will host the latest installment of its Pop-Up Reading Room on Saturday, September 29, 1:00 – 4:00 pm at the Brooklyn Bridge Park in support of Banned Books Week. This much anticipated event has been covered in BookRiot and Culture Trip.

Paul McCartney Pens First Picture Book, HEY GRANDUDE!, to Release Globally September 2019
27 September 2018

Random House Children’s Books and Puffin UK are delighted to announce the forthcoming publication of a new picture book written by one of the world’s most famous and best loved grandfathers, Paul McCartney. HEY GRANDUDE! is Paul McCartney’s first picture book and will be published by the Random House Books for Young Readers imprint in the US and the Puffin imprint in the UK in September 2019. Penguin Random House Children’s MD Francesca Dow and Random House Children’s Books President & Publisher Barbara Marcus acquired world rights in a joint acquisition from Richard Ewbank at MPL Communications.

Throughout Banned Books Week, September 23 – 29, we will be highlighting frequently banned and challenged books to help raise awareness of how the right to freedom of expression and the protection against censorship are essential to the development of our society and cultures around the world. Keep reading for Banned Books reading list inspiration, and stay tuned all week for more recommendations.

How Francesco Sedita Transformed the “Who Was?” Bestselling Books into a Hit Netflix Series
27 September 2018

Francesco Sedita, President & Publisher of Penguin Workshop, was a featured speaker at Bertelsmann’s 2018 Venice Summit earlier this month. He wowed attendees when he talked about the creation The Who Was? Show Netflix series, based on the #1 New York Times bestselling Who Was? book series. Thirteen episodes of The Who Was? Show have aired on Netflix since the series premiered in May and helped propel the Who Was? books to the top of the New York Times children’s series bestseller list for the first time. In this “From Page to Screen” Igloo interview, Sedita provides insights into the genesis and production of The Who Was? Show Netflix series as well as the project’s most rewarding aspects and a look to the future.

Who is Michael Ovitz? The man himself says, “In twenty years I went from a complete unknown, to a comer, to being hailed as the most powerful man in Hollywood – invariably described as a gap-toothed, tightly scripted, secrecy obsessed superagent. After a few years of that, I became the most feared man in town. And once I left CAA (Creative Artists Agency, Inc.), when it was safe for everyone to vent, I became the most hated.”

Penguin Young Readers has announced the launch of World of Eric Carle, a new imprint dedicated to the works of the acclaimed and beloved author and illustrator. Under the editorial leadership of Francesco Sedita, Publisher of Penguin Workshop, World of Eric Carle will focus on publishing books that are based in core values of discovery, creativity, learning and growing—all hallmarks of Eric Carle books. The imprint will launch in Winter 2019 with three all-new titles: CALM WITH THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR, ERIC CARLE’S BOOK OF MANY THINGS, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY FROM THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR. The launch coincides with the 50^th Anniversary of Carle’s iconic picture book, THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR.

Our #BannedBooksWeek Reading List #3
26 September 2018

Yes, it’s Banned Books Week. Did you know that The ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 354 challenges to library, school and university materials in 2017? According to the ALA, the year 2017 saw an increase in censorship attempts and a revitalized effort to remove books from communal shelves to avoid controversy. Of the 416 books challenged or banned in 2017, the following four Penguin Random House titles (here with ALA's annotation about the challenge) were on the Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged List:

Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS), a division of Penguin Random House, Inc., today announced a multi-year extension of its sales and distribution partnership with Soho Press, which began in 2011. Soho Press, an independent publisher of a wide range of literary fiction, young adult fiction, and international crime fiction, will continue to utilize the full portfolio of Penguin Random House's sales and distribution services.

If you’ve been following our posts about Book the Vote, you’ll know that today is National Voter Registration Day! Book the Vote is a Penguin Random House nonpartisan company-wide initiative dedicated to encouraging voter registration and voter turnout through employee and author engagement and to providing tools for brick and mortar stores across the country for this shared goal.

Hank Green’s Debut Novel: “A New Way to Talk About Hard Things”
25 September 2018

Prepare to be swept away by the adventures of April May in Hank Green’s AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE THING , an engaging, cinematic tale about a young woman who becomes an overnight celebrity before realizing she’s part of something bigger, and stranger, than anyone could have possibly imagined. This week’s Igloo Book Buzz, published by Dutton today, September 25, grapples with big themes, including how the social internet is changing fame, rhetoric, and radicalization; how our culture deals with fear and uncertainty; and how vilification and adoration spring for the same dehumanization that follows a life in the public eye.

With its ongoing mission to invest in voices that reflect wide-ranging opinions that impact our society in meaningful ways, Penguin Random House, the world’s largest trade publisher, is supporting this year’s Banned Books Week with major books and financial contributions. From September 23-29, thousands of libraries, schools, bookstores, and community centers across the nation and the world unite to celebrate the freedom to read without interference or censorship.

Friday Reads: International Peace Day
21 September 2018

“I have lost my smile, but don't worry. The dandelion has it.” ― Thich Nhat Hanh Today, September 21^st, is International Peace Day and so we are highlighting books for all ages about peace and from some revered peace workers including Thich Nhat Hanh. Celebrated each year around the world, International Peace Day was declared by The United Nations as a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. For more information visit http://www.un.org/en/events/peaceday/.

Biographers International Organization (BIO) will present its fifth annual Editorial Excellence Award to Tim Duggan, Publisher of Tim Duggan Books, an imprint of Crown Publishing Group, at a special BIO event on Wednesday, November 7, in Manhattan. There will be a celebration of Mr. Duggan’s work on behalf of his authors, with a discussion of the pleasures and challenges of editing, and of the state of the art of serious biography and nonfiction, at the Fabbri Mansion (also known as House of the Redeemer).

Bringing Books to Kids in Need: Penguin Random House Leads the Way in Partnership with PBS and First Book
20 September 2018

First Book and PBS have announced a partnership to distribute more than 350,000 brand new books to children in need through local PBS stations embedded in communities across the U.S., as part of The Great American Read. Penguin Random House was the first publisher to commit to this campaign as we continue to reinforce our leadership position in connecting our authors and books with readers everywhere. The Great American Read is a 9-hour, 8-episode PBS documentary series and public service campaign that explores and celebrates the power of reading, told through the prism of 100 best-loved books (as chosen in a nationally-representative survey). Penguin Random House imprints publish 59 of the 100 titles on The Great American Read list.

Edugyan, Robertson Man Booker Finalists
20 September 2018

WASHINGTON BLACK, a novel by Esi Edugyan, published by Knopf and Random House Audio, and THE LONG TAKE by Robin Robertson, which Knopf will publish in January in the U.S., have been selected by the judges as two of six semi-finalists for the 2018 Man Booker Prize.

In an impressive display of recognition for both Penguin Random House Canada and the breadth of the company’s nonfiction publishing, three authors (out of five nominated authors) have been announced today to the shortlist for this year’s Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction:

Random House author Lynne Olson was one of the featured speakers at Carroll County Public Library’s “Day for Book Lovers” on September 17 at McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland. Co-sponsored by Penguin Random House, the sold-out event was front-page news in the Carroll County Times, covered in the article Acclaimed Authors Enthrall Audience of 'Book Lovers' at McDaniel College by Catalina Righter. In the article’s lead photo, Olson is pictured, along with a glimpse of our Westminster Distribution Center colleague Annette Danek., who attended the event.

This year, Yom Kippur began on September 18, at sundown and will end on September 19, at sundown. Yom Kippur—the Day of Atonement—is considered the most important holiday in the Jewish faith and is observed with a 25-hour fast and a special religious service. Yom Kippur is the culmination of the Ten Days of Awe, a period of introspection and repentance that follows Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. According to tradition, it is on Yom Kippur that God decides each person’s fate, so Jews are encouraged to make amends and ask forgiveness for transgressions committed during the past year. Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah are known as Judaism’s “High Holy Days.” In honor of the holiday, we invite you to explore the following titles:

Khaled Hosseini on the Refugee Crisis and What It Means to Be Human
18 September 2018

Today marks the much anticipated Riverhead release of new work by Khaled Hosseini, one of the most beloved and bestselling authors in the world. His short, illustrated book titled SEA PRAYER, our Igloo Book Buzz selection, has been called “essential” by the San Francisco Chronicle. It was written by Hosseini as a response to the current refugee crisis and the haunting image of young Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy whose body was found washed up on the Turkish shore on this day three years ago. Kirkus, in a starred review, wrote, SEA PRAYER is “an emotional gut-punch” and “impossible to read without feeling intense compassion for those—and there are thousands—whose lives resemble those of the characters in the book.”

Hank Green to Launch His Debut Novel at NYC's Town Hall, with Special Guest John Green
18 September 2018

Dutton author Hank Green will launch his debut novel, AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE THING, at Town Hall in Manhattan on the book’s publication day, September 25, at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are still available, but going fast! Tickets can be purchased via Ticketmaster by clicking here. Each ticket includes a pre-signed copy of AN ABSOLUTELY REMARKABLE THING, a sweeping, cinematic tale about a young woman who becomes an overnight celebrity before realizing she’s part of something bigger, and stranger, than anyone could have possibly imagined.

PRHPS And Beacon Press Renew Sales And Distribution Partnership
18 September 2018

Penguin Random House Publisher Services (PRHPS), a division of Penguin Random House, Inc., today announced a multi-year extension of its sales and distribution partnership with Beacon Press. Beacon Press, an independent, nonprofit publisher of a wide range of serious nonfiction, including sociology, history, religion, biography and memoir, and literary nonfiction, will continue to utilize the full portfolio of Penguin Random House's sales and distribution services.

Penguin Random House Canada celebrates the announcement of six authors (out of 12 nominees) on the longlist for this year’s 25^th-Anniversary Scotiabank Giller Prize:

Clarkson Potter to Publish “TOGETHER: Our Community Cookbook” on September 25
17 September 2018

TOGETHER: Our Community Cookbook will be published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, on September 25. TOGETHER celebrates the power of cooking to connect us to one another. In the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire in London, a group of local women gathered together to cook fresh food for their families and neighbors.

Academy Award Nominee Rosamund Pike to Star in TV Adaptation of THE BANKER’S WIFE
17 September 2018

From Page to Screen: Cristina Alger’s THE BANKER’S WIFE, a USA Today-bestselling and critically acclaimed thriller published by Putnam, will be adapted into a television series by Homeland producers Meredith Stiehm and Lesli Linka Glatter, featuring Rosamund Pike (a 2015 Best Actress Oscar nominee for her Gone Girl performance) in the starring role. The book was optioned earlier this summer by Federation Entertainment and Marsh Productions. They are currently pitching the project to cable and streaming networks.

Join our author Esi Edugyan for a discussion of her new Knopf novel, WASHINGTON BLACK, on Wednesday, September 19 at Greenlight Bookstore in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. Esi will be in conversation with Knopf Senior Editor Diana Miller. The event, which begins at 7:30 p.m., will be followed by a wine reception to celebrate the book’s launch.

Congratulations to our Penguin Random House authors and their publishing teams who have been chosen by the respective five category judges as “longlisted” semi-finalists–including five of the ten Fiction titles–for the 2018 National Book Awards.

Have Friday night plans? New Yorkers and everyone else have the opportunity to see, hear and meet Kate Schatz and Miriam Klein Stahl, creators of the Ten Speed Press books RAD WOMEN WORLDWIDE and, most recently, RAD GIRLS CAN, at Books Are Magic in Brooklyn. The event begins at 7:30 p.m., with a booksigning to follow the author discussion and audience Q&A.

Did you know that September is National Translation Month? Founded in 2013 National Translation Month (NTM) is a celebration of translation throughout the month. From nationaltranslationmonth.org: “Language is a way to express the human experience, yet it also presents communication barriers. With the efforts of accomplished translators, however, those barriers can be overcome to foster artistic unity across linguistic boundaries.” In recognition of the art of translation, we are highlighting our most recent Pen Translation Prize nominees and winners along with this week’s announced 2018 NATIONAL BOOK AWARDS LONGLIST FOR TRANSLATED LITERATURE. Finalists will be announced on October 10th and winners will be announced on November 14th, 2018. Your weekend reading is spoken for…

Coll, Hisham and Crabapple Chosen As 2018 NBA Nonfiction Semi-Finalists
13 September 2018

Here are the Penguin Random House titles longlisted for the 2018 National Book Award in Nonfiction.

Two Penguin Books authors are among the ten longlisted by the 2018 National Book Awards judges in the Poetry category:

Today, Live Nation and the Crown Publishing Group announced the fall 2018 dates for Michelle Obama’s live U.S. book tour events in support of her highly anticipated memoir, BECOMING. Produced by Live Nation, the 10-city U.S. tour will kick off in Mrs. Obama’s home town of Chicago on Tuesday, November 13, and will feature intimate and honest conversations between Mrs. Obama and a selection of to-be-announced moderators, reflective of the extraordinary stories shared in the wide-ranging chapters of her deeply personal book.

This year, the National Book Awards is debuting a new category: Translated Literature. We have two nominees on its 2018 Longlist:

The 2018 National Book Awards season is officially underway with this week’s serial announcements of the ten titles “long-listed” in each of five categories.

James Johnston Named Chief Financial Officer of Penguin Random House
12 September 2018

Dear Colleagues, It is my great pleasure to announce that James Johnston, one of our most trusted leaders, is named global Chief Financial Officer of Penguin Random House, effective today, reporting to me.

The Great American Read “Fall Kick-Off” Premieres, Remember to Vote!
11 September 2018

PBS’ The Great American Read “Fall Kick-Off” episode premieres tonight on PBS, continuing this documentary series that celebrates America’s 100 best-loved novels (as chosen in a nationally-representative survey). You can vote online at http://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/vote/, via Facebook and Twitter, and you can also cast your votes by sending a Text Message to 97979, using a specific hashtag for each title. The hashtags for the books published by Penguin Random House can be found here. More details about your voting options, plus a complete directory of title hashtags, are viewable here. All Penguin Random House colleagues are encouraged to participate. Public voting will continue until October 18 at 12:00 midnight (PT), leading up to the “Grand Finale,” airing on October 23, when America’s Best-Loved Book will be announced.

Multiple authors and their books published by Penguin Random House imprints received awards at the 2018 Bouchercon World Mystery Convention in St. Petersburg, Florida this past weekend.

The shortlist for the Center for Fiction’s 2018 First Novel Prize, annually awarded to the best debut novel of the year, has been announced. Among the seven finalists are three of our authors and their books published by Penguin Random House imprints:

How THE WONDROUS WORKINGS OF PLANET EARTH Entertains, Informs and Empowers Everyone
10 September 2018

Rachel Ignotofsky’s THE WONDROUS WORKINGS OF PLANET EARTH: Understanding Our World and Its Ecosystems presents an expansive and beautifully illustrated tour of our planet, exploring ecosystems large and small, from reefs, deserts, and rainforests to a single drop of water. Making earth science accessible and entertaining through art, maps, and infographics, this newly published Ten Speed Press book explains how our planet works – from its diverse ecosystems and their inhabitants, to the levels of ecology, the importance of biodiversity, and the cycles of nature.

Friday Reads: International Literacy Day
7 September 2018

Saturday, September 8^th is International Literacy Day. Since 1989, the International Literacy Association’s Teachers’ Choices project has identified books that teachers, librarians, and literacy specialists consider exceptional for encouraging young people to read. Parents and families will also find these recommendations

Colleagues who will be in the vicinity of Washington, D.C. tonight take note: DeRay Mckesson, internationally recognized civil rights activist/organizer and host of the popular podcast, Save the People, will discuss his new Viking book, ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FREEDOM: The Case for Hope, in conversation with Taylor Branch, author of

This year marks the 20^th anniversary of Putnam’s perennial bestseller WHO MOVED MY CHEESE? by Spencer Johnson. The Friday edition of The Washington Post features an in-depth article by long-time book reporter Ron Charles, titled “‘Who Moved My Cheese’ Became a Monster Hit. Twenty Years Later, We’re Still Wondering Why.”

New Release Spotlight: I’M AFRAID OF MEN by Vivek Shraya
6 September 2018

Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada, is thrilled to be publishing the urgent and essential I’M AFRAID OF MEN by trans writer and artist Vivek Shraya, whose body of work crosses the boundaries of music, poetry, fiction, visual art, and film.

Penguin Random House is proud to have 7 colleagues among this year’s 45 PW Star Watch honorees, recognized as “outstanding individuals who further the cultural and economic success of publishers, bookstores, and the industry at large,” as noted by Publishers Weekly, celebrating some of the “rising stars of our industry” in the fourth annual Star Watch program.

There's a Book for That: Tennis!
5 September 2018

The U.S. Open Tennis Tournament is in full swing at Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows-Corona Park, Queens, New York City. Some of the highlights, and upsets, so far include Australian John Millman defeating his “hero” Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova losing to Spain's Carla Suárez Navarro. With all eyes on the ball this week, we’ve decided to serve some court-side reading to fans… aces all!

The film and television rights for SUCH A FUN AGE, an upcoming Putnam title from Kiley Reid, have been acquired by Emmy-winning actress, producer, and screenwriter Lena Waithe’s Hillman Grad Productions and Sight Unseen Pictures, as reported by Deadline.

The Anchor editions of Kevin Kwan’s fiction trilogy – CRAZY RICH ASIANS, CHINA RICH GIRLFRIEND and RICH PEOPLE PROBLEMS – command the top three positions, respectively, on the Sunday, September 9 New York Times Trade Paperback bestseller list — an almost unprecedented single-author-and-publisher trifecta last accomplished in 2012, by sister imprint Vintage, with E L James’s FIFTY SHADES trilogy. There are over 3.7 million copies of the “Crazy Rich Asians” trilogy in print in the U.S. and Canada, across all formats. And the Crazy Rich Asians Warner Bros. film has grossed $117 million in North America after just three weekends in theaters.

