In accepting his Oscar, Cherry said, “HAIR LOVE was done because we wanted to see more representation in animation; we wanted to normalize black hair … This award is dedicated to Kobe Bryant.  May we all have a second act as great as his was.” The late Los Angeles Lakers legend was the first African American and only other former professional athlete to win a Best Animated Short Film Oscar, which Bryant received in 2018 for Dear Basketball. HAIR LOVE was directed by Cherry and produced by Karen Rupert Toliver.  The film’s team of animators included Everett Downing Jr. (Up, WALL-E) and Bruce W. Smith (The Proud Family), Peter Ramsey (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) and Frank Abney (Toy Story 4). Our congratulations to Mr. Cherry, our colleagues at Kokila and Penguin Young Readers, and everyone involved with the creation of HAIR LOVE.

  KOKILA Penguin Young Readers (U.S.) [caption id="attachment_10180" align="alignright" width="170"] Namrata Tripathi[/caption] KOKILA (pronounced KO-ki-la), the new Penguin Young Readers imprint, will bring together an inclusive community of authors and illustrators, publishing professionals, and readers to examine and celebrate stories that reflect the richness of our world. Kokila will be helmed by VP and Publisher Namrata Tripathi, former Associate Publisher and Editorial Director of Dial Books for Young Readers. The name Kokila comes from the Sanskrit name for the koel bird. The kokila has great significance in Indian poetry and myth, and is celebrated as a harbinger of new beginnings. In the spirit of its name, Kokila aims to center stories from the margins and to make space for storytellers to explore the full range of their experiences adding nuance and depth to the way children and young adults see the world and their place in it. Kokila will publish works by Pablo Cartaya, Sherine Hamdy and Myra El-Mir, Isabel Quintero and Zeke Peña, and Nilah Magruder. The imprint's first list of books will be released in the Summer of 2019. “The idea exchange resulting from mixing cultures and languages has shaped the way I see the world,” says Namrata Tripathi. “At Kokila, we hope to build a community around authors, illustrators, and readers who believe in the power of sharing stories from across the full spectrum of experiences. And they will be supported by publishing professionals with a deep commitment to that mission.”   ONE WORLD Random House (U.S.)

Last year, Random House relaunched ONE WORLD under Chris Jackson as Publisher and Editor-in-Chief. His mandate is to revitalize and expand the historic publishing program—originally established in 1991 as the first multicultural imprint at a major publishing house.

According to Mr. Jackson, “The fundamental mission of One World is to provide a home for writers—including novelists, essayists, memoirists, journalists, and thinkers and writers unconstrained by genre—who want to tell stories and explore ideas that help us reimagine our politics, culture, and interior lives, without the filter of the dominant culture. Twenty-five years ago One World was launched as an imprint that would tell stories for and from and about all of us—and that kind of vision remains a radical and vital one today. I’m thrilled we’ll be reanimating that idea and expanding its possibilities to capture the world in its fullness for this moment.” The imprint’s first two titles, BONES by Joe Tone and WE WERE EIGHT YEARS IN POWER by Ta-Nehisi Coates, were published to much critical acclaim.   POP PRESS Penguin Random House UK (Ebury) Ebury, one of the UK’s leading non-fiction publishers, launched a new imprint – Pop Press – dedicated to creative gift publishing last fall. Headed up by Laura Higginson, Editorial Director, and Elen Jones, Senior Commissioning Editor, Pop Press will publish 18 titles a year focused on trend-led, beautifully designed, impulse-price-point gift books. Recent and upcoming publications include: THE PERIODIC TABLE OF FEMINISM, which navigates the history of feminism through some of its most prominent advocates; HOW TO BE A PRINCESS, a collection of inspirational fairy tales for modern heroines to mark the upcoming Royal Wedding in May; STOP LOOKING AT YOUR PHONE, an illustrated manual that reminds us we can survive without our smartphones; and for some Christmas entertainment there's WHERE'S THE MERMAID?, a fun WHERE'S WALLY-style book for mermaid fans of all ages! With books increasingly sharing the same space in retailers as luxury greetings cards, mugs, t-shirts and stationery, Pop is Ebury’s way to focus its collective, creative energy to ensure its books are the gifts that shoppers choose.   PENGUIN LIFE Penguin Random House Australia In January of this year, Penguin Random House Australia launched Penguin Life, an imprint focused on personal development and healthy living. Penguin Life will publish six books this year, debuting with THE LONGEVITY DIET by Valter Longo, director of the University of Southern California’s Longevity Institute. Longo’s book has sold more than 300,000 copies to date in Italy. Other authors on the list are The Body Image Movement founder Taryn Brumfitt, the University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center director Martin Seligman, and founder of the SugarByHalf campaign and former team doctor for the Australian cricket team, Dr Peter Brukner. “Penguin Life enables us, as a business, to better connect with communities and social issues, and take more responsibility for how we influence and contribute to readers’ lives,” says Nikki Christer, PRH Australia’s group publishing director.   PETIT Penguin Random House India Penguin Random House India will launch a 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. Penguin Petits will provide great, quality content to suit a broad range of interests, from fiction, nonfiction, children’s literature, mythology to self-help, history and current affairs, and will be available in an e-book format. Rukun Kaul, Associate Vice President, Digital and Business Initiatives, Penguin Random House India, said “With Penguin Petit, Penguin Random House India makes a foray into the world of accessible short-form reading. It’s designed for an increasingly mobile India that might want to be able to read anywhere and at any time. With its easy downloadability, wide range of content and accessible pricing, Penguin Petit should appeal to many readers. Our books and authors will also benefit from the easy discoverability and increased visibility that comes with making great reads available in a shorter and more affordable format.”   ORIGEN Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial  Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial USA launched Origen (Origin), a new religious imprint for Spanish-language books, which will feature titles on self-help, relationships, and a Christian-based lifestyle. The imprint will also publish titles for children and young adults under the Origen Kids label. “For many years, we have observed that a large number of Spanish-speaking readers are interested in religious books,” says Silvia Matute, president of PRHGE USA. “It just made sense for PRHGE to create a religious book imprint and start catering to the religious [Spanish-language] reader.” The new imprint will publish approximately 20 titles per year, among them works by prominent Hispanics, such as Pope Francis and evangelical pastor Samuel Rodriguez. The first four titles were released in October, including Pope Francis’s QUIÉN SOY YO PARA JUZGAR? Sister companies in Mexico, Colombia, and the rest of Latin America will publish additional titles that will be distributed as part of the Origen list.

