In-Depth Stories
Ishan Dhar, Assistant Manager - AMS, PRH India & Southeast Asia
November 15, 2022
With the number of great books that we publish every month, it is important to understand and decide how to use our resources efficiently to market our titles. Researching the marketplace is the first step in order to know how consumers shop for books: keywords, click rates, searches, and other important buying behaviours.
Rinjini Mitra, Publicist, Penguin Random House India
November 15, 2022
Rinjini Mitra (r) with author Durjoy Datta.
When I started working with one of our most popular romance author, Durjoy Datta, on his upcoming book, WHEN I AM WITH YOU, I had the most unique experience and wholesome experience as a marketer.
To be innovative and creative in an utterly cluttered space—especially with Durjoy being a brand author for a decade and delivering nineteen best-selling novels—was quite a challenge. Moreover, a post-pandemic, changed marketplace with evolving behavioral patterns needed to be considered as well.
Barbara Scheuer, Overall Production Manager & Environmental Officer
November 14, 2022
In production, we work as an interface between the editors, product management, commercial staff, and sales. We turn the final manuscript into the finished book—physically and as an e-book. This job requires organizational talent, structured work, a high level of technical know-how, and creativity in equal measure.
Annette Danek, EVP & Chief Supply Chain Officer, Penguin Random House
November 14, 2022
The Penguin Random House U.S. supply chain has become widely recognized as the trade-publishing industry’s gold standard, for its speed and reliability.
Effy Ai, Legal Specialist, PRH China
November 14, 2022
Supervising and managing contract projects are my core responsibilities. This means the planning, reviewing, negotiating, and administrating of contracts. It may sound humdrum, but it’s quite demanding.
Most contracts are about copyright purchasing and local publishing. I help minimize any legal, potential risks, and maximize the commercial benefits. As part of my role, I monitor the essential decision-making process of every particular project. I also ensure that we archive digital and hard copies of every contract after they have been signed by the respective parties.
Bhavna Chauhan, Editorial Director, Doubleday Canada
November 14, 2022
As the Editorial Director of commercial publishing at Doubleday Canada, I oversee and articulate a clear vision for the commercial titles in our program, focusing particularly on genre fiction (thrillers, romance, book club fiction, and mysteries), as well as memoirs by big names.
Sofía Lecumberri López, National Sales Director, PRHGE
November 14, 2022
Sofía Lecumberri with Arturo Pérez Reverte
As Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial’s National Sales Director, I have the considerable responsibility for setting and leading the trade-marketing strategies, implementations, and distribution, as well as the monthly sales budget, for our publishing programs in Spain. It has been a terrific opportunity for me to engage interactively with our publishing colleagues about the books that inspire their passion, and with our booksellers and salespeople, to bring these titles to readers across the country.
Caroline Purslow, Sales Director, DK Asia
November 14, 2022
I work in DK’s International Publishing & Licensing (IPL) team in London. As a team we oversee sales of DK books both in translation, partnering with local co-edition publishers and distributors, as well as English language export sales out of the UK and US warehouses. Specifically, I am responsible for DK sales in Asia, with a team based in London, as well as Beijing, Tokyo and Hong Kong. Together we work with local publishers, retailers and distributors to bring our DK books to readers across the region.
Heidi Camilleri, Marketing, Penguin Books Australia
November 14, 2022
I look after the In Market-team, which is a multidisciplinary team of marketers, publicists, and a designer. We manage campaigns for bestselling backlist across international and local publishing, new releases published under the Penguin Publishing Lab imprint (a local imprint specialising in authors with built-in digital audiences), and opportunity titles as identified by data. We are responsible for all Penguin-branded activity, including promotional campaigns at key sales periods such as Christmas.
Robert Plummer, Managing Editor, Non-fiction
November 14, 2022
I work on non-illustrated books about politics, history, biography, sport, and personal finance. My main role is to shepherd projects from manuscript delivery to print, although I also get involved before and after the editorial stage. I work with in-house and freelance editors, proofreaders, designers, typesetters, indexers, and lawyers.
Alceu Nunes, Art Director at Companhia das Letras Group
November 14, 2022
I’ve been the Art Director at Companhia das Letras Group at PRH Brasil for about ten years. I coordinate a team of five designers responsible for making book covers and, in some cases, the page layout. We work with freelance collaborators to help us create an average of 40 books per month.