Penguin Random House is proud to announce Book the Vote, a new nonpartisan company-wide initiative to begin next month, aimed toward encouraging voter registration and voter turnout through author engagement, and by providing tools for brick and mortar stores across the country to create their own displays, community nights, and initiatives toward this shared goal. The idea was born out of the excitement about the forthcoming publication of GLIMMER OF HOPE: How Tragedy Sparked a Movement (Razorbill and Dutton Adult, October 16), written by the March for Our Lives founders. These incredible students just completed their “Road to Change” tour, registering voters in 50 events across the country. Penguin Random House is excited to continue this initiative, and to inspire authors and bookstores across the country to get involved.

Featured Author Event: Gary Shteyngart (NYC)
31 August 2018

New York Times bestselling Random House author Gary Shteyngart will be launching his new novel, LAKE SUCCESS, on Tuesday, September 4, with a talk and reading at Barnes & Noble Union Square in NYC. There will also be a book signing.

Friday Reads: From Page to Screen
31 August 2018

Labor Day weekend is upon us. Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is dedicated to the achievements of American workers. What better way to honor work than by relaxing with a good book? Grab the snacks because we can’t think of anything that fits the bill more perfectly than books adapted for the big and smaller screen this season. Here’s a fine selection to complement your viewing:

Penguin Random House will have a big presence at the 18th Library of Congress National Book Festival, Saturday, September 1, at the Washington Convention Center, with 34 of our authors making presentations and holding book signings throughout the day, from 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Colleagues in the vicinity of DC this weekend take note, and admission is free.

During the last sweltering days of August in Manhattan, Penguin Random House extended its 25^th Anniversary CWA program to give a select group of recipients a deeper dive into writing with the “What’s Your Story” Summer Writer’s Retreat. Over four consecutive days young local writers generated new pieces, prompted by a potent array of writing exercises. Students were encouraged to share works-in-progress as well as bits of writing that may have been abandoned along the way.

Novelist John Larison Hears “The Story of The Person, not The Story of The Labels”
30 August 2018

John Larison’s WHISKEY WHEN WE’RE DRY, published last week by Viking, is a gritty and lyrical American epic about a young woman who disguises herself as a boy and heads West. In the spring of 1885, seventeen-year-old Jessilyn Harney finds herself orphaned and alone on her family’s homestead. Desperate to fend off starvation and predatory neighbors, she cuts off her hair, binds her chest, saddles her beloved mare, and sets off across the mountains to find her outlaw brother Noah and bring him home. Told in Jess’s wholly original and unforgettable voice, the book draws readers into its expansive adventures that tangle with the myths that are entwined with our history.

Penguin Random House India has been honored at the Sammie Awards for the second year in a row. Our New Delhi colleagues won the Silver Award in the “Best Social Media Brands – Content Publisher” category. The Indian online platform Social Samosa, which presents the awards, researches trends and developments in social media marketing.

NO HARD FEELINGS Authors Blog About “The Evolution of Our Book Cover”
29 August 2018

Portfolio authors Liz Fosslien and Mollie West Duffy were actively involved in the cover design of their upcoming book, NO HARD FEELINGS: Emotions at Work (and How They Help Us Succeed), on sale January 22, 2019. A visual exploration of how to embrace emotion at work and become more authentic and fulfilled while staying professional, this book combines practical advice and scientific research to give readers the tools they need. The authors recently created a blog that chronicled the design process: Behind the Book: The Evolution of Our Book Cover.

Students are heading back to school! Social media pages are filling up with updates and photos of the college-bound waving from car windows, standing in their dorm rooms - full of anticipation. This put us in mind of all the captivating novels set on campuses. We present a syllabus of such novels full of self-discovery, new relationships and intrigue:

Our new Igloo Book Buzz selections are HARBOR ME and THE DAY YOU BEGIN, on sale August 28, published by Nancy Paulsen Books. Both titles feature Jacqueline Woodson’s lyrical writing and explore themes of building bridges and sparking empathy.

With a goal of expanding support for the higher-education market, Penguin Random House announces the launch of a new, far-reaching online platform uniquely designed to meet educators’ needs. Featuring a large collection of the publisher’s most frequently-adopted titles for hundreds of college courses, the site allows professors to more easily identify the books and resources most appropriate for a wide range of courses. Penguin Random House is the first trade publisher to provide this comprehensive and extensive a service across its front- and backlist.

People around the world are mourning the passing of Senator John McCain, who died Saturday, August 25, at the age of 81. War hero, military and political maverick, two-time presidential contender, and devoted father, McCain was also the bestselling author of seven greatly admired books, the first four of which were published by Random House: FAITH OF MY FATHERS: A Family Memoir (1999), WORTH THE FIGHTING FOR: The Education of an American Maverick, and the Heroes Who Inspired Him (2003), WHY COURAGE MATTERS: The Way to a Braver Life (2004), and CHARACTER IS DESTINY: Inspiring Stories We Should All Remember (2005). The co-author of all of McCain’s books was Mark Salter, who also served as the Senator’s speech writer and staff aide.

Featured Author Event: Vanessa Hua (San Francisco)
27 August 2018

Colleagues in the Bay Area are invited to experience a celebration of diverse new literary voices. Vanessa Hua, San Francisco Chronicle columnist and author of the debut novel, A RIVER OF STARS (Ballantine), will be featured on a “Diverse Voices in Publishing” panel at Book Passage in San Francisco on Wednesday, August 29. Other panelists include Riverhead author R. O. Kwon (THE INCINDIARIES) and Doubleday author Ingrid Rojas Contreras (FRUIT OF THE DRUNKEN TREE). Also joining for this evening event will be authors Crystal Hana Kim and Lillian Li. Beginning at 7:00 p.m., the writers will each read from their debut novels, examining identity, family, and more.

Susan Kamil on the Enduring Resonance of GUERNSEY and the Novel’s Netflix Film Adaptation
27 August 2018

THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows, a celebration of the written word in all its guises and of finding connection in the most surprising ways, was originally published by The Dial Press in 2008. Structured as a series of letters, this beloved novel quickly became a #1 New York Times bestseller and a book club favorite. Fast forward to this summer, when Netflix released a film adaptation of GUERNSEY. Rave reviews have been rolling in, sparking renewed interest in the book, with Dial publishing a movie tie-in edition that has returned the title to the New York Times bestseller list. In this “From Page to Screen” Igloo interview, Susan Kamil, Executive Vice President, Publisher, Random House and The Dial Press, shares insights into the process of how GUERNSEY became a book, her impressions of the film adaptation, and why both the novel and film resonate so strongly with readers and viewers.

This week saw the publication of the much-anticipated novel, WHISKEY WHEN WE’RE DRY by John Larison. In honor of its American West setting, strong characters, family themes and gorgeous writing we’ve rounded-up others of its ilk for your weekend reading adventures:

Colleagues in Southern California take note: Random House author Joshua Cohen will be discussing his latest book, ATTENTION: Dispatches from a Land of Distraction, in conversation with his editor, Sam Nicholson, at Book Soup in West Hollywood on Sunday, August 26. This afternoon author event begins at 3:00 p.m. and will conclude with a book signing.

This year’s Worldcon, held August 16 – 20, in San Jose, California, was capped by the Hugos, the premier sci-fi and fantasy book awards. And it was a great year for DAW. Sheila E. Gilbert, DAW Co-Publisher and Vice President, won her second Hugo in the Best Editor--Long Form category. The Best Novelette Hugo went to author Suzanne Palmer (DAW is publishing her debut novel FINDER in April 2019).

There’s a Book for That: Elephants
22 August 2018

August seems to be the month of the elephant. August 12^th was World Elephant Day, an auspicious birthdate for Zuli, a healthy male African elephant born that day to his mother “Ndlula” at San Diego’s Wild Animal Park. Science has taught us that elephants are some of the most intelligent, social and empathic animals around. Elephants' captivity is controversial, but conservation is a concern. This week, Carl Zimmer (SHE HAS HER MOTHER'S LAUGH) wrote in The New York Times about research showing elephants protect themselves with a unique gene that fights cancer which may help treatment in humans. Also this week, tragedy struck when two Tanzanians were trampled to death by elephants in Kenya: Clashes between people and wild animals are a growing problem in East Africa. These powerful mammals are the subject of the following fiction and nonfiction for all ages:

Our new Igloo Book Buzz selection is Christina Dalcher’s VOX, on sale today from Berkley. One of the most talked about and eagerly anticipated novels of the summer, VOX tells the harrowing, unforgettable story of what one woman will do to protect herself and her daughter when half the U.S. population has

In the ongoing spirit of us giving back to our communities, Penguin Random House has been a longtime supporter of Shakespeare in the Park, one of the cornerstones of the Public Theater’s mission to bring performing arts to the people of New York City. Since 1962, over five million people have experienced more than 150 free productions of Shakespeare and other

Attention all Brooklynites and everyone else: you are invited to enjoy what promises to be an entertaining evening with Mara Altman, author of the new Putnam book, GROSS ANATOMY: Dispatches From the Front (and Back), on Wednesday, August 22, at WORD Bookstore in Brooklyn. Described as “an honest, funny, neurotic, and totally gross love child of Mindy Kaling and Mary Roach,” Altman will present a talk/reading beginning at 7:30 p.m. and then sign copies of her book following a Q&A with the audience.

Even before galleys were available, New York Times bestselling author Kristan Higgins’most personal novel to date, GOOD LUCK WITH THAT, caused a stir, challenging readers to think about their views on weight and body image. GOOD LUCK WITH THAT, a story of three lifelong friends who battle their own, very different issues with weight and body image and

Friday Reads: Aretha Franklin
16 August 2018

“Being the Queen is not all about singing, and being a diva is not all about singing. It has much to do with your service to people. And your social contributions to your community and your civic contributions as well.” – Aretha Franklin

PRH’s “Grand Central Reads” Featured in New York Times’ “New York Today”
16 August 2018

Penguin Random House’s Grand Central Reads, launched earlier this summer in partnership with the MTA Metro-North Railroad, is featured in today’s edition of The New York Times’ “New York Today” column. Written by Molly Horan and Alexandra S. Levine, the article notes, “For those who prefer books to beats during your commute, Grand Central Reads may whet your literary appetite. Until the end of August, you can download and read book excerpts about New York and by New York authors — for free — through Grand Central Reads … Similar to music playlists, you can customize your book choice based on the length of your commute.”

The World Fantasy Convention has announced that DAW Books Publisher Betsy Wollheim will be awarded the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award, for demonstrating outstanding service to the fantasy field. She is being honored alongside author Charles de Lint.

Summer movie alert! Today, August 15, Crazy Rich Asians opens in theaters nationwide. The film adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s #1 New York Times bestselling novel, CRAZY RICH ASIANS has been hotly anticipated and is the first film with an all-Asian cast and director since Wayne Wang’s The Joy Luck Club 25 years ago. In its 100-point Metacritic review, Time Out writes, “Bursting with attitude and heart, Hollywood's first Asian-centric rom-com in years makes up for lost time in a big way.” The first in a trilogy, CRAZY RICH ASIANS inspired us to seek out more reading riches in the following Asian novels:

We are sad to report the passing of V.S. Naipaul, who died late Saturday at his home in London. He was 85. Naipaul’s long association with Alfred A. Knopf began in 1970, when the house published THE LOSS OF EL DORADO. Robert Gottlieb, who was head of Knopf at the time, was his editor.

David Joy’s Appalachian Noir: “There’s Not a Story that Can’t be Told Within the Shadow of These Mountains
13 August 2018

Our new Igloo Book Buzz selection is THE LINE THAT HELD US, published by G. P. Putnam’s Sons on August 14, the dazzling third novel of Appalachian noir by Edgar Award nominee David Joy, whose work has drawn comparisons to Cormac McCarthy, Flannery O’Connor, Ron Rash, Daniel Woodrell, Tom Franklin, and Wiley Cash.

The prestigious FT (Financial Times)/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Awards, which annually recognizes the book published in the U.S. and UK that “provides the most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern business issues, including management, finance and economics,” has announced its 2018 longlist of 15 titles.

This fall Penguin Young Readers will introduce a brand new format to the American market - Penguin Minis - pocket-sized, full-length books that can easily fit in the palm of your hand. The inaugural list will debut with four titles by internationally bestselling author John Green: Looking for Alaska, An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, and The Fault in Our Stars. Additional titles will follow in 2019. Available as single titles or a complete box set, the inaugural Penguin Minis have a first print run of 500,000 copies and will be available nationwide on October 23, 2018, just in time for the holiday season.

With the 21^st century’s advent of smart phone cameras and social media sharing, we have certainly become tourists in our own lives like never before… snapping and posting photos whenever inspiration strikes. Thusly, vicarious travel is at an all-time high in the summer. Depending on the trips of your circle of “friends”, you may visit Japan, Giverny, Maine, Greenland, etcetera through their photos. In that vein, we've turned our lens to some of the best photography books for the summer – from instruction to stunning works of art to pictorial travelogues:

Colorado colleagues take note: Riverhead author R. O. Kwon will be presenting her gripping novel, THE INCENDIARIES, at the Tattered Cover Bookstore in Denver on Saturday, August 11, at 2:00pm. The event will feature Kwon in conversation with journalist, fiction writer, and the former business editor of newyorker.com Vauhini Vara.

500 Days of Summer (Interns): A Look Back and a Farewell
8 August 2018

As the summer draws to an end, so too does our time at Penguin Random House. Interning at Penguin Random House has provided us with the incredible opportunity to explore every nook and cranny of the publishing industry, develop crucial professional skills, forge lifelong connections, and experience everything the City That Never Sleeps has to offer.

Berkley’s Danielle Perez Probes the “Addictive” OUR HOUSE and its “Twisty Suspense”
8 August 2018

Louise Candlish’s OUR HOUSE, published by Berkley on August 7, is an addictive novel of domestic suspense, where secrets kept hidden from spouses cause shocking surprises: When Fiona Lawson comes home to find strangers moving into her house, she’s sure there’s been a mistake. She and her estranged husband, Bram, have a modern co-parenting arrangement: “bird’s nest” custody, where each parent spends a few nights a week with their two sons at the prized family home to maintain stability for their children. But the system built to protect their family ends up putting them in terrible jeopardy. In a domino effect of crimes and misdemeanors, the nest comes tumbling down. In this Three Questions for an Editor interview, Berkley Executive Editor Danielle Perez discusses what drew her to author Louise Candlish and her remarkable page-turner, the process of weaving together the different threads of the story into a finished novel, and the kinds of readers that will fall under the spell of this “twisty suspense.”

The countdown continues: the film adaptation of Kevin Kwan’s CRAZY RICH ASIANS (Vintage), which is currently #1 on The New York Times bestseller list, opens in theaters nationwide on August 15. If ever a book was made for the big screen, it is CRAZY RICH ASIANS: When New Yorker Rachel Chu agrees to spend the summer in Singapore with her boyfriend, Nicholas Young, she envisions a humble family home and quality time with the man she hopes to marry. But Nick has failed to give his girlfriend a few key details. One, that his childhood home looks like a palace; two, that he grew up riding in more private planes than cars; and three, that he just happens to be the country’s most eligible bachelor.

What is it like to work in the White House, for the President? This week, inspired by the current New York Times bestseller, FROM THE CORNER OF THE OVAL, we are featuring memoirs that help answer the question. From the perspectives of presidential speechwriters, aides and others, the following titles also give historical insight and shed light on the differences between administrations:

G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers author Jessica Blank will be sharing her stunning new novel, LEGACY, at her launch party. The launch party will take place at The Word Bookstore in Brooklyn on Wednesday, August 8, at 7:00pm.

First Look Film Preview: James Baldwin’s “IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK” Directed by Barry Jenkins
3 August 2018

In what surely is one of 2018’s most anticipated screen adaptations, the film version of James Baldwin’s classic fiction IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK will be coming to theatre screens this fall, marking the return of Barry Jenkins, the Oscar-winning director of “Moonlight,” which won Academy Awards in 2017 for Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay. IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK will premiere next month at the Toronto International Film Festival.

Friday Reads: Peaches!
3 August 2018

"The peach lay there still, blushing deeper in the window light. She bent to smell, and the perfume was headier than before, a scent of meadows and summers home from school." – Allegra Goodman, The Cookbook Collector

Penguin Books author Maeve Higgins will be sharing her timely memoir, MAEVE IN AMERICA: Essays by a Girl From Somewhere Else, at The Strand in the Rare Book Room on Tuesday, August 7, from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Television announced today that it has optioned the rights to Elaine Weiss’s critically-acclaimed Viking book, THE WOMAN’S HOUR: The Great Fight to Win the Vote, and will develop it as a long-form project for premium cable or streaming platforms. Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Elaine Weiss, as well as Amblin Television’s Co-Presidents, Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey, will serve as executive producers. The book follows the remarkable activists who led the decades-long fight to grant women the right to vote and sheds light on how close the battle to ratify the 19^th Amendment really was. An inspiring story, THE WOMAN’S HOUR, celebrates those who changed history and laid the foundation for the civil rights movement that came decades later.

This year's San Diego Comic-Con (July 19-22) at the San Diego Convention Center drew huge waves of consumer traffic. Our Penguin Random House Digital Video team was on the scene to shoot videos of popular panels, including ones featuring Penguin Random House colleagues and authors Naomi Novik, Andy Weir, Tricia Narwani, and many more.

There's a Book for That: Thrillers!
1 August 2018

Welcome August! The hottest month of summer calls for chilling page-turners and we’ve selected some of the most popular thrillers on our list. Enter the realm of double-lives, marital secrets, trauma and survival. Read on!

