Leading up to Mother’s Day on May 13, visit Read It Forward to find heartwarming, relatable, and emotional essays. The pieces cover experiences such as a shared Kindle account bringing a parent and child together to a dying mother reading her daughter’s novel, and more. Highlights from Word to Your Mother include: Elisabeth Cohen, author of THE GLITCH, who reminisces about the soundtrack of her childhood—her mother’s audiobooks—and the ways listening to stories brought them together. Chloé Esposito, author of BAD, who shares a witty account of adventures in bedtime stories—one of the greatest pleasures she shares with her daughters. Liam Callanan, author of PARIS THE BOOK, who recalls the lessons that remain with him from reading The Country Bunny with his mother as a child. On Read it Forward you can also find bookish gift ideas for mom and a reading list of moving “mom-oirs” that cover loving and losing mothers, and reckoning with complicated relationships.

Signature Views Tables of Contents: a culinary reading series | Signature Views Mini-Doc - The restaurant Egg in Brooklyn holds a monthly event called Tables of Contents where authors give readings, and dishes based on passages from their books are served. Chef Evan Hanczor gives an inside look at the dinner series, featuring authors Adam Gopnik, Victor LaValle, and Sarah Gerard. https://youtu.be/MK9xhC1R0Hw 5 Ways to Resist Tyranny | Author Timothy Snyder - Drawing from lessons learned in the 20th century, here are five ways to resist tyranny in the modern age. Adapted from Timothy Snyder’s  ON TYRANNY (Tim Duggan Books). https://youtu.be/DeA6zhPtX2A Penguin Random House Channel Norm Macdonald convinces you to buy his book BASED ON A TRUE STORY (Spiegel & Grau) - The comedian/ actor/ author tells different groups of people why they should buy his memoir. https://youtu.be/lZrrfP1HrgM Papercuts / Read It Forward Sad Books | Six Picks - Read It Forward editors Abbe and Emma give six recommendations for books guaranteed to make you cry :(  Titles include EVERYTHING I NEVER TOLD YOU by Celeste Ng, WHERE THE LIGHT GETS IN by Kimberly Williams Paisley, A CONSTELLATION OF VITAL PHENOMENA by Anthony Marra, and three more. https://youtu.be/TjKzPJpyD6M

Read It Forward’s mission is to guide readers toward a literary future with books that inform, entertain, and inspire through unique online experiences. Some features on the site include:

• Book Club Appetizer: a podcast hosted by Abbe Wright (Editor, Read It Forward) and Alana Buckbee (Sr. Manager, Community Development, Crown Publishing Group), recommended as an audio “kickoff” for book club meetings. Each episode focuses on a single title, beginning with plot discussion and thoughts on favorite characters, and culminating in an interview with the book’s author. Participating authors include such notables as Amber Brock (A FINE IMITATION, Crown), Anton DiSclafani (THE AFTER PARTY, Riverhead Books), Camille Perri (THE ASSISTANTS, G. P. Putnam’s Sons), Hannah Pittard (Listen to Me, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), and Nicola Yoon (THE SUN IS ALSO A STAR, Delacorte Press).

• The Book Apothecary: a web-based application that prescribes the perfect book to fit any mood (inspired by the Crown bestselling book THE LITTLE PARIS BOOKSHOP by Nina George).

• What We’re Reading: a weekly newsletter, which features curated picks from bestselling authors and the Read It Forward editorial team.

• #AskaLibrarian: the weekly Twitter recommendation hour, in partnership with Library Journal, Penguin Random House, and librarians across the country.

• BookBento: still life photography featuring new titles, as well as favorite backlist reads, that creates a browsable bookstore on Instagram.

  The all-star literary lineup slated for Read It Forward’s summer launch includes exclusive interviews with Matthew Desmond (EVICTED, Crown), Erik Larson (DEAD WAKE,Crown), Terry McMillan (I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT YOU,Crown), Curtis Sittenfeld (ELIGIBLE, Random House); original content from Erica Jong (Fear of Dying, St. Martin’s Press) and Karin Slaughter (Pretty Girls, William Morrow); and curated bookshelves by Jennifer S. Brown (MODERN GIRLS, NAL) and Peter Clines (EX-ISLE, Broadway). “We have always been proud of the editorial content featured on Read It Forward, and now we have a more modern design to showcase our interviews, literary lifestyle essays, and reading recommendations,” says Kate Rados, Vice President, Community Development for the Crown Publishing Group. “Our readers are excited to learn about newly released and rediscovered gems, from literary and commercial fiction to memoir, historical fiction to crossover young adult. We’re able to make recommendations based on author affinity, category, mood, or impulse. While it’s not possible to be all things to all readers, we strive to deliver the best reads at the right time that align with a reader’s taste.” In conjunction with its relaunch, Read It Forward will be inviting bookstores to participate as promotional partners. For their pilot project, Tattered Cover and Northshire Bookstore are collaborating in a one-of-a-kind sweepstakes, where a grand-prize winner will receive a library of 50 books, hand-selected by the bookselling staff from both stores. The sweepstakes will be hosted on ReadItForward.com. Crown’s marketing plans for the relaunch include: a site-wide online adventure—called “The Great Reader’s Scavenger Hunt”—a series of sweepstakes promotions which awards 625 winners with a free book; owned media advertising through the Crown and Penguin Random House verticals; a special branded pouch mailing to bookish influencers; branded tote bags distributed at the 2016 BEA; social media advertising through Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram; and an email marketing program through LiveIntent. Click here to experience Read It Forward’s new features.