Alice Twomey, Senior Commissioning Editor, PRH Audio UK
November 14, 2022
I head our catalogue audio publishing in the UK. Acquiring catalogue rights as well as commissioning and coordinating our re-publishing programme are part of my responsibilities. One of my current projects is re-publishing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, a huge opportunity as Terry Pratchett is one of our all-time bestselling authors in audio.
Interview with Sarah McGrath, SVP & Editor-in-Chief, Riverhead, PRH U.S.
December 8, 2020
About THE VANISHING HALF by Brit Bennett: From The New York Times-bestselling author of “The Mothers,” a stunning new novel about twin sisters, inseparable as children, who ultimately choose to live in two very different worlds, one black and one white. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters’ storylines intersect?
Interview with Xiaorui Su, Jillian Lee, and Sasha Lang, PRH North Asia
December 8, 2020
About DUNHUANG: A Geographical & Cultural Picture Book by Xiaorui Su: On a hot summer day, Lulu and her father were on their trip in Dunhuang. She picked up a stone that looked like a face of an old man and brought it home. Actually, she awakened the memory of the weathered stone.
Interview with Grusche Juncker, Publisher, PRH Verlagsgruppe
December 8, 2020
About TROTZDEM (NEVERTHELESS) by Ferdinand von Schirach and Alexander Kluge: COVID-19 has brought us to a turning point in history. Both the brilliant and the terrible are now possible. Is the current shutdown of our society also a shutdown of our fundamental rights? Ferdinand von Schirach and Alexander Kluge examine the question of what the COVID-19 pandemic means for our social order and our civil liberty.
Interview with Stephanie Milner, Senior Acquisitions Editor, DK Life
December 8, 2020
About WHAT MUMMY MAKES: Rebecca Wilson’s WHAT MUMMY MAKES is a family cookbook like no other, where the whole point is to cook just one meal that the whole family will enjoy. All of the recipes are suitable for feeding children aged six months and up, and are comforting for adults, too. And they can all be prepared in under 30 minutes. I cook from it all the time. I baked the advent cookies just last weekend.
Interview with Anita Chong, Senior Editor, McClelland & Stewart, PRH Canada
December 8, 2020
About HOW TO PRONOUNCE KNIFE by Souvankham Thammavongsa: The 2020 Scotiabank Giller Prize winner and one of Time magazine’s Must-Read Books of 2020, an exquisite debut collection of short fiction from a prize-winning poet whose standalone stories have received much international acclaim.
A young man painting nails at the local salon. A woman plucking feathers at a chicken processing plant. A father who packs furniture to move into homes he’ll never afford. A mother who works nights harvesting worms. A housewife learning English from daytime soap operas. In this revelatory and internationally acclaimed debut book of fiction, Souvankham Thammavongsa honours characters struggling to find their bearings far from home, illuminating their hopes, their disappointments, their acts of defiance, and, above all, their pursuit of a place to belong.
Interview with Andrés Ramírez, Director Editorial División Literaria y Bolsillo, Grupo Editorial Mexico
December 8, 2020
About EL TRAIDOR by Anabel Hernández: EL TRAIDOR (THE TRAITOR) is one of the most ambitious journalistic investigations in Anabel Hernández’s career. Her story dates back to January 2011, when she was contacted by one of the lawyers of Vicente Zambada-Niebla—son of one of the most dangerous Mexican drug traffickers and associate of “El Chapo,” who was facing a criminal trial in a court in Chicago. His intention was to reveal secrets about the connections between these gangster warlords, high-ranking government executives, and police officers.
Interview with Ricardo Teperman, Editor, Companhia das Letras
December 8, 2020
About IDEIAS PARA ADIAR O FIM DO MUNDO by Ailton Krenak: In this book, indigenous leader Ailton Krenak criticizes the idea of humanity as apart from nature, of a “humanity that doesn’t recognize that this comatose river is also our grandfather.” This premise would be the starting point for the socio-environmental disaster of this era, the Anthropocene. Thus, indigenous resistance shouldn’t be based on accepting the idea that we are all the same. Only by recognizing diversity and refusing the idea of humans as superior to other beings can we give our existence new meanings and reframe our foolish march toward the abyss.
Interview with Carmen McCullough, Editorial Director, Puffin Fiction, PRH UK
December 8, 2020
About RUN, REBEL by Manjeet Mann: This title is a trailblazing verse novel that thunders with rhythm, heart, and soul: Amber is trapped—by her father’s rules, by his expectations, by her own fears. Now she’s ready to fight—for her mother, for her sister, for herself. Freedom always comes at a price.