Colleagues in the Bay Area take note: Doubleday author Ingrid Rojas Contreras will be presenting her mesmerizing debut novel, FRUIT OF THE DRUNKEN TREE, at a release party that will take place at The Bindery in San Francisco on Thursday, August 2, at 7:00 pm.

“At PRH, Producing a Publishing Powerhouse” reads the headline of the cover story in the newly released print edition of Publishers Weekly. In recognition of this month’s five-year anniversary of the Penguin Random House merger, PW “looks back at how two publishing giants were integrated.” The article by PW Editorial Director Jim Milliot presents detailed insights into the full scope of the merger, featuring comments from Penguin Random House Global CEO Markus Dohle.

First-Ever RIF Quiz Show on Facebook Live and Instagram Connects Readers to Exciting New Books
29 July 2018

Read It Forward (RIF), the Penguin Random House community that helps readers discover exciting new books and classic reads, has launched its first-ever quiz show on Facebook Live and Instagram. The Read It Forward Quiz Show will take place daily at 1:00 pm (EDT) from July 30 through August 3, and feature trivia-like questions related to Penguin Random House books on the Indie Next List, comprised of independent bookseller-nominated favorite handsells. Each episode will provide viewers a daily chance to win a $100 gift certificate to a sponsoring independent bookstore, which can be redeemed on each bookstore’s e-commerce site.

Dutton author Miriam Parker will be sharing her captivating debut novel, THE SHORTEST WAY HOME, at Books are Magic in Brooklyn, on Wednesday, August 1, from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm. The event will feature Miriam in conversation with our very own Rachel Fershleiser, Senior Director of Marketing, Alfred A. Knopf, Pantheon, Schocken Books.

Child, Tudor, Grann and Love Among Our Crime Writing Dagger Awards Finalists
27 July 2018

The Crime Writers' Association announced the shortlists for the prestigious UK-based Crime Writing Dagger Awards at Daunt Books in London on Wednesday, July 25. A number of our authors are finalists in various categories:

Vintage author Brian Catling will be presenting the stunning conclusion to his beloved Vorrh Trilogy, THE CLOVEN, at Greenlight Bookstore in Brooklyn on Monday, July 30, beginning at 7:30 pm. The event will feature Brian in conversation with author and Vol. 1 Brooklyn editor Tobias Carroll.

Summer vacation is a popular time to read young adult novels, even for adults. It's not just the nostalgia factor: Young adult fiction tends to tackle relationships and intense social themes in a raw, though sometimes humorous, way. These novels provide windows into what young people are dealing with in our complex world - what's universal and what is unique to this time and place. And It’s no easy feat to write young characters who ring true in stories that offer fresh perspectives and insights. Below are some recently published standouts for your weekend reading:

This morning in London our minority shareholder Pearson presented its 2018 half-year results. The complete press release, which contains information about Penguin Random House, is available here.

Penguin Random House had another successful year at San Diego Comic-Con 2018. With record breaking sales and over forty in-booth author signings, the Con was a perfect opportunity for our divisions to engage face-to-face with fans. Featured items included Tim Zahn's THRAWN: Alliances Con Edition which could also be purchased as a bundle with a very special audiobook edition, plus freshly designed Fight Evil, Read Books t-shirts, designed by Pantheon author and Eisner Award winner Sonny Liew.

Penguin Random House is Highest-Rated Media Company on Forbes List of “America's Best Employers for Women”
26 July 2018

Forbes’s newly released “America's Best Employers for Women 2018” list features Penguin Random House at the highest rating in the Media & Advertising sector: #58, among the 300 companies ranked. This strong showing follows Penguin Random House’s recent #1 position on America’s Best Midsize Employers 2018 Forbes list,

Summer is sailing by! How to choose what to read? The New York Times bestseller list is but one source… and it’s interesting to compare it to regional bestseller lists. Where is there overlap and where can you discover a regional favorite? In the case of the following fiction and nonfiction, we’ve found a hot handful of new releases that have made the regional lists this week and are accruing accolades as the days go by:

Valerie Jarrett Reveals the Title and Cover of Her Upcoming Memoir on “The View”
26 July 2018

Valerie Jarrett, the longest serving senior advisor to President Obama, revealed her upcoming memoir’s cover and title, FINDING MY VOICE: My Journey to the West Wing and the Path Forward, on The View on Wednesday, July 25. The book, publishing with Viking on April 2, 2019, describes Jarrett’s circuitous journey from childhood to the White House. Her forthright, optimistic perspective on the importance of leadership and the responsibilities of citizenship in the twenty-first century will inspire readers to lift their own voices.

The longlist of thirteen semi-finalists for the 2018 Man Booker Prize, one of the most influential annual English-language international literary fiction honors, has been announced from London. They were chosen from more than 170 submitted books being published in the UK between October 1, 2017, and September 30, 2018. Here are our longlisted titles published by Penguin Random House imprints in the U.S., Canada and the UK:

The students from Parkland, Florida who founded The March For Our Lives after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting, are now adding a book to their movement. GLIMMER OF HOPE: How Tragedy Sparked a Movement will be the official, definitive book from the founders and will document the ongoing fight for sensible gun control legislation and their journey on the road to change. In a rare move, Razorbill, a Penguin Young Readers imprint, and Dutton, an adult imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, have teamed up to sell this single title together and jointly market the book, which will go on sale on October 16.

Two Ten Speed Press Authors Win Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards
24 July 2018

Ten Speed Press authors Jim Meehan and Thad Vogler are winners of the 2018 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards in both book-related categories. The recipients of the 12th Annual Spirited Awards, considered the most prestigious accolades in the spirits world, were announced Saturday evening at the annual Tales of the Cocktail Festival in New Orleans.

Friday Reads: Steampunk!
20 July 2018

“Steam” has entered our contemporary vernacular in a big way. “STEAM” programming is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. As a popular literary genre and aesthetic, Steampunk can generally be defined as a story set in either Victorian England or America's Wild West wherein modern technologies are re-imagined. For instance, “Dr. Who” has Steampunk elements with its time-travel plots. As for the genre’s origin story, K.W. Jeter wrote to Locus magazine in 1987: “Personally, I think Victorian fantasies are going to be the next big thing, as long as we can come up with a fitting collective term for Powers, Blaylock and myself. Something based on the appropriate technology of the era; like 'steam-punks', perhaps.”

Colleagues in Westminster take note: Penguin Press author Ottessa Moshfegh will be sharing her bold new novel, MY YEAR OF REST AND RELAXATION, a New York Times bestseller, at Politics & Prose at the Wharf in Washington, DC on Wednesday, July 25, from 7:00 to 8:00 pm.

PBS’ The Great American Read series premiered last month, kicking off a celebration of America’s 100 best-loved novels (as chosen in a nationally-representative survey). You can vote online at http://www.pbs.org/the-great-american-read/vote/, via Facebook and Twitter, and now you can also cast your votes by sending a Text Message to 97979, using a specific hashtag for each title. The hashtags for the books published by Penguin Random House can be found here. More details about your voting options, plus a complete directory of title hashtags, are viewable here. All Penguin Random House colleagues are encouraged to participate. Public voting will continue throughout the summer, leading up to the Grand Finale in October, when America’s Best-Loved Book will be announced.

This week's dominant story is President Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. At the time of this post, news and social media is abuzz with reactions to the summit on the heels of special counsel Robert Mueller’s report indicting 12 Russian officers. To add context, we offer the following expertly researched titles full of trenchant analysis and narrative history by world-renowned journalists and insiders:

TSP Author Kate Schatz on the Making of RAD GIRLS CAN
17 July 2018

RAD GIRLS CAN: Stories of Bold, Brave, and Brilliant Young Women, published by Ten Speed Press today, July 17, is a new collection of stories and art about inspiring and accomplished girls who have made positive impacts on the world before the age of 20. This is the third book in the series by author Kate Schatz and illustrator Miriam Klein Stahl that also includes New York Times bestsellers RAD WOMEN WORLDWIDE and RAD AMERICAN WOMEN A-Z. You might know the stories of Malala Yousafzai, Anne Frank, Jazz Jennings, and Joan of Arc. But have you heard about Yusra Mardini, a Syrian refugee who swam a sinking boat to shore, saved twenty lives, then went on to compete as an Olympic swimmer? Or Trisha Prabhu, who invented an anti-cyberbullying app at age 13? Or Barbara Rose Johns, whose high school protest helped spark the civil rights movement? In this “Meet Our Author” interview, Kate Schatz talks about the development of the idea behind the concept for RAD GIRLS CAN, how the book was created, and what elements are expected to resonate most strongly with readers.

Friday the 13^th is your lucky day! We have 13 debut novels to freshen up your reading life. THERE, THERE by Tommy Orange reminds us all about the thrill of discovery as will the following varied new voices in fiction this summer…

The New England Independent Booksellers Association (NEIBA) has announced that Random House Children’s Books Sales Manager Kate Sullivan has won its 2018 Saul Gilman Award, for outstanding service as a sales representative to New England independent bookstores. Congratulations to Kate on this well-deserved honor.

Given Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's decision to retire, President Trump announced this week his nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh currently serves on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He will now make “courtesy calls” with senators though his confirmation hearings are yet to be announced. The Supreme Court has also entered popular culture this summer with the hit documentary, RBG, about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. At 85 years-old, Justice Ginsburg is the eldest on the court. As testament to her popularity, FCTRY, a Brooklyn-based product design company, has raised more than $600,000 for a Ruth Bader Ginsburg life-like action figure, exceeding its funding goal of $15,000 by over 4,000%. With public interest percolating, we're highlighting books about the highest court in the land – its history, landmark cases, personalities and its crucial role in American democracy.

How Pantheon’s Lexy Bloom Brought Hanan al-Shaykh’s New Novel to American Readers
10 July 2018

THE OCCASIONAL VIRGIN is a frank and fearless novel from acclaimed writer Hanan al-Shaykh, published today by Pantheon. The book’s storyline follows the tumultuous lives and sometimes shocking choices of two women, successful in their careers but unlucky in love. In this Three Questions for an Editor interview, Lexy Bloom, Senior Editor/Senior Culinary Editor, Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, Anchor, offers insights into her editorial work with the author, the process of transforming what was originally a short story into THE OCCASIONAL VIRGIN, and the ways in which this book will resonate with American readers. Read on.

Michael Ondaatje’s THE ENGLISH PATIENT Wins the Golden Man Booker Prize
9 July 2018

Penguin Random House author Michael Ondaatje has won the Golden Man Booker Prize for his classic novel THE ENGLISH PATIENT, it was announced in London last night. This one-time prize was awarded for the best work of fiction from the last five decades of The Man Booker Prize, one of the world’s most prestigious annual fiction awards, as chosen by five judges, and then voted on by the public.

G.P. Putnam’s Sons author Cristina Alger will be presenting her thrilling new novel, THE BANKER’S WIFE, at the 86^th Street and Lexington Avenue Barnes & Noble in Manhattan on Tuesday, July 10. The event will feature Christina in conversation with Lee Childs, author of twenty-two New York Times bestselling JACK REACHER thrillers.

Penguin Random House continues to honor its dedication to literacy at the annual American Library Association Conference and Exhibition, where our 2018 Penguin Random House Library Awards for Innovation grant winners were announced. Skip Dye, Vice President & Director of Operations and Library Sales, Penguin Random House, presented the awards at the Penguin Random House Librarian Reception, held on the opening day of last month's ALA conference at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

Penguin Random House Ireland Partners with Fighting Words Charity to Release Student Anthology
6 July 2018

Penguin Random House Ireland partnered with the Fighting Words charity, an organization in Dublin dedicated to helping youth and young adults discover and cultivate their passions for creative writing. The charity recently launched its latest anthology, BEYOND BOUNDARIES, an inspired collection of short stories written by fourth year students at the Manor House School and edited by the PRH Ireland editorial team.

The anthology features a written introduction by Penguin Ireland author, Sinéad Moriarty, in which she writes: In a year where women have stood up, spoken out and no longer been afraid to call out bad behaviour, it’s lovely to see a short story compilation from a group of young, fresh-faced and talented girls. The stories cover a wide range of subject matters and plots that will make you sit up and pay attention. Some will move you to tears, others will make you laugh and some will make you gasp out loud.

Penguin Random House has launched a limited-time charitable-giving opportunity as part of our Grand Central Reads partnership with MTA Metro-North Railroad and Grand Central Terminal, a brand new program that allows commuters and visitors to use their mobile devices to download free Penguin Random House book excerpts. In celebration of Penguin Random House’s five-year anniversary, the company is offering Grand Central Reads users a special 5-minute Reads section on the mobile platform, which will trigger book donations from Penguin Random House to its charitable partner, Save the Children, empowering New Yorkers to give back to those in need. For every five minutes read in this section, Penguin Random House will donate one of its book to global humanitarian organization Save the Children, up to 25,000 books, which will be distributed during community events, family activities and holiday celebrations at parks, schools, and libraries in the areas the organization serves.

There's a Book for That: U.S.- Mexico Border
5 July 2018

Mexico has a new President: Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the former mayor of Mexico City, won Mexico’s presidential election by a large margin last Sunday. López Obrador’s party, Morena, is new and he defeated two candidates from parties that have ruled Mexico for a century. He ran on a message of tackling corruption and more government aid to the poor. The United States’ current border issues with Mexico draw attention to the hardships of life there. CNN reports that nearly 35,000 individuals were arrested crossing the southern US border illegally in June. The separation of children from their families created public outcry and nationwide human rights protests. To educate ourselves further, here is a selection of books about Mexico and border crossing:

Our special 4^th of July Igloo Book Buzz selection is the new paperback edition of Andy Weir’s New York Times bestseller, ARTEMIS, on sale today, July 3, from Broadway Books. Weir talks about the creation of his latest novel: “I wanted to write a story about the first human settlement off of Earth. And I just really think that’ll be on the Moon. It’s so much closer to

Reese Witherspoon announced yesterday that the July Reese’s Book Club selection is Chanel Cleeton’s novel NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA, published by Berkley in February. In her Instagram announcement, Witherspoon called NEXT YEAR IN HAVANA “a beautiful novel that’s full of forbidden passions, family secrets, and a lot of courage and sacrifice.”

Welcome summer! As many of us seek bodies of water to refresh ourselves in the heat… refreshing reads with "water" in the title have become conspicuous to us. Water doesn’t only sustain, it entertains! So dip into this glimmering selection of fiction – including mysteries, thrillers, historical tales, and children’s classics - which take readers to exotic and domestic locales… Care for a ticket to Nevada or Bora Bora?

Our company turns five years old on Sunday. Here’s a video that captures what being a part of our special community of book lovers has meant to some of our colleagues around the world.

Penguin Random House and MTA Metro-North RR Debut “Grand Central Reads”
27 June 2018

Penguin Random House is exclusively partnering with the MTA Metro-North Rail Road on Grand Central Reads, which mirrors the Subway Reads platform we launched two years ago, this time targeting commuters going through Grand Central Terminal. The June 26 launch was timed to coincide with the 40^th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s announcement of a decision in Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City that saved Grand Central from redevelopment. Through August 31, commuters can use their mobile devices to download free Penguin Random House book excerpts from inside Grand Central Terminal, station platforms and the Park Avenue Tunnel. To access Grand Central Reads, customers can connect to the public Wi-Fi and visit grandcentralreads.com.

As we ready ourselves for the festivities of July 4^th, Independence Day, The people of the United States of America are in the throes of declaring their values while grappling with many complex issues. For the occasion, we’ve selected contemporary and classic titles which showcase our country’s vast natural beauty and history alongside portraits of current communities and people’s lives here in America:

On Sunday, June 24, the Penguin Random House LGBTQ Network participated in the NYC Pride March that was organized to celebrate, advocate for and support the LGBTQ community. For the sixth year in a row, Penguin Random House employees and their spouses, partners, friends, and family marched to support LGBT rights. Read on for pictures and to hear what marchers had to say about the day!

Kicking off what he called “the summer of reading," Jimmy Fallon recently announced that he is launching The Tonight Show's first-ever-book club. Dubbed the "The Tonight Show Summer Reads,” Jimmy picked five finalists and Penguin Random House publishes these three titles:

We are deeply saddened by the news of the death of our beloved author and Pulitzer Prize winner Charles Krauthammer. Charles will always remain one of our country’s most outstanding and most influential columnists and public intellectuals, holding the respect and admiration of those on all sides of the political spectrum. It was our extreme honor to publish his #1 New York Times bestseller THINGS THAT MATTER: Three Decades of Passions, Pastimes, and Politics, which has sold over one millions copies in all formats. Known for his honesty, wisdom, keen wit, and love of baseball, Charles gave readers an insight into politics and American life that will surely be missed. We are proud to continue his legacy as the publisher of THINGS THAT MATTER, bringing new generations of readers to his thoughtful and important collection of writings. The Crown Publishing Group

There's an Audiobook for That! Celebrity Readers
21 June 2018

Happy Summer Solstice! The longest day of the year allows for more listening, and June is Audiobook Month! We congratulate this year’s Audie Award winners, view them here. We’d also like to draw attention to this week’s new release, BEDTIME STORIES FOR REBEL GIRLS, as well as other outstanding audiobooks brought to vivid life by celebrity narrators. These adult and children’s titles, available in the CD format and as audio downloads, are ideal for vacations, commutes or while walking the dog! So turn up the volume…your Summer listening may commence!

In WHAT THE EYES DON’T SEE: A Story of Crisis, Resistance and Hope in an American City (One World), Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha shares her powerful first-hand account of how an Iraqi-American pediatrician used science to prove Flint, Michigan kids were exposed to lead. In riveting detail, she takes readers into the heart of the crisis and how she successfully stood up against the government that accused her of spreading hysteria. But this book is not only about environmental injustice, it is a story of hope. It is about how each of us – no matter who we are, where we are, or how we ended up in this country – has the power to fix and change things.

