In celebration of the completion of the one-million-book donation in the Obama family name, Penguin Random House announces that it will donate up to 300,000 additional children’s books to First Book as part of the Hope Love Give campaign to raise one million dollars to help give one million books to kids who need them most. For every three dollars donated to First Book from now through December 31, Penguin Random House will give two new books to First Book, up to 300,000 books. Last year, during her highly successful book tour, Mrs. Obama made a surprise visit to the Para Los Niños Tina and Rick Caruso Early Education Center, an organization located in the Skid Row area of Los Angeles that receives program support from Child360, to spend time and read with a group of four-year-old children. Child360 was one of the first recipients to receive books from the company’s one-million-book donation to First Book. Markus Dohle, CEO, Penguin Random House, said: “We are honored to donate one million children’s books in the Obama family’s name to First Book. When children have greater access to our books and stories, we, together with President and Mrs. Obama, are helping to shape a literate, educated, and democratic society that will become the next generation of readers and leaders.” The Penguin Random House donations to First Book in the Obama family name were made in support of the continued publishing partnership between the company and the authors as a reflection of their shared commitment to social responsibility and to promoting literacy and education. First Book, a longstanding Penguin Random House non-profit partner, is dedicated to promoting equal access to education by providing new books, learning materials, and other essentials to children in need in the United States and Canada.

To measure progress towards this goal, we are asking newly acquired authors and new employees to complete a voluntary Inclusion Tracker questionnaire, and we will publish this data on our website each year. Here are just some of the ways we are working towards achieving our goal in 2017 and leading the industry to help make publishing more inclusive. WriteNow WriteNow, our program to find, mentor and publish new writers from communities that are currently underrepresented on the nation’s bookshelves, is back for 2017 and applications are now open. We are looking for talented new voices across all genres, including Fiction, Non-Fiction and Children’s. This includes writers from a socio-economically marginalised background, LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer) or BAME (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic) writers, or writers with a disability. WriteNow is offering 150 aspiring writers access to free regional events in London, Bristol and Newcastle where they will get one-to-one time with editors to receive expert, personalised feedback on their book, alongside access to literary agents and published authors, including Elif Shafak, Kit de Waal, Afua Hirsch and Fox Fisher. Our editors will work with 10 of the most promising writers over 12 months to make their manuscripts the best they can be, with the ultimate ambition of publishing these new writers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DUXZsD4SMmQ More than 2,000 writers applied to WriteNow in its first year in 2016 and over 200 editors across the company helped to review their manuscripts and select the most promising new talent. The 12 writers we are now mentoring include Charlene Allcott, a single mother who is writing commercial fiction, Nelson Abbey, who is writing a self-help book for BAME professionals, and Nazneen Ahmed, who is writing a fantasy young adult book, set between London, Gujarat and East Bengal. You can follow the conversation at #WriteNowLive Penguin Pride After its success last year, Penguin Pride is returning for 2017 to celebrate the importance of literature in progressing LGBTQ equality and changing attitudes towards the LGBTQ community. A major event produced by Penguin Live is taking place in July at Proud, Camden during London Pride fortnight. It will feature live music, spoken word, author readings and photography from Kele Okereke (lead singer of Bloc Party), Paul Flynn (author of Good as You) and Matthew Todd (author of Straight Jacket). £1 from every ticket sold will go to leading charity, Stonewall, to support their work with the LGBTQ community. Fully paid work experience We recently introduced fully paid work experience to help make our company more accessible to more young people and encourage those who may have never thought about working in publishing to start their story with us. Last year, we formalised our application process and banned all personal referrals to ensure that all of our work placements are randomly, and therefore, fairly selected. As well as this, we introduced a structured learning programme for participants to ensure everyone completing work experience with us finds it meaningful and interesting. Now, each of the 450 people who do work experience placements with us every year receive a salary of £262.50 per week. We have also partnered with The Book Trade Charity to provide subsidised accommodation near London to those who need it. As a direct result of these actions, we’ve seen significant changes to our applicant pool this year, so that is better reflects the diversity of both London and the UK:

• We had a fantastic 2,000 applications in just 48 hours and 3,400 applications in total for work experience placements in June and July 2017
• 85% of our applicants were from outside of London
• 30% of applicants didn’t have a university degree
• 20% of applicants were BAME

  JobHack As well as taking steps to attract more diverse writers and applicants, we want to demystify the world of publishing and engage with a broader spectrum of talent on the ground in communities around the country. That’s why we run #JobHack - a series of interactive workshops, aimed at 16-24 year olds across the UK, which explain the opportunities in publishing, from sales and marketing to production, editorial and digital. At our first five events more than 150 attendees enjoyed access to experts from across our business and heard all about the exciting careers on offer at Penguin Random House UK. We’re holding a further four JobHack workshops for more than 100 young people in July, taking our teams to Derby, Norwich, Newcastle – areas of the UK where social mobility is a major challenge. Get a glimpse into our workshops using #PRHJobHack. All of our work to make publishing more inclusive forms part of our Creative Responsibility strategy. Take a look at our Creative Responsibility show-reel and discover our 2016 highlights here.