Interview with Sophie Ambrose, Publisher, Non-fiction, PRH Australia
December 8, 2020
About THE RESILIENCE PROJECT by Hugh van Cuylenburg: Hugh van Cuylenburg was a primary school teacher volunteering in northern India when he had a life-changing realisation: despite the underprivileged community the children were from, they were remarkably positive. By contrast, back in Australia Hugh knew that all too many people found it hard to be happy, or suffered from mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety. He set about analysing what key traits and behaviours these children possessed, and discovered they were gratitude, empathy and mindfulness. In THE RESILIENCE PROJECT he shares how we can all live a happier and more meaningful life by following their example.
Interview with Pippa Parker, Publisher, PRH South Africa
December 7, 2020
About SASOL BIRDS OF SOUTHERN AFRICA—5TH REVISED EDITION: The first edition of SASOL BIRDS was published in 1993. It became a landmark publication and a highly sought-after field guide for bird identification in southern Africa. The book has run to five editions, with numerous reprints in between, and over the years has sold in excess of 300,000 copies. With Sasol (an oil company) as sponsors, the name Sasol Birds took hold, and has persisted. The book is available in five editions (English and Afrikaans, both in softcover or with PVC cover, and in a larger-format English edition). There is also an app spin-off, Sasol Ebirds Southern Africa, which in itself is highly popular.
Interview with Manasi Subramaniam, Executive Editor, Head of Literary Rights, PRH India
December 7, 2020
About DJINN PATROL ON THE PURPLE LINE by Deepa Anappara: Nine-year-old Jai drools outside sweet shops, watches too many reality police shows, and considers himself to be smarter than his friends Pari and Faiz. When a classmate goes missing, Jai decides to use the crime-solving skills he has picked up from TV to find him. He asks Pari and Faiz to be his assistants, and together they draw up lists of people to interview and places to visit. Drawing on real incidents and a spate of disappearances in metropolitan India, DJINN PATROL ON THE PURPLE LINE is extraordinarily moving, flawlessly imagined, and a triumph of suspense. It captures the fierce warmth, resilience, and bravery that can emerge in times of trouble, and carries the reader headlong into a world that, once encountered, is impossible to forget.
Inspiration, Challenges, and Advice From Penguin Random House Australia
May 1, 2020
Louise Ryan, Publishing Manager, Local Adult, Adult Publishing, PRH Australia
Our Joy in Supporting Local Australian Booksellers.
Interviews with Isabelle Yates, Commissioning Editor, Adult Publishing, PRH Australia and Louise Ryan, Publishing Manager, Local Adult, Adult Publishing, PRH Australia.
Inspiration, Challenges, and Advice From Companhia das Letras, Brazil
May 1, 2020
Camila Berto, Editor, Companhia das Letras
Warehouse Colleagues Do an Amazing Job Making Sure Books Reach Readers Across the Country.
Interviews with Camila Berto, Editor, Companhia das Letras and Tarcisio Santana, Rights Manager, Companhia das Letras.
Inspiration, Challenges, and Advice From Penguin Random House Canada
May 1, 2020
Sarah Smith-Eivemark, Marketing Manager, Penguin Random House Canada
Heartening Shared Messages of Kindnesses and Understanding.
Interviews with Lavanya Narasimhan, Manager, Special Markets & Business Development, PRH Canada; Elizabeth Kribs, Associate Publisher, Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers; and Sarah Smith-Eivemark, Marketing Manager, PRH Canada.
Inspiration, Challenges, and Advice From DK
May 1, 2020
Svenja Rufus, DK Group Corporate Development Director
Positive, Quick Adjustment to the New Reality by the Entire DK Team.
Interviews with Svenja Rufus, DK Group Corporate Development Director and Mark Searle, Publishing Director, Licensing, DK.
Inspiration, Challenges, and Advice From Penguin Random House Germany
May 1, 2020
Pierrot Raschdorff, Marketing Director der Hörverlag
Rethinking Work Routines.
Interviews with Susanne Krebs, Publishing Director cbj Verlag / Penguin JUNIOR, Penguin Random House Germany and Pierrot Raschdorff, Marketing Director der Hörverlag, Penguin Random House Germany.
Inspiration, Challenges, and Advice From PRH Grupo Editorial
May 1, 2020
David García Escamilla, Editorial Director, PRH Grupo Editorial México
Learning to Enjoy My/Our Colleagues–Remotely.
