In the U.K., we founded Lit in Colour, a program created in partnership with think tank The Runnymede Trust, that supports schools in diversifying their English literature curriculum. In June 2021, the campaign released ground-breaking research showing that less than 1% of young people in England study a book by a writer of color, and just 7% study a book by a woman. Through the program pilot, nearly 12,000 students at 90 different schools started studying a book by a writer of color at either GCSE or A Level for the first time. We will be running a second year of the program in September 2022.
Commitments: Diversity & Inclusion
Launching a New Donation Platform for the 1619 Project
Ahead of the publication of The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story on November 16, 2021, One World, an imprint of Random House, partnered with Bookshop.org, the ethical online marketplace which supports independent bookstores. The expanded book version of the 1619 Project – one of the most significant journalistic events of recent years by Nikole Hannah-Jones that places slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of our national narrative – provides readers with the definitive account of how racism and Black resistance have shaped the nation.
Independent bookstores across the U.S. have identified local organizations such as schools, libraries, and book banks that will benefit from donated copies of this momentous book.Through Bookshop.org, customers can support local bookstores and communities directly, as well as through We Need Diverse Books, a non-profit organization that distributes books to low-income classrooms, educators, and organizations across the country. Over 15 percent of the participating independent bookstores are Black-owned and managed, with many playing a significant role in their local communities. This partnership will allow them to continue supporting their communities by making the stories of The 1619 Project widely accessible. The initiative runs through January 31, 2022.
For more information on The 1619 Project and Nikole Hannah-Jones, visit 1619Books.com
Partnering with #DisruptTexts
Penguin Classics has partnered with #DisruptTexts, a renowned education organization that works to create a more inclusive, representative and equitable language arts curriculum for K-12 students. Facilitated by Penguin Random House (PRH) Education, this partnership includes a number of new initiatives focused on connecting with, and supporting, educators through innovative programming; online events for vital dialogue and teacher community discussion; and new educator resources for guiding student reading and discussion of traditional and “new” classics in-and-out of the classroom.
Initiatives and resources include: original educator guides authored by the #DisruptTexts team, to be made available as free, downloadable educator resources on PRHSecondaryED.com; a virtual educator event to be hosted by the National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE); an online discussion panel to be hosted by publisher Penguin Classics featuring Min Jin Lee, author of the novel Pachinko; and a number of other collaborative programming and resource-based initiatives in development. Each of these initiatives will revolve around the essential question “what is a classic?” in order to broaden the scope of which texts are considered traditional literary canon.
The aforementioned educator guides will be for four Penguin Classics texts that have been overlooked in secondary classrooms that are representative of BIPOC communities, including: Passing by Nella Larsen; Monkey King by Wu Cheng’en; Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko; and The Penguin Book of Migration Literature edited by Dohra Ahmad.
Bringing Virtual Business Bootcamps to Writers Everywhere
We partnered with the Authors Guild Foundation to host Virtual Business Bootcamps for Writers at no charge to participants due in part to a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Penguin Random House, and other generous donors. The Business Bootcamps for Writers launched in 2018 as a free, in-person one-day intensive program across various locations around the country, targeting communities without such programming or connections to the publishing industry. With the pandemic, the Business Bootcamps for Writers program was reimagined as a series of webinars presented over several months. By offering the curriculum online, a greater number of writers who wish to participate are reachable no matter where they live.
The Bootcamps for Writers is a series of free webinars for early and mid-career authors that provides them with the relevant tools and resources to manage their careers and successfully navigate the publishing marketplace. he curriculum educates authors about just what it takes to create, publish, and market books in an increasingly competitive climate, including a deep dive focusing on earning a sustainable living as an author.
Penguin Random House Hosts Voices for Justice Virtual Speaker Series DEI
As a part of our commitment to amplifying diverse voices, we sponsored Voices for Justice, a free virtual speaker series that supports diversity, equity and inclusion work at the Cambridge Public Library.
The virtual events featured Random House author Isabel Wilkerson (The Warmth of Other Suns and Caste) and One World author Ta-Nehisi Coates (Between the World and Me and The Water Dancer) .