2016 was a record breaking year for our CSR activities, and especially in working with our main charity partner, the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF), to whom we donated AU$ 100,000. The core aim of the ILF, founded in 2005, is to draw upon the skills and expertise of the Australian book industry to address literacy levels in remote Indigenous communities. This is achieved through the delivery of books and literacy resources to remote communities, in addition to advocating to raise community awareness of Indigenous literacy issues. Penguin Random House’s primary contribution to the ILF is monetary, and ensures that funds are directed towards putting books in the hands of children who need them the most. And with only 25% of Indigenous students in remote areas at the minimum reading standard, it is a cause close to our hearts. But money is not everything, and additionally, we support the ILF with physical people power, working with them on their Annual Trivia Nights, Indigenous Literacy Day, and through brain power and pro bono work. Their flagship event, Indigenous Literacy Day, held annually on the first Wednesday of September, both celebrates reading and raises much-needed funds. The Great Book Swap, which encourages participants to swap a favorite book in exchange for another for the cost of a gold coin, was last year held at the Sydney Opera House. Joined by ILF Ambassadors, and Penguin Random House Australia authors, Richard Flanagan, Justine Clarke and Alison Lester, school children from the remotest communities in Australia came together to help spread the word about improving literacy levels and opportunities for Indigenous children living in remote and isolated areas of our country. Penguin Random House volunteers, Meredith Curnow, Jessica Owen, and Beverly Cousins were on hand to help with the swap, participate throughout the day, and distribute backpacks and books to children who attended the event.  Beyond Indigenous Literary Day, and to further support ILF in 2016, we undertook Book Sale Fundraisers at our offices and warehouse sites throughout the year, with thousands of dollars raised and every cent going back to those who need it most. The key book sale events were held in Sydney and Melbourne in November, where hundreds of enthusiastic shoppers lined up to stock up on Christmas presents to support our cause. In Sydney, shoppers were phoning people to join them at the book sale and grab a bargain, and in Melbourne, even the wettest of weather didn’t dampen spirits (nor discourage spending, with AUD 38,000 raised). In the words of Karen Williams, Executive Director, ILF is totally “overwhelmed by our generosity and commitment. Your donation means that ILF can extend resources to work within remote communities across Australia in 2017 and beyond.” We are very proud to work with the ILF – both now and into the future - and even prouder of what we have proven that we can achieve together.

#ProjectReadathon invited readers to visit a specially created online reading platform at ReadWell.PenguinRandomHouse.com where they could read free, timed excerpts from over 200 of our books and authors. The campaign was based on the belief we all share at Penguin Random House; that the simple act of reading can have far-reaching social impact. With this in mind, the more minutes a user read, the more book donations were triggered from us to Save the Children. With enthusiastic support from authors, readers, and partners, the one-week initiative surpassed its one-million minutes goal and the campaign resulted in 300,000 books being donated to Save the Children, benefitting children in need in the US, Canada and Mexico. How #ProjectReadathon worked: Each excerpt on the platform noted how many minutes would be added and how many books would be donated throughout the campaign.

• For example, reading a 20-minute excerpt “unlocked” a 5-book donation from Penguin Random House to Save the Children; reading an hour unlocked a 20-books donation.
• The books went to Save the Children literacy programs, which help young students transition from learning to read to reading to learn.

  Contributing Partners: Also joining the #ProjectReadathon Million Minutes campaign were Charity Miles and Tab for a Cause, two organizations that enable consumers to give back through everyday activities. Users were invited to add minutes to the Project through reading at ReadWell.PenguinRandomHouse.com, as well as through the Charity Miles and Tab for a Cause platforms for special in-app and on-platform opportunities. A Worldwide Celebration of Books and Giving Back: #ProjectReadathon took place in the US, Canada and Mexico, and culminated on April 23 in honor of UNESCO’s World Book and Copyright Day, World Book Night (UK) and St. Jordi Day (Spain). Penguin Random House employees across the US, Canada, Mexico, UK, and Spain took part in local celebrations in honor of these events, as they joined together in a global celebration of books and reading to give back to their local communities. The ReadWell.PenguinRandomHouse.com platform will remain active and be implemented for future Penguin Random House campaigns and initiatives across North America that continue to celebrate the power of books and connect our authors and their writing with readers everywhere.

We began discussions, and immediately determined this was an initiative we wanted to be part of. We developed the idea for large-scale events featuring our authors and in Fall 2007, the first READ FOR THE CURE events took place in the Toronto area. Since then, additional events have been added in Ottawa, Calgary and Vancouver. At the events, attendees have the opportunity to enjoy canapés and cocktails, and listen to three of our authors talk about their books. The evenings end with a Q&A held by a media personality who acts as emcee. All attendees receive gift bags, including the latest books from the three participating authors, as well as gifts from event sponsors. Audiences at the events range from 300 to 500 people. All proceeds from the events are donated to the Cancer Research Society, specifically their Environment Cancer Fund and the BC Cancer Foundation. To date, CA$ 1.15 million dollars have been donated through these events. Over the years, participating authors include Jann Arden, Margaret Atwood (right), Linwood Barclay, Joy Fielding, Paula Hawkins, Elizabeth Hay, Ann-Marie MacDonald, Linden MacIntyre, Audrey Niffeneger, Cheryl Strayed, Miriam Toews, and many more. In 2016, CAD 150,000 was raised at events in Ottawa, Vancouver, and at two events in Toronto featuring such authors as Gail Anderson-Dargatz, Paula McLain, Meg Wolitzer and Alissa York. Penguin Random House Canada, for the past decade, has embraced the opportunity to be involved in these events. Our authors enjoy the events and welcome the opportunity to speak to these large audiences of engaged book lovers. Plans are already underway for this year’s events which will be held in Vancouver, Ottawa and two events in Toronto in October and November 2017. We have already lined up award-winning and best-selling authors to participate, including: Joseph Boyden, Claire Cameron, Wayne Johnston, Shari Lapena, Ami McKay, Donna Morrissey, Roberta Rich, and 2016 Scotiabank Giller Prize winning author Madeleine Thien. For further information about the READ FOR THE CURE events, please visit www.readforthecure.ca.