A Farewell To Smashing Ideas
18 June 2018

We are bidding farewell to everyone at Seattle-based Smashing Ideas, Inc., the tremendously creative design and innovation agency, which has been part of our company since 2011. As you’ll read in their purchaser's press release, Smashing has been acquired by Luxoft Holding, Inc., a global IT service provider, in a transaction announced the afternoon of June 18. We wish our now-former colleagues as collegial and productive a working relationship with Luxoft as the one we long have enjoyed with them.

Colleagues in Westminster take note: Knopf author Tommy Orange will be presenting his groundbreaking debut novel, THERE THERE, at Politics & Prose at the Wharf in Washington, DC on Monday, June 25.

Have your Facebook and Instagram feeds begun to fill with glorious wedding photos from romantic locales? Perhaps you are the one getting married this summer or are in the wedding party or a guest. Whatever the case, Summer is high season for matrimony. This weekend, catch our book bouquet - great for gifts or reading on the way to the wedding.

EW Calls A PLACE FOR US “The Thinking Person’s Summer Read”
13 June 2018

Our new Igloo Book Buzz selection is a transformative debut novel, A PLACE FOR US. “To be taken hostage by Fatima Farheen Mirza’s heartrending and timely story is a gutting pleasure,” says Sarah Jessica Parker, Editorial Director of SJP for Hogarth, of her newly published inaugural acquisition for the imprint. “It allows her reader to better understand what it means to reconcile one’s love of family and culture with a desire to find one’s own path, and one’s own faith. Ms. Mirza painstakingly details the life of an Indian Muslim family in America and their children’s search to feel whole, fulfilled, and content. She captures your mind and heart with an urgency that defies you to stop reading. I guarantee you will be different when you close the book.”

There's a Book for That: Fathers
13 June 2018

Anyone who tells you fatherhood is the greatest thing that can happen to you, they are understating it.―Mike Myers Sunday, June 17, is Father’s Day. As is true for all relationships, the Hallmark card model doesn’t necessarily speak to the complexities between father and child. Penguin Random House titles do though! To honor the role of fatherhood in our lives – the joys and hurts of the bond, whether present or missing – take a look at our wide range of subjects (including the famous), voices and perspectives on fathers. Add to those, some great titles for kids!

Our Author Brandon Sanderson Creating New Multi-Media Experience in Partnership with Random House Studio and FMNA
13 June 2018

Random House Studio and sister Bertelsmann company FremantleMedia North America are partnering with bestselling Random House Children’s Books fantasy author Brandon Sanderson to create a groundbreaking, multi-media experience. Sanderson’s DARK ONE series will be transformed into a narrative that spans multiple platforms, including the small screen, print, and audiobooks.

When Penguin Press author Michael Pollan set out to research how LSD and psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms) are being used to provide relief to people suffering from difficult-to-treat conditions such as depression, addiction and anxiety, he did not intend to write what is undoubtedly his most personal book, HOW TO CHANGE YOUR MIND: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence, a #1 New York Times bestseller.

Riverhead Books is thrilled to announce that Lesley Nneka Arimah has won the 2018 New York Public Library’s Young Lions Fiction Award for her debut short story collection, WHAT IT MEANS WHEN A MAN FALLS FROM THE SKY. She received her prize during an awards ceremony at the New York Public Library on Thursday night, June 7.

Featured Author Event: Lauren Groff (NYC)
8 June 2018

Riverhead author Lauren Groff will be sharing insights into the writing of her bold new short story collection, FLORIDA, at Books Are Magic in Brooklyn on Tuesday, June 12. The event will feature Lauren in conversation with Lisa Lucas, the Executive Director of the National Book Foundation.

Friday Reads: Best Friends
8 June 2018

I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light. - Helen Keller Friday, June 8^th is Best Friends Day. As the cliché goes, “friends are the family we choose” and a best friend can ease your burden, make life sweeter and more fun. To honor the day and the bond, here are some special books – for adults and children - perfect for sharing with your best friend…

Riverhead author Kamila Shamsie has won the 2018 Women’s Prize for Fiction for her novel, HOME FIRE, it was announced at a ceremony in London on Wednesday, June 6. This annual award, now in its 23rd year, celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in writing by women throughout the world. "In the end we chose the book which we felt spoke for our times,” said Sarah Sands, chair of the Women’s Prize panel of judges. "HOME FIRE is about identity, conflicting loyalties, love and politics. And it sustains mastery of its themes and its form. It is a remarkable book which we passionately recommend.

Penguin Random House authors, editors, books and colleagues were in constant demand at this year’s BookExpo (May 30 – June 1) and BookCon (June 2 – 3) at the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan. We welcomed innumerable authors, booksellers, and industry visitors to our PRH booth during the BEA trade show on Thursday and Friday, with masses of book-loving consumers coming to see us Saturday and Sunday during BookCon.

Last Friday, June 1, Penguin Publishing Group recognized National Gun Violence Awareness Day by organizing an event at our 375 Hudson Street offices for Penguin Random House employees to make and write care-cards for families of victims of gun violence. Over the course of two hours, dozens of our colleagues created more than 130 hand-designed and thoughtfully written cards. They’ll be distributed to members of the Everytown Survivor Network, which brings together survivors, victims, and loved ones of those affected by gun violence.

There's a Book for That: Psychedelics
6 June 2018

It's been more than 50 years since Timothy Leary popularized the phrase "turn on, tune in, drop out," promoting LSD use during the Summer of Love. Considering Penguin Press' current New York Times bestseller, HOW TO CHANGE YOUR MIND, by Michael Pollan, talk (and research) has now turned to the therapeutic uses of psychedelic drugs in treating anxiety and depression, among other mood disorders. And this week, Newsweek reported that “men who have previously used psychedelic drugs are less likely to act violently against their intimate partners, according to a new study published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology”. Penguin Random House publishes a range of entertaining fiction and compelling nonfiction about psychedelics. With Pollan’s book as the centerpiece, we invite you to tune in to books, personal and scientific, which educate readers by exploring treatment possibilities as well as drug myths and stereotypes:

The chance to engage with a real-life Monster Truck has sparked many students’ interest in reading books at a number of elementary schools in Crawfordsville, Indiana, thanks to Rev Up for Reading, a wonderful program created by Beth Hiatt, Manager, Receiving, at our Crawfordsville distribution center, and her husband. Beth explains, “With our program, teachers challenge their students to read. They set a ‘minutes goal’ and track their progress throughout the school year. As a reward, we bring our Monster Truck to their school towards the end of the academic year.

Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden will moderate a conversation with former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama during the Opening General Session of the 2018 ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition on Friday, June 22. This session will take place at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans.

Coinciding with the beginning of Pride Month, Publisher’s Weekly featured a special section devoted to LGBTQ Publishing. The lead article, “Office Support: Pride Groups at Publishing Houses Bring Employees Together and Advocate for LGBTQ Books,” opened with a fabulous photo of the Penguin Random House LGBTQ Network. Nora Alice Demick, who co-chairs the network with Tan Chan, was quoted extensively throughout the piece.

Penguin Random House Audio won the top prize – Audiobook of the Year – for George Saunders’ LINCOLN IN THE BARDO (Random House Audio) last night at the 23nd annual Audie Awards® in New York. The Audio Publishers Association (APA) annually presents the premier awards program for audiobooks in the United States, recognizing excellence in audiobooks and spoken word entertainment.

DK Revamps, Refreshes and Relaunches Eyewitness Travel Guide Series
1 June 2018

DK is proud to announce that it has revamped, refreshed and relaunched its award-winning Eyewitness Travel Guide series, keeping the views and experiences of its loyal readers at the forefront.

In June we celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Pride Month (LGBT Pride Month), which honors the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. First, President Bill Clinton declared June "Gay & Lesbian Pride Month" on June 2, 2000. In 2009, President Barack Obama declared June Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Pride Month. LGBT Pride Month events attract millions of participants around the world. The purpose of the commemorative month is to recognize the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals have had on history locally, nationally, and internationally. For this Friday Reads installment, we bring you some of the best biographies and memoirs on the topic, including historical perspectives and young readers titles:

Support the #WearOrange Movement and National Gun Violence Awareness Day TODAY, Friday, 6/1
1 June 2018

National Gun Violence Awareness Day is TODAY, June 1st. This year, Penguin Publishing Group has partnered with Everytown for Gun Safety and the #WearOrange movement to recognize the date and to help send a powerful message to end gun violence.

In celebration of the newly published DR. SEUSS’S 100 FIRST WORDS, Random House Children’s Books (RHCB) and Dr. Seuss Enterprises (DSE) launched the first-ever Dr. Seuss’s Word Challenge (#SeussWordChallenge) on May 29. With a goal of reading 20 million Dr. Seuss words nationwide, consumers can enter the challenge via Seussville.com and track their progress through July 31.

Penguin Random House, in partnership with Strand Book Store, recently presented an exhibit of 100 notable book covers created by a select group of Penguin Random House creative designers and art directors in a special “Be My Cover” exhibit in the Rare Book Room at Strand Book Store in New York City. To celebrate the exhibit, Penguin Random House presented a conversation with acclaimed designers Peter Mendelsund, Jaya Miceli, Oliver Munday and Helen Yentus on May 14, when the featured guests were able to discuss their experiences designing for books.

Jim Brown: 9 Years an NFL All-Pro, 81 Years a Man
31 May 2018

Our new Igloo Book Buzz selection is Dave Zirin’s JIM BROWN: Last Man Standing – a raw and revealing biography that redefines an American icon who was not only a football legend but a Hollywood star and controversial activist as well. Mr. Zirin says, “Jim Brown is one of the most fascinating and relentlessly relevant figures in US culture over the last 60 years. His triumphs and his flaws alike make for the kind of material about which a writer dreams. I worked on this book for five years. In the first year, an old teammate of Jim Brown’s hooked us up and I was able to speak to him about the themes I was exploring in the book.

The news continues to be grim about drug addiction and the opioid crisis in America, especially how pervasive opiates have become in our nation’s high schools. The stereotype of a heroin addict has been upended as the statistics in suburbia and small-town America have grown. A March, 2018 press release from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) states “An in-depth analysis of 2016 U.S. drug overdose data shows that America’s overdose epidemic is spreading geographically and increasing across demographic groups. Drug overdoses killed 63,632 Americans in 2016. Nearly two-thirds of these deaths (66%) involved a prescription or illicit opioid.” This week Random House releases a thoroughly updated edition of the groundbreaking expose on OxyContin and its makers, PAIN KILLER by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Barry Meier. In an effort to inform, here are titles on the subject ranging from investigative journalism to scientific research to personal memoirs:

Bestselling Author Lisa Scottoline Comes to Putnam
30 May 2018

Lisa Scottoline is bringing her beloved and bestselling brand to G.P. Putnam’s Sons with a six-book deal, including three domestic thrillers as well as her first foray into historical fiction with ETERNAL, an epic trilogy set in Fascist Italy during World War II. The deal was announced by the Associated Press and has been picked up in more than sixty outlets all across the country. Ivan Held negotiated the deal with Robert Gottlieb, Chairman at Trident Media Group, and the first domestic thriller, tentatively titled SOMEONE KNOWS, will publish in Spring 2019. Mark Tavani will edit.

Friday Reads: Great American Young Adult Reads
25 May 2018

The Great American Read is here! On Tuesday, May 22, PBS launched THE GREAT AMERICAN READ - an eight-part series that celebrates the power of reading, “told through the prism of America’s 100 best-loved novels. It investigates how and why writers create their fictional worlds, how we as readers are affected by these stories, and what these 100 different books have to say about our diverse nation and our shared human experience.” Voting has begun among the 100 titles: The project will culminate in October’s finale wherein America’s elected “favorite” book will be announced. The list has been categorized on the website here. For this week’s Friday Reads we are focusing on the Young Adult nominees:

National business magazine Fast Company recently highlighted Penguin Random House as a prime example of companies who are expanding the scope of their talent pools by hiring workers without college degrees. The feature article by Gwen Moran noted that “while there isn’t exactly a race to drop degree requirements, some top companies are broadening their hiring criteria. At publishing house Penguin Random House U.S. it’s long been policy not to require college degrees, says Paige McInerny, Vice President, Human Resources. The company has some job postings that state as a suggested requirement ‘college degree or equivalent work experience.’ Except for specific jobs where a targeted, accredited degree is truly required–such as a certified public accountant or attorney–‘we do not have a mandatory, companywide higher education requirement for working at Penguin Random House U.S.,’ she says.”

Former First Lady of the U.S. Michelle Obama Reveals the Book Cover of Her Memoir, BECOMING, Scheduled for November 13, 2018, Global Publication
24 May 2018

Former First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama revealed today on Instagram the book cover of her highly anticipated memoir, BECOMING, which is scheduled to be published globally on November 13, 2018.

Edited by Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSD) journalism and broadcasting teachers Melissa Falkowski and Eric Garner, WE SAY #NEVERAGAIN: Reporting from the School That Inspired the Nation, a collection of first-person accounts, richly researched and reported articles, and photographs by and about the students at MSD, will be published by Crown Books for Young Readers on October 2, 2018.

In mourning the loss of Philip Roth, who died Tuesday, May 22 in Manhattan, we take pride in the long, ongoing publishing history Penguin Random House imprints have with the career-spanning body of work he created. All of his more than 30 leading works are in print with us.

Our new Igloo Book Buzz selection, D.B. John’s STAR OF THE NORTH, published by Crown on May 22, is particularly timely, as much of the highly-charged narrative unfolds in North Korea. Crown Senior Editor Nate Roberson offers these insights: “Describing STAR OF THE NORTH as a ‘thriller’ is accurate—it’s one of the most exciting books I’ve read in years—but also incomplete, because this book is so much more than just an entertaining thrill ride.

Riverhead to Publish 2018 Man Booker International Prize Winner in August
23 May 2018

FLIGHTS, a “non-traditional” narrative by acclaimed Polish author Olga Tokarczuk, has won the 2018 Man Booker International Prize, awarded annually to a fiction work judged to be the year’s outstanding work of translated fiction. Translator Jennifer Croft will share the 50,000 pound prize with Tokarczuk. FLIGHTS will be published in the U.S. by Riverhead on August 14.

There's a Book for That: Memorial Day
23 May 2018

On Monday, May 28^th, we pay tribute to the American men and women who have died in service to our country. To honor the occasion, we are highlighting titles — fiction and nonfiction — with themes that honor the service and sacrifice of our nation’s military.

The 69th annual Christopher Awards, presented in New York City on May 17, celebrated and honored writers, producers, directors, authors and illustrators whose work “affirms the highest values of the human spirit.” WaterBrook’s CONVICTED: A Crooked Cop, An Innocent Man, and an Unlikely Journey of Forgiveness and Friendship by Jameel McGee and Andrew Collins with Mark Tabb won in the Books for Adults category. Viking Books for Young Readers’ THE RED BANDANNA by Tom Rinaldi won in the Books for Young People category.

Author Jojo Moyes Rescues UK Literacy Program "Quick Reads"
22 May 2018

Jojo Moyes, author of #1 bestselling Pamela Dorman / Viking / Penguin books such as ME BEFORE YOU, AFTER YOU and STILL ME, learned that Quick Reads, a UK-based literacy program for adults with reading challenges, was in dire financial straits and on the verge of closing. So she personally donated £360,000 in order to ensure that Quick Reads, which has distributed 4.8 million copies of short novels by big-name author since the program began in 2006, will be able to operate for at least three more years.

Support the #WearOrange Movement and National Gun Violence Awareness Day on Friday, 6/1
21 May 2018

National Gun Violence Awareness Day is on June 1. This year, Penguin Publishing Group has partnered with Everytown for Gun Safety and the #WearOrange movement to recognize the date and to help send a powerful message to end gun violence.

Dear Colleagues, Since 2015 KRISTIN COCHRANE has served as President and Publisher of Penguin Random House Canada, working closely with CEO Brad Martin, who announced his retirement today. It gives me great pleasure to share with you that Kristin will succeed Brad as CEO of Penguin Random House Canada, reporting to me, effective July 1, 2018. She will also join our Global Executive Committee.

Brad Martin To Retire as CEO of Penguin Random House Canada
17 May 2018

Dear Colleagues, Today, BRAD MARTIN is announcing that he will retire as CEO of Penguin Random House Canada, effective June 30, 2018, the culmination of a career of unparalleled accomplishment with our company and in Canadian trade publishing.

DK Supports STAR WARS’ ‘ROAR FOR CHANGE’ Challenge
17 May 2018

DK recently participated in Roar For Change, a global challenge organized by Lucasfilm and Star Wars: Force for Change in support of UNICEF. The initiative invites fans and families to share their own version of Chewbacca’s iconic roar. For each public post, like, or share on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter that includes #RoarForChange through May 25, Star Wars: Force for Change U.S. will donate $1 to UNICEF USA, up to $1 million. Funds will be used to support UNICEF’s lifesaving work for children around the world.

This time, it’s about time: Italian theoretical physicist Carlo Rovelli’s latest book, THE ORDER OF TIME, released last week and his calendar is full! Rovelli discussed time travel, how he’s working on a way to quantify gravity in which time doesn’t exist.and more on NPR's "Science Friday."(Listen to the full segment here). In a parallel universe, the site Unbound Worlds has also taken up the theme of time travel in excellent fashion. All worm-holes and word worlds considered, if there is no “time” then the following books are indeed timeless:

From Austin Channing Brown, a powerful new narrative nonfiction voice on racial justice, comes I’M STILL HERE: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness, published by Convergent today, May 15. This book is an eye-opening account of growing up Black, Christian, and female in middle-class white America. Ms. Brown’s first encounter with a racialized America came at age 7, when she discovered her parents named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man.