Interviews with Pablo Gracia, Marketing Product Manager, Plaza & Janés; Berta Noy, Literary Director, Ediciones B, Plan B, Nova, Vergara; and David García Escamilla, Editorial Director, PRH Grupo Editorial México
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Inspiration, Challenges, and Advice From Penguin Random House India
May 1, 2020
Arjun Sharma, Senior Manager, People Team, Penguin Random House India
How Penguin Random House Management Stood by Us Is Truly Exemplary.
Interviews with Sameer Mahale, General Manager, Sales, Penguin Random House India and Arjun Sharma, Senior Manager, People Team, Penguin Random House India
Inspiration, Challenges, and Advice From PRH South Africa
May 1, 2020
Vis Chetty, Sales Manager, PRH South Africa
Compassion and Community Spirit Has Been Born From This Situation.
Interviews with Lauren Mc Diarmid, Publicist: International Fiction, PRH South Africa; Chanika Manser, Sales representative, PRH South Africa; and Vis Chetty, Sales Manager, PRH South Africa.
Inspiration, Challenges, and Advice From Penguin Random House UK
May 1, 2020
Roy McMillan, Executive Producer, Audiobooks, Penguin Random House UK
Thrilling, Imaginative Adaptations and Inventiveness for Our Publishing Opportunities.
Interviews with Aynsley Martin, Senior HR Manager, Penguin Random House UK and Roy McMillan, Executive Producer, Audiobooks, Penguin Random House UK.
Inspiration, Challenges, and Advice From Penguin Random House U.S.
May 1, 2020
Patrick Nolan, Vice President, Penguin Books & Associate Publisher, Editor-in-Chief, Penguin
“Find space between work and life even if your office is also the dinner table.”
Interviews with Patrick Nolan, Vice President, Penguin Books & Associate Publisher, Editor-in-Chief, Penguin; Nicole Counts, Senior Editor, One World; Tina Mullen, Distribution Center, Crawfordsville, Indiana
Inspiration, Challenges, and Advice From Penguin Random House China
April 30, 2020
Working from home for Patrizia Van Daalen, Publishing Director, Penguin Random House China
Taking Inspiration from Our Resilience.
Interviews with Patrizia Van Daalen, Publishing Director, Penguin Random House China and Sasha Lang, Marketing executive, Penguin Random House China.
Interview with Jen Loja, President, Penguin Young Readers, and Barbara Marcus, President & Publisher, Random House Children's Books
July 15, 2019
Our children’s book business around the world is bringing our authors’ stories to children everywhere and fostering a universal passion for reading. In the U.S., Jen Loja, Penguin Young Readers, and Barbara Marcus, Random House Children’s Books, oversee two of the largest Children’s Publishing groups in the country. Read on to learn what makes their divisions unique in the U.S. market, how to inspire children to become lifelong readers, and what drew Barbara and Jen to Children’s Publishing.
Interview with Francesca Dow, Managing Director, Penguin Random House Children's UK
June 6, 2019
Our children’s book business around the world is focused on growth. Read on for an interview with Francesca Dow, who oversees children’s books at PRH UK, as she offers insight on broadening readership diversity for children’s books.
Q: What are your priorities for the children and young adult market in 2019?
Francesca Dow
A: Growth is very much on our agenda. Growth in some ways is quite simple: It’s about publishing more, even better books. But beyond this, in terms of long-term opportunity, we believe we have a few key ways to build on our own diversity and strength of publishing and to reach into different markets. We have created a talented team to focus on the preschool market relaunch of Ladybird, our trusted, playful brand for young kids. This summer sees the unveiling of our brand-new range of novelty, board and picture books. We’re thrilled about our new Ladybird partnership with our colleagues at Penguin Young Readers, US, and we are currently exploring Ladybird collaborations in other key territories.
Interview with Tara Walker, Vice President and Publisher, Penguin Random House Canada Young Readers
June 4, 2019
Our children’s book business around the world is focused on growth. Read on for an interview with Tara Walker, who oversees children’s books at PRH Canada, as she offers suggestions on how we can encourage children to become lifelong readers.
Q: What are your priorities for the children’s and young adult market in 2019? In which areas do you see opportunities for growth?
