Category Archives: Announcements

Announcements

Who Was? History Bee Trivia Competition For Kids is Back!

Penguin Young Readers is relaunching the Who Was? History Bee Competition, an annual trivia competition for kids in the 3rd-5th grades. More than 25,000 students from 49 states participated in the last Who Was? History Bee, hosted in 2020, which named 10 regional finalists champions. This time around, Penguin Young Readers is thrilled to offer students the opportunity to test their history skills in a reinvented experience designed to take full advantage of the digital space.

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Rave Reviews for PYR’s ‘Amber Brown’ Book Series to Apple TV+

Rising star Carsyn Rose (age 11), plays Amber Brown.

Paula Danziger’s beloved and bestselling children’s chapter book series, Amber Brown, is now a popular TV series on Apple TV+. Adapted by actress Bonnie Hunt, who writes and directs the series, the show follows Amber Brown as she navigates the ups and downs of shared custody after her parents’ divorce. Continue reading →

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There’s a Book for That: Crying

“…laughing and Crying. You know it’s the same release.” – Joni Mitchell

“I laughed, I cried” is an oft-heard nutshell review given by readers and filmgoers alike. Both emotional responses can be therapeutic, stress relievers. As noted by Harvard Health : “Crying is an important safety valve, largely because keeping difficult feelings inside — can be bad for our health… Popular culture, for its part, has always known the value of a good cry as a way to feel better.” In popular book culture, our featured titles this week aren’t necessarily tear-jerkers, but rather a special array of poignant fiction and nonfiction, for all ages, with “crying” in common: Continue reading →

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Melissa Bank, Viking author of ‘The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing,’ dies at 61

Melissa Bank (1960–2022); photo credit: Todd Dimston

Melissa Bank, author of the beloved, hugely bestselling The Girls’ Guide to Hunting and Fishing and The Wonder Spot, published by Viking in 1999 and 2005, respectively, died in East Hampton, New York, on August 2, at 61. The cause was lung cancer.

Bank, who lived in Long Island and New York City, was a writer with a distinctive minimalist style and boldly hilarious voice. She captivated generations of readers with her warmly piercing takes on relationships, family and adulthood in her two popular and critically acclaimed works of fiction, which were reprinted as Penguin Paperbacks. Continue reading →

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Delacorte Press to Publish Five Survive by New York Times Bestseller Holly Jackson

Delacorte Press, an imprint of Random House Children’s Books, will publish FIVE SURVIVE, the next novel from international sensation Holly Jackson, as announced by Beverly Horowitz, Delacorte Press Senior Vice President & Publisher. Kelsey Horton, Senior Editor, will edit the novel and acquired World rights from Sam Copeland at Rodgers, Coleridge & White LTD. The book will be published on November 29, 2022, with a first printing of 500,000 copies. Continue reading →

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Sanyu Dillon Interviewed by Forbes on the Future of Publishing

Sanyu Dillon, Chief Marketing Officer, Penguin Random House U.S., was interviewed by Forbes Women contributor Amy Shoenthal about the future of publishing, finding creative new ways to connect with readers, and her inclusive marketing strategy. Continue reading →

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In Memoriam: NBA Legend and Activist Bill Russell 1934-2022

Bill Russell 1934-2022, photo: Nathaniel S. Butler/Nbae Via Getty

Bill Russell, the National Basketball Association immortal who died July 31 at 88, has been lionized worldwide for his record-setting achievements with the Boston Celtics and for his pathfinding activism.

In Fall 2020, Dutton returns to print, for the first time in decades, his forthright memoir “Go Up For Glory,” with his newly written foreword, enabling a new generation of readers to appreciate the author and his singular, candid mindset.

Click here to read more about the classic memoir and Dutton’s 2020 press release here.

To honor his memory and legacy, Dutton has made a contribution to MENTOR, “an organization which aims to drive equity through quality mentoring relationships for young people.” Russell was a founding board member. Click here to learn more about MENTOR.

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The World of Eric Carle to Donate VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR Bilingual Editions to Ukrainian Refugees

Bilingual Editions: Ukrainian & Romanian/Polish & Romanian

Penguin Young Readers and The World of Eric Carle have granted publishing rights to local publishers in Poland and Romania to print and donate 12,000 bilingual charity editions of Carle’s picture book, THE VERY HUNGRY CATERPILLAR. The Romanian publisher, Portocala Albastra, is working with local NGO OvidiuRO, to print 10,000 paperback copies and the Polish publisher, Tatarak, is printing 2,000 paperback copies.

These editions, translated into Ukrainian as well as the local language, will be donated to Ukrainian child refugees in their territories.