Remembering Peter Mayer
14 May 2018

Peter Mayer, former Chairman and CEO of Penguin Group and founder of The Overlook Press, died in Manhattan on Friday, May 11. He was 82. During Mayer’s 1978 – 1997 tenure, Penguin became a global player in trade publishing. He encouraged his imprints to publish a wide range of literary and commercial adult and children’s fiction and nonfiction titles, many of which he personally acquired. Among the renowned Penguin Group authors whose careers flowered under his leadership are Paul Auster, Saul Bellow, T.C. Boyle, J.M. Coetzee, Don DeLillo, Robertson Davies, Jan Karon, William Kennedy, Stephen King, Terry McMillan, Iris Murdoch, and Salman Rushdie – including the latter’s THE SATANIC VERSES. Mayer’s more than 50-year career in book publishing also included the 1971 creation of The Overlook Press. He presided over that independent entity “to publish books that for one reason or another have been ‘overlooked.’” To read the Peter Mayer obituary in The New York Times, click here.

All Ears on Penguin Random House Audio’s Amanda D’Acierno and Dan Zitt
14 May 2018

Penguin Random House Audio, voted the inaugural winner of the Audiobook Publisher of the Year prize at the 2018 London Book Fair International Excellence Awards, was front and center at last month’s packed “Lunch & Learn” session featuring Amanda D’Acierno, Executive Vice President and Publisher, and Dan Zitt, Vice President of Content Production. Introduced by Penguin Publishing Group President Allison Dobson, Amanda and Dan shared insights into the world of audiobooks – a publishing category on an upward swing; the inner-workings of Penguin Random House Audio; and career highlights.

Every 11 seconds, a Who HQ book is sold somewhere in the world. Now Penguin Workshop’s wildly popular children’s biography series is coming to Netflix Kids & Family in The Who Was? Show, a laugh-out-loud original series that tells the stories of famous historical figures from across the globe through improv, sketches, impersonations, music videos and animated shorts in a show-within-a-show format that is as entertaining as it is educational.

Penguin Random House, in partnership with Strand Book Store, is proud to present an exhibit of 100 notable book covers created by a select group of Penguin Random House creative designers and art directors in a special “Be My Cover” exhibit, May 11–23 in the Rare Book Room at Strand Book Store in New York City. Books on display range from classics such as MOBY-DICK by Herman Melville and WAR AND PEACE by Leo Tolstoy to contemporary titles such as THE STRANGE LIBRARY by Haruki Murakami and THE MOTHERS by Brit Bennett.

North Korea has been prominent in headlines this week. The New York Times read, “Releasing 3 Americans, North Koreans Signal Openness to Washington.” Curiosity and concern is continuous about what a meeting between President Trump and North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-Un would mean for the world. To respond to that curiosity, we’ve gathered strong fiction and nonfiction titles related to North Korea: from personal memoirs of escape to journalistic accounts of the repressive regime to award-winning fiction:

The American Booksellers Association (ABA) has announced the winners of the 2018 Indies Choice Awards and E.B. White Read Aloud Awards. Our authors received two Indies Choice Awards, through which independent booksellers from ABA member stores selected their favorite titles published last year, casting their votes via online balloting. These booksellers also chose three new inductees into the Picture Book Hall of Fame, including one of our beloved children’s book author/illustrators. All prizes and honors will be presented at the ABA Celebration of Bookselling and Author Awards Lunch on Wednesday, May 30, at BookExpo 2018 at the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan.

Flying 100,000 Miles in a Prop Plane to Take the Pulse of Small Town America
10 May 2018

Our new Igloo Book Buzz selection is James and Deborah Fallows’ OUR TOWNS: A 100,000-Mile Journey into the Heart of America, published by Pantheon on May 8. For the last five years, the Fallowses have been traveling across America in a single-engine prop airplane. Visiting dozens of towns, they met hundreds of civic leaders, workers, immigrants, educators, environmentalists, artists, public servants, librarians, business people, city planners, students, and entrepreneurs to take the pulse and understand the prospects of places that usually draw notice only after a disaster or during a political campaign.

Read It Forward celebrates Mother’s Day with the original essay series, Word to Your Mother, which examines the intersection between motherhood and books. The site invited authors from Penguin Random House and other publishers to share personal accounts of the myriad ways that books help develop bonds between mothers and children.

Random House Children’s Books will launch Random House Graphic, a dedicated graphic novel imprint, with Gina Gagliano hired to lead the imprint as Publishing Director, it was announced by Barbara Marcus, President & Publisher, Random House Children’s Books. Gagliano will report to SVP, Associate Publisher, Judith Haut.

There's a Book for That: Mother's Day
9 May 2018

"Youth fades; love droops; the leaves of friendship fall; A mother's secret hope outlives them all." - Oliver Wendell Holmes It’s been more than 100 years since Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Mother’s Day a national celebration in May 1914! Mother’s Day, 2018, is this Sunday, May 12^th. The mother-child bond is such a profound one – loving, complex, and sometimes painful. Over the course of a lifetime, roles may switch due to old age or illness. To honor the occasion, here are 10 incredible memoirs, some by celebrity authors, which reveal the emotional nuances and intensity of perhaps the most fundamental relationship in our lives:

Champagne corks were popping in Chicago on Tuesday night at the 2018 James Beard Foundation Chef and Restaurant Awards ceremony when it was announced that the Outstanding Chef Award went to Gabrielle Hamilton, chef/owner of Prune restaurant in New York’s East Village and Random House author of the New York Times bestselling memoir, BLOOD, BONES & BUTTER: The Inadvertent Education of a Reluctant Chef, and her cookbook, PRUNE. Random House will publish her new memoir, KIND REGARDS, next year.

Prima Games Launching New Gaming and Pop Culture Publishing Line with WOMEN IN GAMING
8 May 2018

DK imprint Prima Games, the world’s leading publisher of strategy content for PC and console video games, has announced the forthcoming publication of WOMEN IN GAMING: 100 Pioneers of Play, a celebratory look at accomplished women in the video game industry. On sale November 6, 2018, WOMEN IN GAMING is the first title from Prima Games' new Gaming and Pop Culture line, which focuses on publishing that is entertaining as well as educational. Eight titles will come out later this year, including officially licensed Pokémon Readers, with more publishing slated for 2019.

Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is a lawyer, author, and the wife of the 44th President, Barack Obama. Through her initiatives as First Lady, she has become a role model for women and girls, and an advocate for healthy families, service members and their families, higher education, and international adolescent girls’ education. She will appear at the opening general session of the 2018 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference and Exhibition on Friday, June 22, 4:00—5:30 pm, at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. Her appearance at the conference is sponsored by Penguin Random House.

The Penguin Random House Library Marketing team recently held their bi-annual Librarian Open Book Event where several Penguin Random House authors spoke to 100 of the Tri-state area’s top librarians. The team also buzzed about over 40 upcoming titles and presented Maker Space ideas and concepts for libraries. The event kicked off with opening remarks from Jennifer Childs, VP Library Marketing, and a special guest appearance from our newly appointed Penguin Random House US CEO, Madeline McIntosh.

Illustrator Joana Avillez and writer Molly Young have joined forces to create a charming, illustrated ode to NYC: D C-T! (“The City!”), published on May 1 by Penguin Press. Combining the puzzle language first created by William Steig (author of CDB! and creator of Shrek) with humorous observations of their beloved city, D C-T! is endlessly entertaining and a “breezy charmer” (Publishers Weekly).

This week, poet Melissa Broder published her first novel, THE PISCES – a blend of realism and fantasy involving Venice Beach, Sappho and a doctoral candidate’s love affair with a merman. As Broder told Bustle, "I had never thought very much about how the mermaid figure embodies that darkness... You know, how many men in literature have, like, dove off the back of boats in search of another taste of that nectar, and they were sort of rendered unable to live on land peacefully after that, and so I ended up thinking, It's always these men diving in after mermaids. Why can't it be a merman and a woman, and why couldn't it happen now?" It is happening now (consider the popularity of "The Shape of Water"), but we won’t leave out the mermaids! Presenting Friday Reads: Of Mermen and Mermaids:

Celebrating the Life and Legacy of Sue Grafton
4 May 2018

Friends, family and colleagues of #1 New York Times bestselling author Sue Grafton celebrated her life and legacy on Tuesday, April 24, throughout a special memorial at the New York Public Library. The publishing industry was well represented with authors, media, and publishing colleagues from Penguin Random House and Holt, alongside many of Sue’s family and friends. G.P. Putnam’s Sons President Ivan Held welcomed the group and noted that “we’ve all worked with writers we admire, writers we are in awe of, writers who are entertaining or menschy or funny. Sue was all that – but Sue: we also LOVED her … everyone who worked with her loved her.”

The Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA) announced the winners of the 2018 Christian Book Awards on Tuesday, May 1, at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, during the ECPA Leadership Summit. Among the prize winners were two authors and their books published by Crown Publishing Group’s Multnomah imprint:

Penguin Random House Ranks #1 on Forbes List of America’s Best Midsize Employers
2 May 2018

Penguin Random House is #1 on the newly released Forbes list of “America’s Best Midsize Employers 2018.” Our company rose to the top spot after placing #33 on last year’s list. Forbes annually recognizes and ranks U.S. employers based on an independent survey that evaluates the attitude of employees toward their own company and the public perception of the company by industry employees.

In LOVE AND RUIN, Paula McLain, the bestselling author of The Paris Wife, returns to the subject of Ernest Hemingway in a novel about his passionate, stormy marriage to Martha Gellhorn—a fiercely independent, ambitious young woman who would become one of the greatest war correspondents of the twentieth century. In this "Three Questions for an Editor" interview, Ballantine Vice President & Executive Editor Susanna Porter pulls back the curtain and offers a look at the editing of this absorbing historical novel, the process of working with the author, and how LOVE AND RUIN may resonate with today’s readers.

There's a Book for That: Children's Book Week
2 May 2018

It’s C

hildren’s Book Week from May 1^st to May 7^th and do we have books to celebrate! Established in 1919, Children's Book Week is the longest-running national literacy initiative in the country. Considering recent raves from School Library Journal, Horn Book, Indie Next and “much love” from booksellers and librarians here are a dozen books reflecting many cultures and situations, from the silly to the serious. Whether told from a human or animal perspective, these are books to buy, borrow and relish!

Laugh, Cry, Find Hope and Joy in the South of France
1 May 2018

As April gives way to May, it’s finally starting to feel like spring, and our new Igloo Book Buzz selection, Catherine Isaac’s YOU ME EVERYTHING, published by Pamela Dorman Books/Viking today, is a title best read while relaxing outdoors. Set in the French countryside on an idyllic summer vacation, this beautifully written novel is by turns heart wrenching and hopeful, driven by one woman’s fierce determination to grab hold of the family she has and never let go.

The James Beard Foundation announced the winners of its definitive Cookbook, Broadcast Media, and Journalism awards for 2018 on April 27, at a dinner in Manhattan---and Crown Publishing Group imprints ruled the night: Ten Speed Press books and authors received four awards while Clarkson Potter authors were recognized with two prizes. Of special note: the 11 JBF Cookbook Award nominations received by Ten Speed Press are the most in its history (and in the history of the JBF Cookbook Awards for one imprint), and its 4 JBF Cookbook Award wins are the most for Ten Speed since 2008.

Actor, author and comedian H. Jon Benjamin is launching his new Dutton book, FAILURE IS AN OPTION: An Attempted Memoir, at The Strand in New York City on Tuesday, May 1, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Benjamin is best known for voicing characters, including Sterling Archer in Archer, Bob Belcher in Bob’s Burgers, Dr. Katz in Dr. Katz, and Jason in Home Movies. He will be joined at The Strand by fellow comedian, actor and writer Eugene Mirman, known for playing Yvgeny Mirminsky on Delocated, and voicing Gene Belcher on Bob's Burgers.

Doubleday/Vintage author David Grann was among the winners of this year’s Edgar Allen Poe Awards, honoring the best in mystery fiction, nonfiction and television published or produced in 2017, which were announced at the Mystery Writers of America’s 72nd Edgar Awards gala on Thursday, April 26, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Manhattan. Grann’s latest book, KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI (Doubleday/Vintage), received the Edgar for Best Fact Crime. View the complete list of Edgar and MWA honorees here.

Friday Reads: Maira Kalman
27 April 2018

“Everyone I know is looking for solace, hope and a tasty snack.” ― Maira Kalman Welcome to the multi-faceted, colorful world of Maira Kalman! Her imagination, artistry and smarts are on full display in the books we publish, the most recent of which is CAKE with Barbara Scott-Goodman in which they give us dessert! Kalman has created books for all ages about Lincoln, Jefferson, philosophy, dogs…and has illustrated classic works by Michael Pollan and Strunk and White. Find out more about her here and treat yourself and others to her work:

Top Thriller Writers Turn Out for a “Ulysses-like Odyssey” that “Starts Fast and Never Stops”
26 April 2018

Our latest Igloo Book Buzz selection, WARNING LIGHT, David Ricciardi’s debut spy thriller, was published by Berkley on Tuesday, April 17, to widespread acclaim. The book takes off with a bang, as new covert operator Zac Miller literally flies under the radar on a job for the CIA. Zac finds himself on a mission gone wrong, and soon embarks on a globe-trotting epic in order to clear his own name and set the record straight before he can be captured by the Iranian government—or a litany of enemies he makes along the way to get back to his bosses and save his own skin.

Dutton Books for Young Readers is publishing Ransom Riggs’ A MAP OF DAYS: The Fourth Novel of Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children on October 2, 2018. USA Today broke this news Thursday afternoon, when the national newspaper also unveiled the book’s cover art (see below) and spoke with Riggs about what fans can expect in this next installation of the internationally bestselling series. A MAP OF DAYS will have a first print run of 1 million copies.

As the creator of the ‘Cathy’ comic strip, Cathy Guisewite found her way into the hearts of readers over 40 years ago, and has been there ever since. Her deeply funny and relatable look at the life of a frazzled career woman became a cultural touchstone for women everywhere—the strips have been compiled into more than twenty books, and earned Guisewite the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award in 1992 and an Emmy Award for Outstanding Animated Program for the Cathy TV special in 1987.

April 26, 2018 is Poem in Your Pocket Day! Initiated in 2002 in partnership with the New York City Departments of Cultural Affairs and Education, Poem in Your Pocket Day has been adopted by all fifty states. In 2016, the League of Canadian Poets extended Poem in Your Pocket Day to Canada. As a grassroots part of National Poetry Month, people celebrate by selecting a poem, carrying it with them, and sharing it with others throughout the day at schools, bookstores, libraries, parks, workplaces, and on Twitter using the hashtag #pocketpoem. Find out more ways to celebrate at Poets.org Everyman’s Library Pocket Poet Series editions are ideal collections to read, savor and share. Here are 8 gorgeous volumes, of the more than 100 in the series, edited by some of our most distinguished poets. Spread the word!

With great style, wit, and joy, Maira Kalman and Barbara Scott-Goodman have collaborated to celebrate their favorite dessert in CAKE, published by Penguin Press. Kalman's enchanting illustrations, in her inimitable style, and Scott-Goodman's mouthwatering recipes complement each other perfectly, making CAKE a whimsical celebration of a timeless dessert.

Featured Author Event: David Reich (Washington D.C.)
24 April 2018

Westminster colleagues take note: Pantheon author David Reich will be discussing his groundbreaking book, WHO WE ARE AND HOW WE GOT HERE: Ancient DNA and the New Science of the Human Past, on Thursday, April 26, in Washington, D.C in the Rasmuson Theater at the National Museum of the American Indian, as part of the Smithsonian Inside Science Program. The event will begin at 6:45 p.m., with Reich’s talk followed by a book signing.

The Women’s Prize for Fiction has announced its 2018 shortlist. This annual award, now in its 23rd year, celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in writing by women throughout the world. Three books published by Penguin Random House in the U.S. and Canada are on this year’s Women’s Prize shortlist:

The 39th annual Los Angeles Times Book Prizes were announced at the L.A. Times Festival of Books this past weekend at the University of Southern California, and among the award winners for books published in 2017 were five titles from Penguin Random House imprints in the following categories:

PBS’ The Great American Read list of 100 books was revealed on Friday, April 20, at the Morgan Library & Museum in Manhattan. Penguin Random House imprints publish 59 of the 100 titles, including AMERICANAH by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak, THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO by Junot Díaz, THE DA VINCI CODE by Dan Brown, FIFTY SHADES OF GREY by E L James, THE HANDMAID’S TALE by Margaret Atwood, GONE GIRL by Gillian Flynn, LOOKING FOR ALASKA by John Green, THE OUTSIDERS by S.E. Hinton and READY PLAYER ONE by Ernest Cline. View the complete list here.

A contingent of 28 students from the NYU School of Professional Studies, led by Andrea Chambers, Director of NYU’s Center for Publishing, visited the Crown Publishing Group offices at 1745 Broadway on Friday, April 6, to learn about and discuss a forthcoming Fall 2018 title, THIRST by Scott Harrison, to be published on October 2 by CPG imprint Currency. The book is an inspiring personal story of redemption, second chances, and the transformative power of change, from the founder and CEO of the successful nonprofit charity: water.

Friday Reads: Haiku
20 April 2018

In a world swirling with words… the haiku offers refreshment: three unrhymed lines of five, seven, and five syllables which capture the essence of a moment in time. Haiku is an ancient Japanese form mastered by Basho and Issa, brought to the West in the 20^th century and celebrated by imagist poets such as HD and Ezra Pound. National Poetry Month seems a fine time to showcase some of our best Haiku collections. Reading some of these might even inspire a haiku or two in you.