Tara Walker
A: There are so many exciting opportunities for growth in the market right now–it’s truly a new golden age for children’s books. At Penguin Random House Canada, we’ve had phenomenal success with Ben Clanton’s early graphic novel series about the characters Narwhal and Jelly, which points to the increasing appetite for graphic novels for kids. We’re committed to growing the brand and developing funnier, graphic-driven fiction for emerging and newly independent readers.
Interview with Rebecca Smart, Managing Director, Publishing, DK
June 4, 2019
Our children’s book business around the world is focused on growth. Read on for an interview with Rebecca Smart, who oversees DK’s five publishing divisions, as she discusses trends in the global children’s market and the importance of author brands.
Q: What are the current trends that drive book sales for youth-focused content and brands, and where do you see opportunities for growth?
Rebecca Smart
A: The current turbulent environment is creating so many opportunities for children’s publishing. Children want to understand what is happening and are incredibly engaged in many local and global issues. Books are a great way to help them see multiple perspectives on the world, to work out how they fit in, and what they can do to make the world a better place.
Interview with Gemma Xiol, Directora literaria Infantil, Juvenil & Cómic, PRH Grupo Editorial
June 4, 2019
Our children’s book business around the world is focused on growth. Read on for an interview with Gemma Xiol, who oversees children’s books at Grupo, as she offers favorite growth ideas that might be adapted internationally.
Q: How are you capitalizing on evolving technologies and cutting-edge engagement tools?
Gemma Xiol Català
A: This is actually one of the most exciting editorial challenges we’re facing and one of our biggest areas of growth. New apps and tools are definitely creating new ways to promote our books, but they also provide amazing opportunities for content creation. In fact, some of our top-selling titles in 2018 come from platforms such as Tik-Tok, Instagram, Twitch, or YouTube. Children and teenagers are the ultimate early adopters, so we have to keep up with their pace. Putting the focus on innovation in order to stay connected with our audience is definitely one of our top strategic priorities.
Interview with Amanda D'Acierno, President & Publisher, PRH Audio Group
March 13, 2019
Penguin Random House’s audiobook business is an essential pillar of our global growth strategy for 2019 and beyond. Read on for an interview with Amanda D’Acierno, who oversees Audio at Penguin Random House US.
Q: First, congratulations on your five 2019 Audie Awards. What a wonderful recognition for you and your team. Now, the audiobook business in the US is one of the fastest-growing publishing areas for Penguin Random House. How do you account for the current boom in the demand for audiobooks and what is the outlook for the next few years?
Amanda D’Acierno
A: One of the major growth factors in the digital era has been increasing the number of titles we’ve produced each year – in 2018 we published more than 1,400 titles, up from 650 in 2014, the first year we operated as a combined Penguin Random House Audio team. We’ve expanded our staff, built additional studios in our offices in New York and Los Angeles, dedicated more resources to promoting the audiobook format and our titles, and created a proprietary archive and distribution system.
Interview with Hannah Telfer, Managing Director, Audiences & Audio, PRH UK
March 13, 2019
Romesh Ranganathan reading Straight Outta Crawley
Penguin Random House’s audiobook business is an essential pillar of our global growth strategy for 2019 and beyond. Read on for an interview with Hannah Telfer who oversees Audio at Penguin Random House UK.
Q: Congratulations on your recent Audie Award for THE HITCHHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY: Hexagonal Phase by Eoin Colfer & Douglas Adams.
The digital audio growth is expanding our authors’ reach by attracting new consumers. What does the demographic for audiobooks look like in the UK?
Hannah Telfer
A: Audiobooks have played a critical role in reaching audiences we traditionally find harder to reach with our books – younger men. This remains the case with the single biggest group of purchasers of audiobooks in the UK, men aged 25-34. However, as audiobooks become more mainstream, we are starting to see the audience evolve with the biggest increase in listeners coming from women aged 35 – 44 and, for the first time, the majority of audiobooks being purchased by those aged over 35. As we look to grow the overall market for books, we’ll remain focused on reaching audiences who are not heavy book-buyers and find creative ways to persuade them to convert some of their media time from formats like podcasts to audiobooks.
Interview with Marion Garner, VP & Deputy Publisher, PRH Canada
March 13, 2019
Penguin Random House’s audiobook business is an essential pillar of our global growth strategy for 2019 and beyond. Read on for an interview with Marion Garner who oversees Audio at Penguin Random House Canada.
Q: PRH Canada launched an audio division in 2017. What were your first steps toward building a successful audiobook business and what are your goals for the next few years?
