In December 2019, we partnered with the Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc) on their year-end fundraising campaign. Launched on Small Business Saturday and running through December 31, 2019, we matched all donations made to Binc, up to $15,000. In addition, we also donated $1 for every social media post on Instagram and Twitter that used the hashtag #BookstoresAreHolidays. Binc assists booksellers who have been impacted by disasters or personal financial hardships, and, by November, the Foundation had already assisted 90 booksellers and their families in 2019. The total of $30,000 raised by the end of the year helped at least 13 additional booksellers and their families through economic hardship. To learn more about the campaign, click here and here.
Regions: U.S.
#BannedTogether for Banned Books Week
We are unwavering in our support of writers who seek out truth in their stories, and the readers who embrace them. We commemorate Banned Books Week in September annually, and in 2019 we were thrilled to be #BannedTogether. For every Penguin Random House book purchased during Banned Books Week, we donated $1 to the American Booksellers for Free Expression, up to $20,000. To learn more about our 2019 campaign, click here.
Free Books at Shakespeare in the Park
We have been a longtime supporter of Shakespeare in the Park, one of the cornerstones of the Public Theater’s mission to bring performing arts to New Yorkers. Since 1962, more than 5 million people have experienced more than 150 free productions of Shakespeare’s work and other classical works and musicals. We have supported the Public Theater through monetary donations, as well as by distributing free books to theatergoers waiting in line for tickets. Throughout the years, this has become one of our most popular volunteering opportunities, and many of our bestsellers have been gifted to eager readers. To learn more, click here.
Giving Back During the Holidays
Giving back is central to the Penguin Random House experience, and we have created a culture in which employees are encouraged to engage with their communities, both in and out of the office. In December of 2019, a time of joy for some but much need for others, a team of colleagues at Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial in Miami spent their lunchtime feeding those facing housing insecurity. They volunteered at the Miami Rescue Mission, making a donation to provide 250 meals.
Under One Roof for WorldPride
In celebration of WorldPride in 2019, we hosted a live storytelling event, filled with ebbing moments of reflection and jubilance, and featuring some of our leading authors in the LGBTQIA+ community. Attendees were treated to cocktails, light snacks, and Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, as well as a copy of We Are Everywhere by event hosts Matthew Riemer and Leighton Brown. All proceeds from the event were donated to the Lambda Literary Foundation. Authors featured included Sarah McBride, Garrard Conley, Tara Clancy, and Blair Imani, as well as Karah Preiss, cofounder of Belletrist. To read more about the event, click here.
Writing Boot Camps for Aspiring Authors
With the mission to empower aspiring authors from all backgrounds in underserved communities nationwide, we partnered with the Authors Guild Foundation to produce a series of Writing Business Boot Camps across the country. From the end of 2018 to spring 2019, these six boot camps were free to participants due in part to an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and we sent two employees per city to share their publishing and work experience with the writers. Local published authors helped lead each session, alongside representatives from the Authors Guild and Penguin Random House, bringing a variety of experience and knowledge to the program. To learn more, click here and here.
Advocacy with #MigrationStories
In September 2019, Penguin Classics published The Penguin Book of Migration Literature, a global anthology that looks at our rapidly changing world. Every year, millions of people move to a new country, and these migrants constantly reshape their places of origin and arrival. We believe that, in today’s climate, it is more important than ever to advocate for migrants’ rights around the globe. Penguin Classics led a special social media campaign calling for audiences to share #MigrationStories that have shaped their lives, in order to spread the message that the story of global migration is one we are all part of. A custom section on our website featured five nonprofits, and, as part of our annual matching gifts program, we matched employee donations up to $10,000 in total. To learn more, click here.
Uncovering Bias Workshops for Our Employees
We recognize that creating an environment of inclusivity at our company is as important as publishing a diverse list of authors. We believe that understanding and recognizing the unconscious biases that underlie our beliefs and inform our decision-making is a fundamental first step to achieving this goal. In 2018, we partnered with Steps Drama, a global consultancy that promotes learning and behavior change, to tailor workshops based on real-life scenarios at Penguin Random House that would create a unique learning experience for employees. In 2019, our colleagues trained by the Steps Drama team took over to deliver the workshops internally. Uncovering Bias Workshops are held throughout the year.
Literary Drag Queen Story Hour
During Pride Month in 2019, our LGBTQ Network partnered with Drag Queen Story Hour to produce an exciting Literary Drag Show at the New York Public Library (NYPL) as part of the Library After Hours: Pride Edition. The show featured performances by six top drag queens, who put on exhilarating acts with a literary focus, including readings, lip-syncing, talks, and costume changes into beloved characters such as Little Red Riding Hood, Tinker Bell, and Gandalf. Attendees also had a chance to view the NYPL’s exhibit commemorating the 50th anniversary of Stonewall. To read more about the event, click here.
Employee-Led Diversity & Inclusion Council
We want everyone who works at Penguin Random House to feel like they belong. To help do so, in 2018 we formed a Diversity & Inclusion Council comprising employees from all areas of our business. The Council is dedicated to facilitating a company culture that fosters inclusion and equity, supporting a broad, wide-ranging spectrum of perspectives. The Council proactively makes recommendations for ways to enrich our culture by amplifying underrepresented voices and providing welcoming and open spaces that empower our employees to publish books that truly reflect the diversity of our world. Diversity & Inclusion Council members have also established Diversity Committees in each of our divisions. With more than 200 employees actively involved, many of these divisional committees have organized special task forces that focus on an array of topics to create a positive, engaging, and inclusive working environment.