Riverhead author Lesley Nneka Arimah shares her award-winning, dazzlingly accomplished debut story collection, WHAT IT MEANS WHEN A MAN FALLS FROM THE SKY, at The Strand in Manhattan on Monday, April 23. Lesley will discuss her stories with fellow author Alice Sola Kim, from 7:30 to 8:30 pm, in the bookstore's second floor Art Department.

Have you read 12 RULES FOR LIFE? It’s the bestseller from Canadian Psychology Professor Jordan Peterson, a widely cited scholar of personality. The New York Times’ David Brooks calls Dr. Peterson “the most influential public intellectual in the Western world right now.” The popularity of his book reveals once again the appeal of thinkers who make sense out of the uncertainties of the human condition, i.e. offer antidotes. Those of us in publishing know also the power of finite numbers, so we’ll take the number and run. Here are Penguin Random House’s current top 12 psychology titles. Recurrent themes of community, surviving trauma, solitude, brain science and their applications for professional and personal success are meant to assist you on your journey:

Why couldn’t Michael Jordan, master athlete that he was, crush a baseball? Our new Igloo Book Buzz selection, Zach Schonbrun’s THE PERFORMANCE CORTEX, published by Dutton on April 17, provides an answer to that question and many others while revealing what actually drives human movement and its spectacular potential. Whether it is timing a 95 mph fastball or reaching for a coffee mug, movement requires a complex suite of computations that many take for granted. With this book, Schonbrun ushers in a new way of thinking about the athletic gifts we marvel over and seek to develop in our own lives. It’s not about the million-dollar arm anymore. It’s about the million-dollar brain.

Attention colleagues in the Pacific Northwest: Tonight author Claire Dederer is launching the paperback edition of LOVE AND TROUBLE: A Midlife Reckoning (Vintage) at the University Book Store on the University of Washington campus in Seattle, beginning at 7:00 p.m. (PDT). She will be read from her book, and following a Q&A, sign copies for attendees.

TRUE ROOTS: First Rodale Books NY Times Bestseller from Crown Publishing
16 April 2018

The Crown Publishing Group is celebrating an historic milestone: its first New York Times bestseller since the venerable wellness publisher became an imprint within its division earlier this year. Rodale Books’ TRUE ROOTS by Kristin Cavallari debuts at #3 on the NYT April 22 Advice, How-to, and Miscellaneous list.

The New York Public Library has announced the five finalists for its 2018 Young Lions Fiction Award, which annually champions emerging writers and encourages innovation and excellence in contemporary fiction, with Penguin Random House imprints publishing three of the five authors’ books on this year’s shortlist. The winner will be announced on June 7 during an awards ceremony in the Celeste Bartos Forum of the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building at the New York Public Library.

The Man Booker International Prize, which annually celebrates the finest works of translated fiction from around the world, has announced its 2018 shortlist of six titles, with three of the books published by Penguin Random House imprints:

“People are mostly layers of violence and tenderness wrapped like bulbs, and it is difficult to say what makes them onions or hyacinths.” ― Eudora Welty For this week’s Friday Reads we are casting our gaze on Pulitzer-prize winning Southern writer Eudora Welty who was born this day, April 13^th, 1901 and passed away in 2001. Welty was an American short story writer and novelist who wrote about the American South and has inspired many writers. Her novel THE OPTIMIST'S DAUGHTER won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. She was the first living author to have her works published by the Library of America. Welty’s house in Jackson, Mississippi has been designated as a National Historic Landmark and is open to the public as a house museum.

National Pet Day was April 11 and our new Igloo Book Buzz selection, Suzy Fincham-Gray’s MY PATIENTS AND OTHER ANIMALS: A Veterinarian’s Stories of Love, Loss and Hope, was published by Spiegel & Grau on April 10. Looking at her life spent in the company of animals, veterinarian Fincham-Gray invites readers into her personal world of loving, healing, and assisting with the loss of our beloved pets, while showing the many ways they change our lives. In her literary debut, she writes with the same tenderness she brings to her patients, whose needs she must meet with her mind, her hands, and her heart.

Hogarth’s Alexis Washam on How Jo Nesbø Transformed MACBETH
12 April 2018

The newest novel in the Hogarth Shakespeare Series is Jo Nesbø’s MACBETH, published on April 10. Set in the 1970s in a run-down, rainy industrial town, this gripping transformative take on one of Shakespeare’s bloodiest plays centers around a police force struggling to shed an incessant drug problem. Creating an engrossing story of love and guilt, political ambition, and greed for more, Nesbø explores the darkest corners of human nature, and the aspirations of the criminal mind. In this “Three Questions for an Editor” interview, Alexis Washam, Executive Editor, Crown Publishers and Hogarth, offers insights into the Hogarth Shakespeare Series, the process of working with Nesbø on this project, and how readers may embrace the remarkable novel that was created. Read on.

Riverhead Author Mohsin Hamid Wins Aspen Words Literary Prize for EXIT WEST
11 April 2018

Mohsin Hamid’s EXIT WEST (Riverhead Books) has won the inaugural Aspen Words Literary Prize, a new $35,000 award given to “an influential work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue and demonstrates the transformative power of literature on thought and culture.” The four finalists included fellow Riverhead author Lesley Nneka Arimah for WHAT IT MEANS WHEN A MAN FALLS FROM THE SKY and Viking author Zinzi Clemmons for WHAT WE LOSE.

Penguin Random House Named Audiobook Publisher of the Year at LBF
11 April 2018

Penguin Random House Audio is the inaugural winner of the Audiobook Publisher of the Year prize, which was presented at the 2018 London Book Fair International Excellence Awards the evening of April 10.

Nearly a quarter of a century ago, the Autism Society declared April National Autism Awareness Month as an excellent opportunity to promote autism awareness, autism acceptance and to draw attention to the tens of thousands facing an autism diagnosis each year. Through our publishing, Penguin Random House is part of the effort to educate and broaden perspectives about Autism Spectrum Disorder. Below are nonfiction and fiction titles which expand our understanding:

The Commonwealth Club has announced the finalists for the 87^th annual California Book Awards and four titles published by Penguin Random House imprints are among the nominees. Created in 1931, this competition recognizes the state’s best writers and illuminate the wealth and diversity of literature written in California. Monetary prizes are given in the categories of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, juvenile literature, young adult literature, first work of fiction, Californiana and notable contribution to publishing.

4 of Our Books Shortlisted for the International Dublin Literary Award
9 April 2018

The 10 finalists for the 2018 International Dublin Literary Award have been announced, the shortlist including 4 authors and their books published in the U.S. by Penguin Random House imprints. Sponsored by the Dublin City Council and managed by Dublin City Libraries, the international competition receives its nominations from public libraries in cities around the world and recognizes both writers and translators.

Hogarth Author Anthony Marra Wins the Simpson Family Literary Prize
9 April 2018

Hogarth author Anthony Marra has won the Simpson Family Literary Prize, which honors mid-career authors who have earned a distinguished reputation with a $50,000 cash award to encourage and support forthcoming work. Now in its second year, the Simpson Prize is administered by the University of California, Berkeley English Department and the Lafayette Library and Learning Center Foundation. As the prize winner, Marra will give a public reading, make a limited number of Bay Area public appearances, and be in brief residence at the Lafayette Library and UC Berkeley.

Steven Spielberg's “Ready Player One” is a hit, pulling in $181 million worldwide in box office receipts during its inaugural weekend. The attention has reinvigorated the screen adaptation of Ernest Cline’s second novel, Armada. Thus, for this week’s Friday Reads installment we invite you to discover fantastic books with virtual reality themes, including nonfiction!

April 5, 2018 Dear colleagues, Ten years ago, in the spring of 2008, my first week at Random House was Madeline McIntosh’s last week with the company. She was relocating to Luxembourg to join Amazon’s

There's a Book for That: National Poetry Month!
3 April 2018

Now I think poetry will save nothing from oblivion, but I keep writing about the ordinary because for me it's the home of the extraordinary, the only home. - Philip Levine

Featured Author Event: Leila Slimani (Berkeley)
3 April 2018

Northern California colleagues take note: author Leila Slimani, winner of the Prix Goncourt in France, will be discussing her novel, THE PERFECT NANNY (Penguin Books), at the new Women Lit program at the Bay Area Book Festival Theater on Sunday, April 8. Translated by Sam Taylor, THE PERFECT NANNY was named one of 2018’s Most Anticipated Books by NPR’s Weekend Edition, Real Simple, The Millions, The Guardian, Bustle, and Book Riot. Join Leila at Peet's Theater at the Berkeley Repertory, from 7:00 pm to 9:00 p.m., followed by a book signing.

The annual spring gala benefit dinner for Poets & Writers—America’s largest nonprofit service organization dedicated to fostering the professional development of poets, fiction writers, and creative nonfiction writers—is always an enjoyably memorable occasion to celebrate one of its core missions: “to help create an environment in which literature can be appreciated by the widest possible public.” This objective was thrillingly achieved at this year’s event, held in Manhattan on March 28, at which Riverhead Books Vice President and Editorial Director Rebecca Saletan and Knopf authors Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Richard Russo were honored for their exceptional contributions to the writing and publishing community.

Our new Igloo Book Buzz selection is Meg Wolitzer’s THE FEMALE PERSUASION, an eagerly awaited, much buzzed about book published by Riverhead today, April 3. Charming and wise, knowing and witty, Wolitzer delivers a novel about power and influence, ego and loyalty, womanhood and ambition. At its heart, THE FEMALE PERSUASION is about the flame we all believe is flickering inside of us, waiting to be seen and fanned by the right person at the right time. It’s a story about the people who guide and the people who follow (and how those roles evolve over time), and the desire within all of us to be pulled into the light.

The Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment this morning launched this year’s “One Book, One New York,” the exciting citywide initiative that brings book-loving New Yorkers together to read the same book at the same time. Among the five finalists are three books published by Penguin Random House imprints:

Columbia Journalism School and the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard announced the winners of the 2018 J. Anthony Lukas Prize Project Awards, including the Mark Lynton History Prize for Stephen Kotkin’s STALIN: Waiting for Hitler, 1929-1941, published by Penguin Press. Established in 1998, the Lukas Prize Project, marking its 20^th anniversary year, honors the best in American nonfiction writing. The late Mark Lynton was an historian and senior executive at the firm Hunter Douglas in the Netherlands. Mr. Kotkin will receive his $10,000 prize at a the Lukas Prize Project Awards ceremony on May 10 at the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University.

Friday Reads: Sugar
30 March 2018

April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain.

- T.S. Eliot

The American Booksellers Association has announced the finalists for the 2018 Indies Choice Awards, the E.B. White Read-Aloud Awards, as well as nominees for the Indie Champion Award and Picture Book Fall of Fame honors — and Penguin Random House adult and children’s titles across our divisions are prominently represented. Through “Indies Choice,” independent booksellers from ABA member stores get to select their favorite titles published last year, and vote for them through May 2 via online balloting. Winners will be announced on May 9, and will be celebrated along with the honor book recipients, at the ABA Celebration of Bookselling and Author Awards Lunch on Wednesday, May 30, at BookExpo 2018 at the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan.

Penguin Random House author Jacqueline Woodson was named the 2018 Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award Laureate, the world's largest award for children's and young adult literature. The prize amounts to 5 million Swedish krona (approximately $613,000). Woodson is the author of more than thirty books, including novels, poetry and picture books. One of her most lauded titles is the National Book Award- winning memoir in verse BROWN GIRL DREAMING (Nancy Paulsen Books).

#1 New York Times bestselling author C.J. Box takes his storytelling to new levels in his 18th Joe Pickett novel, THE DISAPPEARED, published by Putnam on March 27. Branded “one of today’s solid gold, A-list, must-read writers” by fellow Penguin Random House author Lee Child, Mr. Box has a remarkable ability to evolve his core characters – game warden Joe Pickett, his wife Mary Beth, their children, and friend Nate Romanowski – while introducing vexing mysteries, unexpected dilemmas, and multi-dimensional forces of nature.

The Penguin Random House Digital Video team has been busy, creating a series of new, noteworthy and trending video productions. Ranging from how the romance genre empowers women to how author Tamora Pierce started writing female heroes to a deep dive into “conspiracies” surrounding the Random House Home Video division’s animated logo from the ’80s. Watch below:

Philip Kerr, 1956 – 2018
26 March 2018

The publishing world lost one of its most distinguished modern thriller writers. Philip Kerr, the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of the Bernie Gunther novels, died on Friday, March 23 in London after an eight-month battle with cancer.

Crown Author Lauren Markham Wins the 2018 Ridenhour Book Prize for THE FAR AWAY BROTHERS
26 March 2018

Lauren Markham, author of THE FAR AWAY BROTHERS: Two Young Migrants and the Making of an American Life (Crown), has won the 2018 Ridenhour Book Prize, among the awards given annually for the past 15 years to extraordinary individuals “who persevere in the act of truth-telling that protect the public interest, promote social justice, or illuminate a more just vision of society,” by the Nation Institute, Fertel Foundation, and Stewart R. Mott Foundation.

Penguin Random House is proud and honored to be the publisher of many of 2017’s most prestigious and coveted literary prize-winning adult and children’s books and their authors.

Current conditions to the contrary, Spring sprang this week! Or so our calendars tell us. We are readers, we are patient: It won’t be long before snow and rain yield to sun and blooms. To cultivate that feeling of renewal this weekend (one likely spent indoors), we invite you to enjoy the following books for children and adults, all under the auspices of “Spring”!

“I’m certain that THERE IS MORE is going to be one of those books I remember working on for the rest of my career,” said Andrew Stoddard, Lead Acquisitions Editor for WaterBrook, in this Three Questions for an Editor interview. Mr. Stoddard takes us inside the formative phases, the creative process, and why WaterBrook was the best home for this new book by Brian Houston – the founder and Global Senior Pastor of Hillsong Church, considered by many to be a leading voice in the shaping of contemporary leadership values and church culture. Pastor Houston shows how it is possible for anyone to live life with greater expectancy. “Creative. Collaborative. Conscious of how the world is, but fiercely focused on the future – and a brighter future at that … it was encouraging to work with such a talented and overwhelming positive voice,” is how Mr. Stoddard described the author/editor process. For the complete Three Questions interview, read on.

PRH Audio Earns Three More Audie Awards Noms, including for Audio Book of the Year
22 March 2018

The Audio Publishers Association has announced additional 2018 Audie Awards finalists, including for its Audio Book of the Year honor, recognizing LINCOLN IN THE BARDO by George Saunders, narrated by George Saunders, Nick Offerman, David Sedaris, and 163 other voices (Random House Audio). LINCOLN IN THE BARDO is also nominated for Excellence in Production; and Penguin Random House Audio’s “Transform Your Commute” campaign is up for the Excellence in Marketing award.

This week we are leaping on the news that the beloved novel, THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL SOCIETY, is being adapted for a major motion picture by Netflix. Shaffer and Barrow’s epistolary novel (a tale told through letters) reminds us of the particular power over readers epistolary novels have. So we have selected some of the best of them from our catalog. These contemporary and classic works move from the era of parchment to email, and may just inspire the letter-writer in you:

Lauri Hornik, President and Publisher of Dial Books for Young Readers, has announced that Nancy Mercado will join Dial as Associate Publisher and Editorial Director, reporting to her effective April 9, 2018. Ms. Mercado will work closely with Ms. Hornik in overseeing the acquisition and development of Dial’s list in addition to editing her own projects and supervising Dial editors. Ms. Mercado was previously Editorial Director at Scholastic, where she managed a team of editors and oversaw and edited chapter books, middle grade and YA novels. Over the years Nancy’s had the good fortune of editing books by Paul Acampora, Cecil Castellucci, Veronica Chambers, Tommy Greenwald, Paul Griffin, Steve Kluger, Diana López, Jennifer Mathieu, Caragh O’Brien, Peter Raymundo, Kevin Sherry, Isabel Quintero, Lauren Tarshis, Taeeun Yoo, and many others.

Hailed as “this season’s hottest new TV show” is NBC’s Rise, based on Riverhead’s beloved book, DRAMA HIGH: The Incredible True Story of a Brilliant Teacher, a Struggling Town, and the Magic of Theater by Michael Sokolove. Critics and fans alike are raving over the silver screen adaptation of this true story of “a brilliant, demanding and subversive teacher who practices the best kind of magic – the kind that's real and that changes lives” (USA Today).

Colleagues in Colorado take note: Doubleday author Brian Castner is presenting his new book, DISAPPOINTMENT RIVER: Finding and Losing the Northwest Passage, at the Tattered Cover bookstore in Denver on Thursday, March 22. His talk begins at 7:00 p.m. and will be followed by a book signing.

Our Finalists for the 2018 James Beard Foundation Awards
16 March 2018

The James Beard Foundation has announced the finalists for its 2018 Cookbook, Journalism, Broadcast Media, and Restaurant & Chef Awards. Among the finalists are a fleet of our authors and books published by Penguin Random House imprints Clarkson Potter, Ten Speed Press, and Pam Krauss Books, as well as Taste . The winners of the Cookbook and Media awards will be announced in New York on April 27, and the Chef awards will be announced in Chicago on May 7. Click here to view the complete list of nominees.

“Everybody knows deep down that life is as much about the things that do not happen as the things that do and that’s not something that ought to be glossed over or denied because without frustration there would hardly be any need to daydream.” ― Claire-Louise Bennett, Pond Is there more fertile soil for a writer than that of Ireland? The names come easy – Joyce, Yeats, O’Brien, Wilde, Binchy, Doyle, Shaw, Heaney, Trevor, Banville, Barry, French – to name a handful. On this St. Patrick’s Day though, let’s pull a pint for some of the newest Irish storytellers on the scene:

The countdown continues to March 29, when the Steven Spielberg-directed film adaptation of Ernest Cline’s #1 bestselling book READY PLAYER ONE (Broadway) will open in theaters nationwide. The world premiere was at this week’s South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, where Mr. Cline was a featured speaker. Janet Pierson, director of film at SXSW, commented, “The film brings to the screen a story that has captivated millions of readers around the globe, written by Austin’s very own Ernest Cline.” To help further ratchet up fan enthusiasm, Warner Bros. Pictures has debuted a new READY PLAYER ONE “Dreamer” trailer: “Save the Oasis. Save the world.”