Marion Garner
A: When Audible and Kobo announced their plans to launch digital audiobook sites in Canada we quickly leapt into action. Having the great resource of our U.S. colleagues at PRH Audio was a huge advantage. The advice they provided as to what kind of human resources and technical help we needed was priceless. And we were able to find the right people, especially Ann Jansen, our Director of Audiobook Production, who came with extensive experience in radio and audiobooks after years with the CBC (Canadian Broadcasting Corporation), alongside studios in Toronto and across the country willing to step into this uncharted territory.
Interview with Carmen Ospina at PRH Grupo Editorial
March 13, 2019
Penguin Random House’s audiobook business is an essential pillar of our global growth strategy for 2019 and beyond. Read on for an interview with Carmen Ospina, Director of Marketing, Analytics and Business Development at PRH Grupo Editorial.
Q: There has been an increased demand for Spanish-language audiobooks in your territories. Can you speak to the differences in your various markets and the collaborative efforts with your US colleagues?
Carmen Ospina
A: Yes, demand has increased and it will continue to grow as important players like Audible and Storytel open their dedicated Spanish-language storefronts in Spain, Mexico, the U.S. and other Spanish-speaking territories. Although this will likely change in time, most of our sales today come from the United States, where the audiobook market is more mature and the format is widespread.
Interview with Marina Pastore, Digital Projects Manager at Companhia das Letras (Brazil)
March 13, 2019
Penguin Random House’s audiobook business is an essential pillar of our global growth strategy for 2019 and beyond. Read on for an interview with Marina Pastore who oversees Audio at Companhia das Letras
Q: The audio business in Brazil is still in its infancy. How are you building your initial portfolio of audiobook titles?
Marina Pastore
A: For our initial collection of titles, we’ve chosen to produce a range of books in different categories, selecting both new releases as well as best-sellers and classics from our catalogue. The first few months of sales data show that nonfiction titles, especially in the business and self-help genres, have been the most successful, so we’ve adapted our production plan to focus more heavily on this area.
Broadcasting & Informing, Giving Voice to Authors & Ideas
July 11, 2018
We continue to increase our footprint in the global consumer marketplace in uniquely creative and entrepreneurial ways: In the UK, Penguin opened a pop-up shop designed to amplify women’s literary voices. In South Africa, we launched the first Struik Nature Eco Library populated with the entire Struik Nature catalogue. In China, brand and imprint “passports for readers” will be distributed to celebrate Penguin Random House’s 5th anniversary.
Championing The Book and Long-Form Content
July 10, 2018
Part of our company’s mission is to foster a universal passion for reading. Our colleagues worldwide support this goal through the volunteer work they do, whether they help children improve their reading skills or discover and nurture new voices from under-represented communities.
Embracing Content and Serving as Cultural Connector
July 9, 2018
Books have the ability to reflect the temperature of our times and to chronicle cultural history. Our publishers and editors around the world are the curators of this enduring content. Our marketing, publicity, and sales teams help raise awareness and build buzz that sparks readers to read and rally around out books worldwide.
Building An Audience for Our Authors and Their Books
July 8, 2018
Endowing our authors with unparalleled resources to help them reach the widest possible audience is a crucial priority for Penguin Random House. To accomplish this objective, our colleagues focus on innovative, reader-centric initiatives, collaborate cross-divisionally to promote titles globally, and get our books into the hands of readers faster than ever before.
Entertaining Through Storytelling and Expanding Readers’ Minds
July 7, 2018
What connects us most are books. They are at the core of what we do at Penguin Random House and who we are. Books we love to share unite us under the spell of a great reading experience. Find out which books your colleagues from around the world have loved reading—and you may win a bag filled with summer reads. For your chance to win one of 10 tote bags filled with the recommended titles, write penguinrandomhouse@penguinrandomhouse.com with the subject line: “Favorite Books“. There will be a random drawing to determine the winners.
Nurturing Penguin Random House's Talent Community
July 6, 2018
Paul Bogaards and Rick Bragg (© Nicholas Latimer)
“Talent attracts talent” is a mantra and a mission for Penguin Random House, driven by our best-in-class authors and co-workers. Colleagues share their thoughts on why attracting and maintaining the very best talent and collaborating cross-divisionally as well as globally is instrumental to our success.
Going Beyond Our Books to Give Back to Our Communities
July 5, 2018
From organizing food drives for Asylum Seekers to working with victims of gender violence or supporting ex-serving force members who are dealing with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). These examples illustrate how we impact society and that our colleagues consider our Social Responsibility efforts an important part of our brand.