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There’s a Book for That: Historical Fiction

Does August find you in the mood for travel? Perhaps, time travel from the comfort of your favorite reading spot? Our roster is rich in historical fiction which entertains as well as educates about eras we might not remember or know well. Thus, we invite you to take a break from today and immerse yourselves in the following acclaimed stories and characters of the past:

Hour of the Witch by Chris Bohjalian HOUR OF THE WITCH: A NOVEL by Chris Bohjalian

A young Puritan woman—faithful, resourceful, but afraid of the demons that dog her soul—plots her escape from a violent marriage in this riveting and propulsive novel of historical suspense. A twisting, tightly plotted novel of historical suspense from one of our greatest storytellers, Hour of the Witch is a timely and terrifying story of socially sanctioned brutality and the original American witch hunt.

Horse by Geraldine Brooks HORSE: A NOVEL by Geraldine Brooks

A discarded painting in a junk pile, a skeleton in an attic, and the greatest racehorse in American history: from these strands, a Pulitzer Prize winner braids a sweeping story of spirit, obsession, and injustice across American history

The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes THE GIVER OF STARS: A NOVEL by Jojo Moyes

The Giver of Stars is a breathtaking story of five extraordinary women and their remarkable journey through the mountains of Kentucky and beyond in Depression-era America. Based on a true story rooted in America’s past, The Giver of Stars is unparalleled in its scope and epic in its storytelling. Funny, heartbreaking, enthralling, it is destined to become a modern classic–a richly rewarding novel of women’s friendship, of true love, and of what happens when we reach beyond our grasp for the great beyond.

Great Circle by Maggie Shipstead GREAT CIRCLE: A NOVEL by Maggie Shipstead

Spanning Prohibition-era Montana, the Pacific Northwest, Alaska, New Zealand, wartime London, and modern-day Los Angeles, Great Circle tells the unforgettable story of a daredevil female aviator determined to chart her own course in life, at any cost.

Mercury Pictures Presents by Anthony Marra MERCURY PICTURES PRESENTS: A NOVEL by Anthony Marra

This epic tale of a brilliant woman who must reinvent herself to survive, moves from Mussolini’s Italy to 1940s Hollywood. Written with intelligence, wit, and an exhilarating sense of possibility, Mercury Pictures Presents spans many moods and tones, from the heartbreaking to the ecstatic. It is a love letter to life’s bit players, a panorama of an era that casts a long shadow over our own, and a tour de force by a novelist whose work The Washington Post calls “a flash in the heavens that makes you look up and believe in miracles.”

The Prophets by Robert Jones, Jr. THE PROPHETS by Robert Jones, Jr.

FINALIST FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

A singular and stunning debut novel about the forbidden union between two enslaved young men on a Deep South plantation, the refuge they find in each other, and a betrayal that threatens their existence. With a lyricism reminiscent of Toni Morrison, Robert Jones, Jr., fiercely summons the voices of slaver and enslaved alike, and fearlessly reveals the pain and suffering of inheritance, but is also shot through with hope, beauty, and truth, portraying the enormous, heroic power of love.

The Elephant of Belfast by S. Kirk Walsh THE ELEPHANT OF BELFAST: A NOVEL by S. Kirk Walsh

Inspired by true events, this vivid and moving story of a young woman zookeeper and the elephant she’s compelled to protect through the German blitz of Belfast during WWll speaks to not only the tragedy of the times, but also to the ongoing sectarian tensions that still exist in Northern Ireland today—perfect for readers of historical and literary fiction alike.

Clark and Division by Naomi Hirahara CLARK AND DIVISION by Naomi Hirahara

Set in 1944 Chicago, Edgar Award-winner Naomi Hirahara’s eye-opening and poignant new mystery, the story of a young woman searching for the truth about her revered older sister’s death, brings to focus the struggles of one Japanese American family released from mass incarceration at Manzanar during World War II.

The Lost Diary of Venice by Margaux DeRoux THE LOST DIARY OF VENICE: A NOVEL by Margaux DeRoux

Two impossible love stories are fatefully connected by one artistic legacy in a stunning debut that leaps between the mysteries of late-Renaissance Venice and the dramas of present-day America.

Conjure Women by Afia Atakora CONJURE WOMEN: A NOVEL by Afia Atakora

LONGLISTED FOR THE CENTER FOR FICTION FIRST NOVEL PRIZE

A mother and daughter with a shared talent for healing—and for the conjuring of curses—are at the heart of this dazzling first novel: Conjure Women is a sweeping story that brings the world of the South before and after the Civil War vividly to life. Magnificently written, brilliantly researched, richly imagined, the novel moves back and forth in time to tell the haunting story of Rue, Varina, and May Belle, their passions and friendships, and the lengths they will go to save themselves and those they love.

For more information on these and related titles, visit the collection: Historical Fiction

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Barack Obama’s 2022 Summer Reading List Includes Six Penguin Random House Titles

Last week, Barack Obama released his Summer 2022 Reading List, which includes six books published by Penguin Random House imprints. The former U.S. President posted to his Instagram page, “I’ve read a couple of great books this year and wanted to share some of my favorites so far. What have you been reading this summer?” Continue reading →

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