Netflix Acquires Adaptation of THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY
15 March 2018

Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows’ New York Times bestseller THE GUERNSEY LITERARY AND POTATO PEEL PIE SOCIETY, a book club favorite since it was first published by The Dial Press in 2008, has now been adapted for the screen by the production company Blue Print (producers of the Oscar and Golden Globe award-winning film, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) in partnership with Studiocanal and The Mazur Kaplan Company. Netflix acquired the rights to air the film in North America, Latin America, Italy, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia. Studiocanal will release it theatrically in Australia, France, and Germany.

Finalists for the 30th annual Publishing Triangle Awards have been announced, honoring the best LGBTQ fiction, nonfiction and poetry published in 2017, as well as the year's best trans and gender-variant literature. Winners will be celebrated April 26 at a ceremony in New York City.

There's a Book for That: Winston Churchill
15 March 2018

"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen." - Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, whose courage and conviction as Prime Minister led Britain to an allied victory in the Second World War, is once-again part of our cultural conversation due to the popular biopic, The Darkest Hour. Earlier this month, Gary Oldman took home the Oscar for Best Actor due to his exquisite embodiment of Churchill in the movie. To learn more about the full life, including family perspectives, of Winston Churchill we’ve gathered many hours’ worth of fine reading about the visionary leader.

Our Women’s Prize for Fiction 2018 Longlisters
14 March 2018

The Women’s Prize for Fiction has announced its 2018 Longlist. This annual award, now in its 23^rd year, celebrates excellence, originality and accessibility in writing by women throughout the world. Seven books published by Penguin Random House in the U.S. and Canada are on this year’s Women’s Prize Longlist:

Honorary Book Club Central Chair Sarah Jessica Parker has selected Jonathan Miles’ ANATOMY OF A MIRACLE, on sale March 13 from Hogarth, as the latest addition to the American Library Association’s Book Club Central SJP list. ANATOMY OF A MIRACLE is a remarkable novel about a paralyzed young man’s unexplainable recovery, and explores faith, science, mystery and the meaning of life.

#1 New York Times and Internationally Bestselling Author of THE BOOK THIEF, Markus Zusak, to Publish His Eagerly Awaited Next Novel, BRIDGE OF CLAY, This Fall
13 March 2018

BRIDGE OF CLAY, the highly anticipated novel by internationally bestselling and award-winning author Markus Zusak, will be published this Fall, it was announced globally today. On sale October 9, 2018, the book will release with a first printing of 500,000 copies in the U.S., and be published by Alfred A. Knopf, home of Zusak’s THE BOOK THIEF. It will publish simultaneously in Zusak’s native Australia, and in the U.K. two days later. BRIDGE OF CLAY will be edited in the U.S. by Zusak’s longtime editor Erin Clarke. Catherine Drayton of Inkwell Management represents Zusak.

Our new Igloo Book Buzz selection is ISLANDBORN (Dial Books for Young Readers), a debut picture book from Junot Díaz, the New York Times bestselling and Pulitzer prize-winning author of THE BRIEF WONDROUS LIFE OF OSCAR WAO and THIS IS HOW YOU LOSE HER. Illustrated by Leo Espinosa, ISLANDBORN celebrates cultural diversity in America and our imagination's boundless ability to connect us – to our families, to our past and to ourselves. LOLA, a Spanish-language edition of ISLANDBORN, is being published simultaneously in the U.S. and Canada.

4 of Our Authors Longlisted for 2018 Man Booker International Prize
12 March 2018

The Man Booker International Prize has announced its 2018 longlist of 13 titles (often referred to as the “Man Booker Dozen”) vying for the award, which annually celebrates the finest works of translated fiction from around the world. The shortlist of six books will be announced on April 12, and the winner of the 2018 prize will be announced on May 22 at an awards dinner in London.

Westminster colleagues take note: Portfolio author Ryan Holiday will be at Politics & Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C. on Friday, March 16, at 7:00 p.m. to talk about his new book, CONSPIRACY: Peter Thiel, Hulk Hogan, Gawker, and the Anatomy of Intrigue. Examining the case that rocked the media world, and the billionaire mastermind behind it, Holiday’s narrative is part cyber-era true-crime and part complex, thought-provoking investigation of questions of privacy and power in the digital age.

Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks is an iconic rock album shrouded in legend that has touched generations of listeners (the record topping many personal “Desert Island” music lists) and influenced everyone from Bruce Springsteen to Martin Scorsese. ASTRAL WEEKS: A Secret History of 1968 (Penguin Press), the first book by musician/ journalist Ryan H. Walsh, unearths the album’s fascinating backstory and takes a mind-expanding deep dive into a lost chapter of Boston, circa 1968, featuring both the famous and the forgotten, including Van Morrison himself, folkie-turned-cult-leader Mel Lyman, Timothy Leary, the Velvet Underground, Andy Warhol, Peter Wolf, and James Brown.

This week we’re celebrating Women’s History Month, and International Women’s Day (3/8), with books by women of color. Women’s history is still under-discussed and undervalued, doubly so when it comes to the history of women of color. So we’re highlighting some of our recent favorite titles, bringing these women’s stories and perspectives to the front, where they belong.

The Random House Audio edition of Ernest Cline’s READY PLAYER ONE is making publishing history as the first #1 Audio Fiction Bestseller on the first-ever New York Times Bestseller List devoted separately and solely to Audio titles. The debut rankings appear in the Sunday, March 18 print edition of The New York Times Book Review, now available online, and will henceforth appear monthly, reporting combined physical and digital audio sales for the top 15 fiction and nonfiction audiobooks respectively.

Our LAMBDA Literary Awards Finalists
8 March 2018

Lambda Literary, America’s oldest and largest literary arts organization advancing LGBTQ literature, has announced the finalists of the 30th Annual Lambda Literary Awards (a.k.a the “Lammys”). Among the finalists are five books published by Penguin Random House imprints and one title by a Penguin Random House Publisher Services client publisher.

John A. Farrell’s RICHARD NIXON Wins New-York Historical Society Book Prize
8 March 2018

RICHARD NIXON: The Life by John A. Farrell (Random House) has won the New-York Historical Society’s Barbara and David Zalaznick Book Prize, awarded annually to the best work in the field of American history or biography.

Today, we are celebrating International Women’s Day with our readers by highlighting many of our publishing divisions’ female authors on the Penguin Random House consumer website. On this Day, which annually honors the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women globally, we will showcase treasured classics, major biographies, and contemporary storytelling, and more we publish by and about women. See a title sampling here.

On the heels of Elizabeth Strout winning The Story Prize last week for her collection ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE, we contend the short story is not, merely, an unrealized novel. With its economy of language in getting plot and character across, a great short story can take your breath away. Short stories are like fiction concentrate. Adding words would just dilute the glory of what we love about the short story! In the first few months of 2018 alone, Penguin Random House has rolled out new collections from masters of the form as well as exciting debuts. Will one of these take home next year’s prize?

The inaugural Aspen Words Literary Prize has unveiled its five finalists and three of the authors and their books are published by Penguin Random House imprints. The Aspen Institute established this new annual prize to recognize "an influential work of fiction that illuminates a vital contemporary issue and demonstrates the transformative power of literature on thought and culture."

Having the Courage to Be True to Yourself, Stand Up and Empower Others
7 March 2018

Our new Igloo Book Buzz selection is Sarah McBride’s TOMORROW WILL BE DIFFERENT: Love, Loss and the Fight for Trans Equality, published on March 6 by Crown Archetype. Before she became the first transgender person to speak at a national political convention in 2016 at the age of twenty-six, Sarah McBride struggled with the decision to come out—not just to her family but to the students of American University, where she was serving as student body president. Informative, heartbreaking, and profoundly empowering, TOMORROW WILL BE DIFFERENT is McBride’s story of love, loss and a powerful entry point into the LGBTQ community’s battle for equal rights and what it means to be openly transgender.

Author Ian Buruma will be presenting his latest book, A TOKYO ROMANCE: A Memoir (Penguin Press) on Thursday, March 8 at 7:00 pm at McNally Jackson Books in NYC. Buruma will be in conversation with Darryl Pinckney, followed by a book signing.

Ten Speed Press is pleased to announce that the prestigious Art of Eating Prize for Best Food Book of 2018 has been awarded to Leela Punyaratabandhu for BANGKOK: Recipes and Stories from the Heart of Thailand Leela receives a $10,000 prize and a specially crafted hand-wrought ladle, a beautiful emblem of the prize. The Art of Eating Prize is awarded annually to the author of the year’s best book about food (or food and drink together). Where other food book awards involve nominations in many categories, The Art of Eating Prize focuses on a single best book. The founders of the prize, by rewarding the highest quality work, hope to encourage the excellence of food writing in general. The winner is decided by a panel of judges drawn from varied realms connected with food and drink. The seven judges are Eric Asimov, Lisa Abend, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, Peter Meehan, Pim Techamuanvivit, Adam Sachs, and Frank Stitt.

Be part of the launch of Amy Kaufman’s highly anticipated BACHELOR NATION: Inside The World of America’s Favorite Guilty Pleasure (Dutton) at the Strand Book Store in NYC on Wednesday, March 7. Amy will be in conversation with Emma Gray and Claire Fallon, hosts of Huffington Post's Here to Make Friends podcast. The event will begin at 7:00 in the Rare Books Room, where wine will be served. Please RSVP here.

Our On Sabbatical series is back! This time with Gerry Bondoc, Desktop Support Analyst in NYC. Read on to see how Gerry spent his sabbatical traveling to 11 cities and 5 countries in Asia this winter.

Friday Reads: Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!
2 March 2018

Today you are you! That is truer than true! There is no one alive who is you-er than you! - Dr. Seuss Is there a wocket in your pocket? Did you have green eggs and ham this morning? Today, March 2^nd, is Dr. Seuss' birthday - celebrated nationwide with NEA’s Read Across America events in schools, libraries and bookstores. Read Across America is an annual reading motivation and awareness program that calls for every child in every community to celebrate reading on the birthday of the beloved children's author. Here’s a treasure-trove of Seuss for the party!

The real-world impact of Matthew Desmond’s Pulitzer Prize-winning, New York Times bestselling book EVICTED: Poverty and Profit in the American City (Crown/Broadway) continues. Tom Barrett, Mayor of Milwaukee, recently announced a commitment to build or improve 10,000 housing units in that Wisconsin city over the next 10 years. Mr. Barrett acknowledged that his plan was hatched in the wake of lessons learned from scenarios presented in EVICTED, which follows the fates of eight families in Milwaukee as they struggle to keep a roof over their heads.

Elizabeth Strout Wins The Story Prize for ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE
1 March 2018

Elizabeth Strout has won The Story Prize for ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE (Random House), receiving a $20,000 award and an engraved silver bowl at the 14th annual Story Prize event, which took place on Wednesday, February 28, at The New School in Manhattan. The Story Prize judges offered high praise for Strout and her latest collection of short stories: "The intelligent prose is seemingly humble but elegant in its subtlety and enchanting in its overall effect. The blade of her wit is so sharp, you barely feel it until after the slice. Strout is a specialist in the reticence of people, and her characters are compelling because of the complexity of their internal lives, and the clarity with which that complexity is depicted. It is a sublime pleasure to read her work."

In anticipation of March’s Women’s History Month and International Women's Day on March 8, we’ve taken a cue from Marie Claire’s list of most inspirational women in history to bring readers of all ages some excellent biographies on women who have made a difference in many realms of government, science, and the arts:

Watch the Trailer for TV Adaptation of THE LOOMING TOWER, Hulu Original Series Debuts Tonight
28 February 2018

Lawrence Wright’s THE LOOMING TOWER: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11 (Knopf/Vintage), which won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction, has been adapted into a 10-episode Hulu original series and debuts tonight. Starring Jeff Daniels, Peter Sarsgaard, Alec Baldwin and Tahar Rahim, the gripping narrative spans five decades, powerfully illuminating the growth of Islamic fundamentalism, the rise of al-Qaeda, and the intelligence failures that culminated in the 9/11 attacks.

Igloo Live Highlights: Watch Video of Our Volunteers in Rwanda
27 February 2018

At our latest Igloo Live event, Marysarah Quinn (SVP, Director of Creative Design, Crown) and Kendra Levin (Associate Editorial Director, Viking Books for Young Readers) shared first-hand accounts about their week spent volunteering in Rwanda in partnership with Save the Children on their School-Community Partnership for Education (SCOPE) project. The discussion, which took place on February 5 at 1745 Broadway, was moderated by Save the Children’s Jennifer Kendra (Director of Impact Marketing and Partnership Innovation). Melanie Fallon-Houska (Director, Corporate Giving, Penguin Random House), who worked closely together with Jennifer to realize this amazing volunteer opportunity, also joined the panel to introduce the guests and talk about other exciting opportunities to support our companywide Social Impact initiatives.

Viking’s Wendy Wolf on the Wisdom of Steven Pinker and ENLIGHTENMENT NOW
26 February 2018

Steven Pinker’s ENLIGHTENMENT NOW: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism and Progress, acclaimed New York Times bestseller (debuting at #2) from Viking, is “the book of the moment” everyone is talking about, including avid reader Bill Gates: “The world is getting better, even if it doesn’t always feel that way. I’m glad we have brilliant thinkers like Steven Pinker to help us see the big picture. ENLIGHTENMENT NOW is not only the best book Pinker’s ever written. It’s my new favorite book of all time.”

The International Association of Culinary Professionals announced the winners of its 2018 Awards at the annual IACP conference on February 25 in New York, recognizing the very best food writing and publishing of the year, from cookbooks and journalism to photography and digital media. Our 8 IACP 2018 Award winners include books and authors from Crown Publishing Group imprints Clarkson Potter, Ten Speed Press and Lorena Jones Books, as well as Alfred A. Knopf.

Worldwide Publication Date Set for Michelle Obama Memoir
26 February 2018

BECOMING, the memoir by Michelle Obama, will be published in the U.S. and Canada on November 13, 2018, by the Crown Publishing Group/Penguin Random House. There will be a simultaneous publication of the book in 24 languages worldwide.

The cinematic scope of Richard K. Morgan’s genre-bending science fiction book, ALTERED CARBON (Del Rey), made it a natural for screen adaptation. Now streaming exclusively on Netflix, this ten-episode series takes place more than 350 years into the future, when humankind has spread throughout the galaxy, monitored by the watchful eye of the U.N. While divisions in race, religion, and class still exist, advances in technology have redefined life itself. Now, assuming one can afford the expensive procedure, a person’s consciousness can be stored in a cortical stack at the base of the brain and easily downloaded into a new body (or “sleeve”) making death nothing more than a minor blip on a screen.

Penguin Random House: A Story of Shared Values – Our Vision for 2020
26 February 2018

Today, we complete our eight-part Social Impact Highlights Summary series by highlighting our vision for 2020.

Friday Reads: The Year of the Dog
23 February 2018

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! February 16th marked the first day in China’s traditional lunar calendar and is the country’s most important holiday with colorful celebrations that culminate with The Lantern Festival on March 2nd. 2018 is the Year of the Dog and, running with that lead, we are unleashing classic and contemporary canine stories for the occasion - all ages welcome!

Columbia Journalism School and the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard have announced The J. Anthony Lukas Prizes shortlist, honoring “the best in American nonfiction writing” in 2017 on history and topics of American political or social concern. The judges selected three of our 2017 titles as finalists in two of the three categories, from more than 350 submissions:

Penguin Random House: A Story of Shared Values – Environment & Sourcing
23 February 2018

This eight-part series highlights individual sections from our first-ever Social Impact Highlights Summary. Today’s installment features environment and sourcing. We are constantly inspired to do more with less. We are dedicated to the practices of responsible book publishing, and our policy on environmental sourcing highlights our values and actions on conservation and sustainability. We are proactive in minimizing the energy consumption in our offices and facilities by adopting cleaner energy sources, and it shows.

The Los Angeles Times has announced the finalists for its 2017 Book Prize Awards, which annually honors outstanding books in 10 categories. Below are our 15 Penguin Random House imprint nominations, and our winners of two of their non-competitive prizes. The winners in the literary categories will revealed on April 20.

There’s a Book for That: Gun Violence
21 February 2018

In the wake of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14^,, the school’s students and their counterparts across the country are speaking out non-stop against gun violence, leading to two nationwide planned events: the National School Walkout on March 14 and the March for Our Lives on March 24. You may be interested in the following books about this urgent matter published by Penguin Random House imprints:

Riverhead Books is proud to announce a new work from the award-winning and internationally-bestselling writer and UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador,Khaled Hosseini as was revealed in Entertainment Weekly. The new work, titled SEA PRAYER, is a short, illustrated book that Hosseini wrote in response to the current refugee crisis and the haunting image of young Alan Kurdi, the three-year-old Syrian boy whose body washed up on the beach in Turkey in September 2015.

Penguin Random House: A Story of Shared Values – Creativity & Culture
21 February 2018

This eight-part series highlights individual sections from our first-ever Social Impact Highlights Summary. Today’s installment features creativity and culture. Creativity often equals choices. As a company, we foster the development of a wide range of viewpoints in the writers we publish and the stories they share around the world. We broaden the creative spectrum through our partnerships and programs that discover new authors and connect books to new places.