A Closer Look at Two of Our Publishing Businesses in Emerging Markets
March 21, 2018
Who is the biggest English-language book publisher in the second-biggest English-language book market? Who among our divisions sold 3.75 million Peppa Pig book sets last year? Read on to find out.
PRH Speakers Bureau and Penguin Live: Powerful Platforms to Extend the Reach of Our Authors Beyond Their Books
March 21, 2018
What is the next best thing to reading an amazing book? Meeting the author! Organizing speaking events and creating magical moments that inspire and educate is at the heart of what the Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau and the Penguin Live programs do. Both connect authors with readers in interactive and dynamic ways designed to broaden our horizons and to deepen the impact of our books.
Introducing New Penguin Random House Imprints from Around the World
March 19, 2018
Over the last year our publishing groups worldwide announced or launched exciting new imprints. The imprints’ goals and mission range from giving more diverse voices a platform and publishing home to providing tailored content for digital devices and offering ancillary products that leverage the power and impact of our greatest authors. Here is a roundup of some of our new imprints:
How Three Recently Acquired Businesses Made Us a Bigger Spanish-Language Powerhouse, More Health-Conscious, and More Stylish
March 15, 2018
Expanding the reach of our authors to their readers, building our business, and growing our market share are important objectives for Penguin Random House in all our markets. These objectives are achieved in many ways, among them through three singular, compelling business acquisitions over the past year: Ediciones B, Rodale Books, and Out of Print.
Beyond the Book: Captivating Existing Audiences and Capturing New Readers at Penguin Random House UK
October 31, 2017
Penguin Random House UK pushes the boundaries beyond the book and uses technology to give audiences a personalized experience with campaigns like Ask Penguin and the Pride Book Club.
Penguin Random House U.S. Extends the Wonder Brand with Major Licensing Campaign
October 30, 2017
The international success of R.J. Palacio’s #1 bestselling book WONDER continues to expand in new and creative ways. The story of Auggie Pullman, an ordinary boy with an extraordinary face, has been read by more than 6 million people worldwide since it was published by Knopf Books for Young Readers in 2012. The book has launched an inspiring movement to Choose Kind (#choosekind), the ever-important idea that choosing kindness inspires a chain reaction of good will toward others. Random House Children’s Books has implemented a unique cross-company licensing program partnering with Crown imprint Clarkson Potter and Out of Print Clothing along with outside companies that manufacture consumer products.
Penguin Random House Canada Partners with Toronto International Film Festival to Reach New Audiences
October 30, 2017
In 2010, Random House of Canada and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) formed a partnership to produce an event series that would bring together book and film lovers, called Books on Film. The idea was conceived to give audiences an opportunity to examine great cinema that began as outstanding literature, with a behind-the-scenes look at some of their favorite book-to-film adaptations. Each spring, the Books on Film series includes six events, all of which feature the presentation of a film along with a special onstage interview with authors, filmmakers, and industry experts, and each event is hosted by CBC Radio personality Eleanor Wachtel.
Bringing a New “Convention” Model to the Brazilian Young Adult Readership
October 30, 2017
Like many countries around the world, Brazil has seen a surge in young adult literature. Young readers flock to every book festival, treat their favorite authors like rock stars, and form huge communities online. It seemed like a missed opportunity that there wasn’t a festival focused on them in our country. Organizers that invited YA authors didn’t really know what to do with crowds that were willing to sleep overnight to secure a place in line to get an autograph.
Penguin Random House India Invites Audiences to Celebrate Its 30th Anniversary
October 30, 2017
Penguin Random House India turns 30 this year. As an ongoing anniversary-year celebration, the company is engaging readers in creative new ways, from sharing backlist classics to producing a phenomenally popular crowd-sourced Twitter campaign.
No author? No Problem for Penguin Random House South Africa’s Promotion of Jamie Oliver’s New Book
October 30, 2017
How do you successfully publicize a cookbook whose author is unavailable in person? This was the challenge Penguin Random House South Africa faced this September in launching the internationally beloved Jamie Oliver’s new work, 5 Ingredients: Quick & Easy Food. Their solution: have Jamie appear virtually, while prominent members of his international culinary team came together onsite.