helmed by Vice President and Publisher Namrata Tripathi, former Associate Publisher and Editorial Director of Dial Books for Young Readers, a Penguin Young Readers imprint. Joining Kokila are Jasmin Rubero, currently Associate Art Director, Dial Books for Young Readers, and Joanna Cárdenas, presently Editor, Viking Children’s Books. Kokila will debut its first list of books in Summer 2019.  The name Kokila comes from the Sanskrit name for the koel bird. The kokila has great significance in Indian poetry and myth, and is celebrated as a harbinger of new beginnings. In the spirit of its name, Kokila aims to make space for storytellers to explore the full range of their experiences in books for young readers. Upcoming Kokila lists will include works by Pablo Cartaya, Sherine Hamdy and Myra El-Mir, Isabel Quintero and Zeke Peña, John Corey Whaley, and Calista Brill and Nilah Magruder. Additional authors will be announced later this year. [caption id="attachment_9431" align="alignright" width="286"] Namrata Tripathi[/caption] Namrata Tripathi was born in the USSR, and lived in Afghanistan, India, Canada, Pakistan, Germany, and Poland before moving to New York in 1997. At Dial Books for Young Readers, Tripathi edited many critically acclaimed, award-winning, and bestselling books, including Junot Díaz’s forthcoming debut picture book Islandborn,illustrated by Leo Espinosa; Mama’s Nightingale by Edwidge Danticat; John Corey Whaley’s Highly Illogical Behavior; The Night Diary by Veera Hiranandani; and the upcoming picture book Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry, illustrated by New York Times bestselling author/illustrator Vashti Harrison. Prior to joining Penguin, Ms. Tripathi was Executive Editor at Atheneum Books for Young Readers (S&S), where she edited John Corey Whaley’s Printz- and Morris Award-winning Where Things Come Back, as well as works by Ian Falconer, James Howe, Lita Judge, and Judith Viorst. Tripathi is co-chair of the diversity-hiring committee at Penguin Young Readers, started the Penguin Stories program, which aims to build a community conversation around diversity and inclusion through the power of story, serves as a mentor in the Representation Matters Mentorship Program, and was a founding member of the CBC Diversity Committee. Jen Loja says, “Namrata is a spectacular editor, visionary, and connector, and this is the perfect moment for her to launch Kokila and move these very important conversations forward.  She has such an incredible ability to not only find terrific storytellers, but also to bring together talents to create stories in a completely different way.  And her mission and determination to reach as many children as possible is one we both admire and share here at Penguin Young Readers.  Hers is a much-needed voice, and we can’t wait to see where she and Kokila take us all.” Pulitzer Prize-winning author Junot Díaz adds, “Namrata’s profoundly intelligent, supremely elegant editing, and her extraordinary commitment to my book were absolutely transformational.  The best editors are alchemists — Namrata took my raw materials and helped me make gold.” “The idea exchange resulting from mixing cultures and languages has shaped the way I see the world,” says Namrata Tripathi. “At Kokila, we hope to build a community around authors, illustrators, and readers who believe in the power of sharing stories from across the full spectrum of experiences. And they will be supported by publishing professionals with a deep commitment to that mission.” [caption id="attachment_9435" align="alignright" width="215"] Jasmin Rubero[/caption] Jasmin Rubero started her career teaching art to children in districts without robust arts curricula. In her 17 years at Dial Books for Young Readers, Rubero has designed books by critically-acclaimed and bestselling artists and authors, including the New York Times bestselling Ladybug Girl series by Jacky Davis and David Soman; Pura Belpré Award winner Portraits of Hispanic American Heroes by Juan Felipe Herrera, illustrated by Raul Colón; and Junot Díaz’s debut picture book Islandborn, illustrated by Leo Espinosa. Jasmin is currently working on the newly announced, Hair Love by Matthew A. Cherry, illustrated by New York Times bestselling author/illustrator Vashti Harrison, and Hands Up! by Brianna McDaniel, illustrated by Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe Award winner, Shane Evans. [caption id="attachment_9436" align="alignleft" width="300"] Joanna Cardenas[/caption] In her time at Viking Books for Young Readers, Joanna Cárdenas has edited such critically-acclaimed award-winning books as The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez and The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora by Pablo Cartaya, both PW Flying Starts. She is on the steering committee for Latinx in Publishing, a nonprofit organization committed to supporting and increasing the number of Latino/a/x in the publishing industry, as well as promoting literature by, for, and about Latino/a/x people. Joanna is co-founder of the Representation Matters Mentorship Program, a program that connects people of color interested in editorial with editors across publishing houses. In 2015, Joanna was an honoree at Publishers Weekly’s Star Watch, which celebrates up-and-coming talent in the publishing industry.