Penguin Random House: A Story of Shared Values – People & Community
20 February 2018

This eight-part series highlights individual sections from our first-ever Social Impact Highlights Summary. Today’s installment features people and community. People are at the heart of what we do at Penguin Random House. From our employees to our booksellers and ultimately our readers, we believe in the power of reading— and how just one story can change a perspective for a lifetime, enriching ourselves and our global community in ways we never could have imagined.

Penguin Random House India is delighted to announce an exciting digital initiative, the launch of its digital imprint Penguin Petit. Featuring a carefully curated selection from Penguin Random House India’s extensive list of titles, Penguin Petits are short reads, approximately 50 pages each, designed for ease of reading across digital devices. Readers will now be able to enjoy the writings by some of their favourite authors in short, low priced and highly accessible digital formats, including works by Premchand, Gulzar, Devdutt Pattanaik, Ramachandra Guha, Sudha Murty and Anita Nair to begin with.

Our Books on the 2018 Rainbow List
16 February 2018

The Rainbow Book List Committee has announced its 2018 Rainbow Book List, recognizing books with significant gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or queer/questioning content, for youth and children 18 and under. This year’s Rainbow Book List includes five titles published by Penguin Random House imprints, and one title published by a Penguin Random House Publisher Services client:

YA Author Samira Ahmed Takes on Islamophobia in Her Debut Novel
16 February 2018

Samira Ahmed’s debut novel, LOVE, HATE AND OTHER FILTERS, features an Indian-American Muslim teen coping with Islamophobia, cultural divides among peers and parents, and a reality she can neither explain nor escape. Published by Soho Teen, the Young Adult division of Soho Press, a Penguin Random House Publisher Services client, this book is a Spring 2018 Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Selection, a New York Times bestseller, and was recently featured in The New York Times Book Review’s “Inside the List” column.

On Monday, February 19th we celebrate President’s Day. Did you know that President's Day never falls on the actual birthday of any American president? Four chief executives—George Washington, William Henry Harrison, Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan were born in February, but their birthdays all come either too early or late to coincide with Presidents’ Day, which is always celebrated on the third Monday of the month since 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act: “an attempt to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers…” It’s a great occasion to learn something new by reading the following acclaimed adult and children’s nonfiction:

Author Ben Dolnick will be at Politics & Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C. this Saturday, February 17, presenting his latest novel, THE GHOST NOTEBOOKS (Pantheon), a supernatural story of love, ghosts, and madness as a young couple, newly engaged, become caretakers of a historic museum. The event will begin at 6:00 pm.

Penguin Random House: A Story of Shared Values – Literacy & Education
16 February 2018

This eight-part series highlights individual sections from our first-ever Social Impact Highlights Summary. Today’s installment features literacy and education. The power of reading and writing knows no bounds. The ability to read and write is key to unlocking a new perspective and a greater awareness of not only the world outside but also the one within. It is the starting point in both transcending and uniting generations and cultures, building empathy and expanding the imagination.

Penguin Random House: A Story of Shared Values – Inclusion
15 February 2018

This eight-part series highlights individual sections from our first-ever Social Impact Highlights Summary. Today's installment features inclusion and diversity. Authors and books have never been more important in our championing of diverse voices in our culture, as well as an inspiration in our workplace. We are committed to strengthening and promoting equality, diversity and social inclusion through our company and among our shareholders, and by partnering with organizations that share our commitment.

Activist DeRay Mckesson to Publish Book with Viking
14 February 2018

Viking is pleased to announce ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FREEDOM: The Case for Hope, a new book by DeRay Mckesson, civil rights activist and host of the podcast Pod Save the People, coming September 4, 2018. Georgia Bodnar and Wendy Wolf at Viking acquired North American rights, as well as audio and first serial, from CAA.

Our latest Igloo Book Buzz selection is Kimmery Martin’s debut novel, THE QUEEN OF HEARTS, published by Berkley on February 13. An emergency medicine doctor, born and raised in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, Kimmery sets her book’s narrative in a world of hospital rounds and life-or-death decisions, while exploring the heart’s capacity for forgiveness.

This eight-part series highlights individual sections from our first-ever

Featured Author Event: Jasmine Guillory (Denver) 17 July 2019

Featured Author Event: Margaret O’Mara (San Francisco) 16 July 2019

Andy Weir Spans Oz, Wonderland, Neverland Multiverse in New Crossover Graphic Novel 16 July 2019

Jimmy Kimmel Writes and Illustrates His Debut Children’s Picture Book, to be Published December 2019 16 July 2019

Sandford, THE CHALK MAN 2019 ThrillerFest Honorees 16 July 2019

Our Three Finalists for the 2019 George Washington Prize 15 July 2019

Friday Reads: Podcasters 12 July 2019

PRH Pilots Diversity Library Program in Ten Title One High Schools Across NYC 11 July 2019

Ekpe Udoh – NBA Player, Passionate Reader, Book Club Founder – Visits Penguin Random House 11 July 2019

There's a Book for That: Summer Reading for Kids and Teens 10 July 2019

PRH Partners with Drag Queen Story Hour to Produce Literary Drag Show at NYPL 9 July 2019

How Berkley Author Kali Wallace Blends Science with Fiction 9 July 2019

Featured Author Event: Summer Rayne Oakes (NYC) 8 July 2019

There's a Book for That: Fourth of July! 2 July 2019

Christopher Myers Accepts the 2019 Children's Literature Legacy Award for his Father, Walter Dean Myers 2 July 2019

Meacham and McGraw Explore the Power of Song to Unite and Shape Our Nation 1 July 2019

PRH and WNDB Announce 2019 Creative Writing Awards Winners 1 July 2019

Featured Author Event: Cristina Alger (Sag Harbor, NY) 28 June 2019

Illustrated LGBTQ History: Reimer and Brown Connect Queer Past with Queer Present 27 June 2019

Pop Culture Powerhouses: Voices of Cultural Journalism Discuss Their Anticipated Summer Books 26 June 2019

There's a Book for That: Chernobyl 26 June 2019

Dutton Executive Editor Stephen Morrow’s VIP Australian Adventure 25 June 2019

Featured Author Event: Jamil Zaki (San Francisco) 25 June 2019

UNDER ONE ROOF Brings Storytellers Together in Celebration of World Pride 25 June 2019

Ballantine's Sara Weiss Tells Why Linda Holmes’s RomCom Novel is Your Next Summer Read 25 June 2019

Featured Author Event: Lauren Mechling (NYC) 21 June 2019

SJP for Hogarth Author Claire Adam Wins Desmond Elliott Prize for GOLDEN CHILD 21 June 2019

Featured Author Event: Bren Smith (Washington, DC) 21 June 2019

Friday Reads: Ocean's Acknowledgments 21 June 2019

Sally Rooney Wins Encore Award for NORMAL PEOPLE 20 June 2019

Elizabeth Gilbert’s CITY OF GIRLS is #1 Pick on Amazon’s “Best Books of the Year So Far” List 19 June 2019

There's a Book for That: Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month 19 June 2019

Featured Author Event: James Ellroy (Denver) 19 June 2019

Bertelsmann Foundation Presents “How to Fix Democracy” Video and Podcast Series 18 June 2019

Knopf’s THE LONG TAKE by Robin Robertson Wins Walter Scott Prize 18 June 2019

Featured Author Event: Mona Awad (Denver) 17 June 2019

Random House Author Emily Ruskovich Wins International Dublin Literary Award for IDAHO 17 June 2019

Knopf's Bill Loverd, Champion of Literary Titans, Dies at 78 14 June 2019

Friday Reads: Walking 14 June 2019

Featured Author Event: Esi Edugyan (Brooklyn) 14 June 2019

Featured Author Event: Ocean Vuong (San Francisco) 14 June 2019

Penguin Random House and Authors Guild Bring Writing Workshops to Aspiring Authors Nationwide 12 June 2019

Looking for Help with Big and Small Decisions? theSkimm Steps Up 12 June 2019

There's a Book for That: Father's Day 12 June 2019

PRH Volunteers Share Our Books with Shakespeare in the Park Fans 12 June 2019

Featured Author Event: Ryan Jacobs (Boulder, CO) 11 June 2019

Friday Listening: June is Audiobook Month 7 June 2019

Our Lambda Literary Award Winners 6 June 2019

Featured Author Event: Martin Walker (Washington, DC) 6 June 2019

There's a Book for That: Pride Month 5 June 2019

Meryl Streep to Narrate New Audiobook Recording of E.B. White’s Classic CHARLOTTE’S WEB 5 June 2019

MLB's Hit King Shares His All-In, Headfirst Style of Baseball and Life 5 June 2019

Volunteer Spotlight: Kimberly “KAZ” Woods 3 June 2019

Anjali Sachdeva's ALL THE NAMES THEY USED FOR GOD Wins 2019 Chautauqua Prize 3 June 2019

Binc and PRH Announce Winner of Inaugural Indies with Impact Award: Blue Manatee Literacy Project and Bookstore 31 May 2019

Friday Reads: Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month 31 May 2019

There's a Book for That: Mental Health Awareness 29 May 2019

Viking Life, Penguin Life, Pamela Dorman Books Life Publishing Program to Launch in 2020 28 May 2019

Tony Horwitz: 1958 – 2019 28 May 2019

Friday Reads: Memorial Day 24 May 2019

Our Winners of 2019 IACP Awards 23 May 2019

Westminster Team Takes Third Place in Literacy Council of Carroll County Spelling Bee 23 May 2019

Riverhead Sets Fundraising Record: $10,000 Raised for NYC Anti-Violence Project 23 May 2019

Berkley Author William Gibson Named 35th Damon Knight Grand Master 23 May 2019

Penguin Random House Invests In Growth Of Leading Independent Publisher Sourcebooks 22 May 2019

RHCB to Publish Marie Kondo’s Debut Children’s Picture Book in Fall 2019 22 May 2019

Riverhead Celebrates Jacqueline Woodson’s RED AT THE BONE at Weeksville Heritage Center 22 May 2019

There's a Book for That: Game of Thrones 22 May 2019

First Modern Library Torchbearers Series Titles Released This Week 22 May 2019

Crown to Publish New Rachel Maddow Book, BLOWOUT, in October 21 May 2019

RHCB and Dr. Seuss Enterprises Launch 2nd Annual #SeussWordChallenge 21 May 2019

Penguin Young Readers Celebrates the Launch of Kokila 17 May 2019

Friday Reads: Musician Memoirs 17 May 2019

Vintage Español to Publish New Michael Wolff Book in Spanish 16 May 2019

There's a Book for That: Jewish American Heritage 15 May 2019

Ani DiFranco Shares Her Passion and Hard-Won Wisdom on the Page 10 May 2019

Friday Reads: A Dozen Roses for Mom 10 May 2019

DREAMing Out Loud with CUNY Students at Penguin Random House About Creative Expression & Diversity 9 May 2019

Our Winners of 2019 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards 9 May 2019

Casey Cep’s Brilliant Literary Brew, with History, Religion, Murder, Fraud and Harper Lee 8 May 2019

Featured Author Event: Jasmine Guillory (Denver)
17 July 2019

Featured Author Event: Margaret O’Mara (San Francisco)
16 July 2019

Andy Weir Spans Oz, Wonderland, Neverland Multiverse in New Crossover Graphic Novel
16 July 2019

Jimmy Kimmel Writes and Illustrates His Debut Children’s Picture Book, to be Published December 2019
16 July 2019

Sandford, THE CHALK MAN 2019 ThrillerFest Honorees
16 July 2019

Our Three Finalists for the 2019 George Washington Prize
15 July 2019

Friday Reads: Podcasters
12 July 2019

PRH Pilots Diversity Library Program in Ten Title One High Schools Across NYC
11 July 2019

Ekpe Udoh – NBA Player, Passionate Reader, Book Club Founder – Visits Penguin Random House
11 July 2019

There's a Book for That: Summer Reading for Kids and Teens
10 July 2019

PRH Partners with Drag Queen Story Hour to Produce Literary Drag Show at NYPL
9 July 2019

How Berkley Author Kali Wallace Blends Science with Fiction
9 July 2019

Featured Author Event: Summer Rayne Oakes (NYC)
8 July 2019

There's a Book for That: Fourth of July!
2 July 2019

Christopher Myers Accepts the 2019 Children's Literature Legacy Award for his Father, Walter Dean Myers
2 July 2019

Meacham and McGraw Explore the Power of Song to Unite and Shape Our Nation
1 July 2019

PRH and WNDB Announce 2019 Creative Writing Awards Winners
1 July 2019

Featured Author Event: Cristina Alger (Sag Harbor, NY)
28 June 2019

Illustrated LGBTQ History: Reimer and Brown Connect Queer Past with Queer Present
27 June 2019

Pop Culture Powerhouses: Voices of Cultural Journalism Discuss Their Anticipated Summer Books
26 June 2019

There's a Book for That: Chernobyl
26 June 2019

Dutton Executive Editor Stephen Morrow’s VIP Australian Adventure
25 June 2019

Featured Author Event: Jamil Zaki (San Francisco)
25 June 2019

UNDER ONE ROOF Brings Storytellers Together in Celebration of World Pride
25 June 2019

Ballantine's Sara Weiss Tells Why Linda Holmes’s RomCom Novel is Your Next Summer Read
25 June 2019

Featured Author Event: Lauren Mechling (NYC)
21 June 2019

SJP for Hogarth Author Claire Adam Wins Desmond Elliott Prize for GOLDEN CHILD
21 June 2019

Featured Author Event: Bren Smith (Washington, DC)
21 June 2019

Friday Reads: Ocean's Acknowledgments
21 June 2019

Sally Rooney Wins Encore Award for NORMAL PEOPLE
20 June 2019

Elizabeth Gilbert’s CITY OF GIRLS is #1 Pick on Amazon’s “Best Books of the Year So Far” List
19 June 2019

There's a Book for That: Alzheimer's and Brain Awareness Month
19 June 2019

Featured Author Event: James Ellroy (Denver)
19 June 2019

Bertelsmann Foundation Presents “How to Fix Democracy” Video and Podcast Series
18 June 2019

Knopf’s THE LONG TAKE by Robin Robertson Wins Walter Scott Prize
18 June 2019

Featured Author Event: Mona Awad (Denver)
17 June 2019

Random House Author Emily Ruskovich Wins International Dublin Literary Award for IDAHO
17 June 2019

Knopf's Bill Loverd, Champion of Literary Titans, Dies at 78
14 June 2019

Friday Reads: Walking
14 June 2019

Featured Author Event: Esi Edugyan (Brooklyn)
14 June 2019

Featured Author Event: Ocean Vuong (San Francisco)
14 June 2019

Penguin Random House and Authors Guild Bring Writing Workshops to Aspiring Authors Nationwide
12 June 2019

Looking for Help with Big and Small Decisions? theSkimm Steps Up
12 June 2019

There's a Book for That: Father's Day
12 June 2019

PRH Volunteers Share Our Books with Shakespeare in the Park Fans
12 June 2019

Featured Author Event: Ryan Jacobs (Boulder, CO)
11 June 2019

Friday Listening: June is Audiobook Month
7 June 2019

Our Lambda Literary Award Winners
6 June 2019

Featured Author Event: Martin Walker (Washington, DC)
6 June 2019

There's a Book for That: Pride Month
5 June 2019

Meryl Streep to Narrate New Audiobook Recording of E.B. White’s Classic CHARLOTTE’S WEB
5 June 2019

MLB's Hit King Shares His All-In, Headfirst Style of Baseball and Life
5 June 2019

Volunteer Spotlight: Kimberly “KAZ” Woods
3 June 2019

Anjali Sachdeva's ALL THE NAMES THEY USED FOR GOD Wins 2019 Chautauqua Prize
3 June 2019

Binc and PRH Announce Winner of Inaugural Indies with Impact Award: Blue Manatee Literacy Project and Bookstore
31 May 2019

Friday Reads: Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month
31 May 2019

There's a Book for That: Mental Health Awareness
29 May 2019

Viking Life, Penguin Life, Pamela Dorman Books Life Publishing Program to Launch in 2020
28 May 2019

Tony Horwitz: 1958 – 2019
28 May 2019

Friday Reads: Memorial Day
24 May 2019

Our Winners of 2019 IACP Awards
23 May 2019

Westminster Team Takes Third Place in Literacy Council of Carroll County Spelling Bee
23 May 2019

Riverhead Sets Fundraising Record: $10,000 Raised for NYC Anti-Violence Project
23 May 2019

Berkley Author William Gibson Named 35th Damon Knight Grand Master
23 May 2019

Penguin Random House Invests In Growth Of Leading Independent Publisher Sourcebooks
22 May 2019

RHCB to Publish Marie Kondo’s Debut Children’s Picture Book in Fall 2019
22 May 2019

Riverhead Celebrates Jacqueline Woodson’s RED AT THE BONE at Weeksville Heritage Center
22 May 2019

There's a Book for That: Game of Thrones
22 May 2019

First Modern Library Torchbearers Series Titles Released This Week
22 May 2019

Crown to Publish New Rachel Maddow Book, BLOWOUT, in October
21 May 2019

RHCB and Dr. Seuss Enterprises Launch 2nd Annual #SeussWordChallenge
21 May 2019

Penguin Young Readers Celebrates the Launch of Kokila
17 May 2019

Friday Reads: Musician Memoirs
17 May 2019

Vintage Español to Publish New Michael Wolff Book in Spanish
16 May 2019

There's a Book for That: Jewish American Heritage
15 May 2019

Ani DiFranco Shares Her Passion and Hard-Won Wisdom on the Page
10 May 2019

Friday Reads: A Dozen Roses for Mom
10 May 2019

DREAMing Out Loud with CUNY Students at Penguin Random House About Creative Expression & Diversity
9 May 2019

Our Winners of 2019 James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards
9 May 2019

Casey Cep’s Brilliant Literary Brew, with History, Religion, Murder, Fraud and Harper Lee
8 May 2019