Penguin Random House Australia Engages Readers with Street Press–Style Magazine
October 25, 2017
Penguin Random House Australia is known for quality publishing when it comes to adult and young readers’ books, but its marketing team’s idea to engage with readers has opened the door to an entirely different kind of publishing. Their quarterly street-press-style magazine, Underline, not only showcases their talented published authors, but supports one of the publisher’s pillars for growth: discovering new audiences and readers.
How DK Built an Award-Winning Bestseller Campaign for an Unknown Author
October 25, 2017
How did DK turn a book of science experiments from an unknown author into a winner of The Bookseller’s Marketing & Publicity Competition? By devising fresh and creative ways to reach potential readers. DK knew from the start that How to be a Scientist by Steve Mould could be a reader favorite, notwithstanding Mould’s lack of renown. The book DK published was designed for children ages 7 to 9 to discover the skills it takes to become a scientist. To sell it, the DK Marketing and PR team devised a one-of-a-kind strategic campaign that would engage children and parents alike.
Penguin Random House UK Seeks Out Underrepresented New Voices
June 26, 2017
At Penguin Random House UK, we are determined to publish a wider range of voices and books to more fully reflect the diverse society we live in. That’s why we have set ourselves a new company-wide goal to ensure our new hires and the books we acquire reflect UK society by 2025, in terms of social mobility, ethnicity, gender, disability, and sexuality. We want to see a positive shift towards this goal every year through to 2025.
Penguin Random House Australia Donates AU$ 100,000 to Indigenous Literacy Foundation
June 25, 2017
We don’t need research to tell us that giving makes us happy. The happier we are, the more energy we have, the better we think, and the more friendships we develop. Giving not only feels good, but it strengthens the heart, lowers stress, and can literally add years to your life. At Penguin Random House Australia, we are incredibly proud of our Community & Social Responsibility (CSR) program and the ways in which, through our efforts, we give back to local communities in need.
#ProjectReadathon Million Minutes Campaign Donates 300,000 Books
June 25, 2017
Penguin Random House in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico joined together this April for the inaugural #ProjectReadathon Million Minutes campaign. From April 17 through April 23, the week leading up to World Book Day, the one-week giving and reading campaign offered readers the opportunity to help children in local communities throughout North America – simply by reading.
Penguin Random House Canada Raises Funds for Cancer Research
June 24, 2017
In 2006, Random House of Canada was approached by a special group of women who had been members of a book club in Toronto for a number of years. Many of their families had been touched by cancer, and given the important role reading had in their lives and the support they had received from their book club members during cancer treatment, they saw an opportunity to harness the energy of enthusiastic book clubs and readers to raise funds for cancer research.
Grupo Editorial Mexico Collaborates With Hospital to Improve Mental Health Through Reading
June 21, 2017
Highly cognizant of the important social and cultural responsibility of its mission as publishers, Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial México has implemented a social responsibility initiative to support reading for a traditionally overlooked group: children and young adults with mental-health issues. The initiative is closely linked to our corporate philosophy—generating economic, social, and environmental value for our stakeholders—as we materialize the impact that our organizational decisions and activities have on society, especially through the continued promotion of reading, in particular to those at risk of social exclusion.
Grupo Editorial Spain Launches Education Program “Poténciate”
June 21, 2017
In October 2016, Penguin Random House Group Spain launched “Poténciate,” a program for employees who work at the Pallejà Logistics Center. Poténciate encourages employees to resume their education, helping to diminish the barriers that can arise from poor economic or administrative support. The program provides both administrative and economic support to the employees upon request.
Our Collaboration With WWF Promotes Responsible Forest Management
June 21, 2017
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Global Forest & Trade Network has been working with companies for over 20 years, with the mission to encourage businesses to source forest products from well-managed sources.
Penguin Random House India Partners with Save the Children
June 20, 2017
An integral part of Bertelsmann’s vision is to make a valuable and lasting contribution to society. A key part of this goal are the corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives that Penguin Random House undertakes in each territory where it operates and through every company that comes under the Bertelsmann umbrella. In addition to our global commitments, Penguin Random House India have partnered with Save the Children India – an organization committed towards ensuring the ‘Rights of Children’.
Penguin Random House South Africa Celebrates International Nelson Mandela Day
June 18, 2017
In honor of this year’s forthcoming International Nelson Mandela Day, held each July 18 on Mr. Mandela’s birthday, the Penguin Random House Social Committee hosted an office Mandela Day Raffle competition to raise funds for charity. Our respective offices in Capetown and Johannesburg each selected organizations to benefit from our successful fundraising.