HAIR LOVE Wins Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film
February 10, 2020
HAIR LOVE, Matthew A. Cherry’s bestselling children’s book for Kokila that was conceived as an animated short film, won the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film at last night’s 92nd annual Academy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles. A tender and empowering ode to loving your natural hair, and a celebration of daddies and daughters everywhere – HAIR LOVE was transformed into a bestselling children’s book, written by Cherry, a former NFL wide receiver, and illustrated by Vashti Harrison, published in May 2019 by Penguin Young Readers’ Kokila Books imprint.
expandIntroducing 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:
expandLast 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.Penguin Young Readers to Launch New Imprint Kokila
February 8, 2018
Jen Loja, President, Penguin Young Readers, announced today the launch of Kokila (pronounced KO-ki-la), a new imprint which will be dedicated to centering stories from the margins with books that add nuance and depth to the way children and young adults see the world and their place in it. Kokila will be
expandPopular Company News
2 Penguin Random House Authors Awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economics
October 15, 2024
We are thrilled to announce that Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson, esteemed authors published by Crown Currency and Penguin Press, have been awarded the 2024…
Penguin Random House Announces Strategic Expansion Into Christian Publishing
October 30, 2024
Penguin Random House has announced the launch of the Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group, a new standalone entity that builds on its esteemed evangelical Christian…
There’s a Book for That: Latine & Hispanic Heritage Month, Kids Edition
October 11, 2024
As we continue to celebrate Latine & Hispanic Heritage Month visit I Am La Cultura and join us in honoring Latine and Hispanic authors, creators, illustrators, and trailblazers.…
Lisa Marie Presley & Riley Keough’s FROM HERE TO THE GREAT UNKNOWN is Oprah’s Book Club’s October Pick
October 9, 2024
Oprah Winfrey has announced that her latest Oprah’s Book Club pick is FROM HERE TO THE GREAT UNKNOWN (Random House) by Lisa Marie Presley and Riley Keough. The…
John Green to Publish Nonfiction Title with New PYR Imprint, Crash Course Books
October 24, 2024
John Green, the #1 internationally bestselling author, will publish a nonfiction title with Penguin Young Readers' new imprint Crash Course Books. EVERYTHING IS TUBERCULOSIS: The History…
How Genni Eccles, Editorial Assistant, Berkley, Got Her Foot in the Door
October 8, 2024
One year ago, Genni Eccles started in her dream job with Berkley as an editorial assistant. The story of how she got there is a wild…
Our 47 NYTBR “100 Notable Books of 2024”
December 2, 2024
Every autumn, we look forward to the New York Times Book Review editors' “100 Notable Books" list of standout fiction, poetry, and nonfiction titles. This year,…
Celebrating Amazon’s Best Children’s Books of 2024
November 22, 2024
Penguin Young Readers and Random House Children's Books are thrilled to celebrate their remarkable achievement of having nearly 30 titles featured on the must-read Amazon Best…
Random House to Publish the Autobiography of Pope Francis
October 17, 2024
HOPE will the first memoir published by a sitting pontiff and will become a global publication on January 14, 2025. Random House will publish HOPE, the autobiography…