Voices for Justice funds diversity, equity and inclusion activities at the Cambridge Public Library, including public programming and workshops, professional development for Library staff, and the creation of “Little Free Libraries” filled with free books that reflect diverse authors and experiences.
Partnering with Aesop on Queer Libraries in NYC, LA, and Toronto
In celebration of Pride Month, we with skincare brand Aesop to transform four of their retail locations in the United States and Canada into Queer Libraries. For a week in June, Aesop stores in New York, Los Angeles, and Toronto cleared the products from their shelves and replaced them with books that uplift the underrepresented voices and experiences of queer communities around the world, with a particular emphasis on BIPOC and trans authors.
Designed to spotlight LGBTQIA+ authors and to promote access to their works, the campaign invited all guests to take home a complimentary book of their choice, with no purchase required. As part of the initiative, Penguin Random House donated 2,350 titles to the collection. In solidarity with independent queer bookstores, Aesop also purchased more than 3,000 volumes from Glad Day Bookshop in Toronto and Women & Children First in Chicago.
Honoring Juneteenth with Ongoing Commitment to #AmplifyBlackStories
In celebration of Juneteenth, we gave 100% of net proceeds on PRH.com on June 19 to the Bookshop.org fund benefitting Black-owned bookstores as we continue our commitment to #AmplifyBlackStories all year long. For the month of June, #AmplifyBlackStories highlighted stories of Black joy, not to disregard the realities of racism and injustice but to engage with the Black experience in America in a way that is full, balanced, and truthful.
Commemorating Juneteenth with the Black Caucus of NCTE
In collaboration with Anthony Key, Director, Multicultural Marketing, and the School & Library Marketing teams at the Penguin Young Readers and Random House Children’s publishing divisions, Penguin Random House Education observed
In observation of Juneteenth, Penguin Random House Education donated $10,000 and free books to support the great work of the Black Caucus of NCTE, an advocacy group of Black English language arts educators and scholars. Alongside the Black Caucus of NCTE, we hosted our inaugural commemoration of Juneteenth during the event: “Literacies as Freedom Tickets: Black Caucus Scholars Reflect on the Texts That Set Them Free” on June 16th. We observed Juneteenth as an occasion for reflection and education to celebrate the end of slavery in America and acknowledged the profound contributions of Black people to American history and culture..
Additionally, Penguin Random House Education has created multiple collections of books by Black creators that educate, empower, and inspire students in the classroom year-round for elementary students and secondary students.
We are committed to lifting and holding Black voices throughout the year and were happy to honor them especially on Juneteenth.
Launching All Ways Black with Cree Myles
In June 2021, we launched All Ways Black, an initiative showcasing and celebrating the many facets of the Black experience.
Debuting on instagram, All Ways Black (@allwaysblack) is a separate and unique channel designed to specifically connect with Black readers every day and carve out space specifically for our Black authors and books. All Ways Black is a key expression of Amplify Black Stories, an ongoing initiative dedicated to promoting the Black authors and books that are moving culture forward.
We partnered with influencer Cree Myles,founding editor of All Ways Black and the creative force behind last winter’s Black Like We Never Left Read-a-Thon that raised more than $10,000 for the Center for Fiction’s Emerging Writer Program, for an authentic voice for the channel. Cree works alongside the Creative Strategy team to develop editorial content and original programming that highlights the depth and breadth of our stories and creators.
Fostering Diversity in the Publishing Industry
We are committed to ensuring the publishing world is accessible to everyone, and celebrate the three recipients of the newly-created Penguin Random House Scholarship chosen by The New York University Center for Publishing. Christina Lopez, Megan McDonald, and Sophie Schmidt were able to participate in this year’s NYU Summer Publishing Institute (SPI) three-week virtual program, beginning June 7, 2021.
The Center for Publishing Penguin Random House Scholarship was established to foster greater diversity in the publishing industry, and enable college juniors and seniors, as well as recent college graduates, who are interested in pursuing a career in publishing to attend NYU’s Summer Publishing Institute program.