By: Jess McHugh   Who gets to tell the American story?   That was the question that preoccupied me in the years of researching and writing Americanon. I was fascinated by the ways in which commonplace books, owned by millions of Americans—from almanacs to primers to cookbooks—shaped and reshaped American identity over generations of reading.

Kabul-born novelist Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, is known for his evocative storytelling deeply rooted in Afghanistan’s history and culture. Like so many of us, he watched Afghanistan fall to the Taliban with profound sadness. In the wake of these events, Penguin Random House has updated the educator’s guides for Hosseini’s

Carolyn Forché is being awarded the American Book Award for In the Lateness of the World, a tenebrous book of crossings, of migrations across oceans and borders but also between the present and the past, life and death. The world here seems to be steadily vanishing, but in the moments before the uncertain end, an illumination

Q: What is a life transition and why are they important right now?   A: At its simplest, a life transition is the way humans cope with periods of change. When we get hit by a major life disruption, or lifequake as I call these times, we often freeze with indecision and fear. The life

One of Silicon Valley’s top leadership trainers distills his proven framework that has empowered teams at the world’s most innovative companies—from Google and Facebook to Cisco Systems and biotech giant Genentech/Roche—to do the best work of their lives.     Richard Lee has worked with thousands of ambitious leaders and their teams, and has found

  Because what you read matters.   Subscribe to the Penguin Classics Newsletter here.   After a long winter spent indoors (while we’re still prepared for seasonal showers and any unseasonable flurry if we have to), we’re just happy to be able to read outside again and watch nature bloom, so read on for some Classics

Because what you read matters.   Subscribe to the Penguin Classics Newsletter here.   Well, it’s March, which means we’ve been in our new stay-home normal for a whole year. Fortunately, books have proven to be some of the greatest comforts and means of connection through it all, and we feel honored and privileged to play

Because what you read matters.   Subscribe to the Penguin Classics Newsletter here.   Meet February’s winter chill with the warmth of reading new Classics this month. Discover our first Penguin Classic with the world-leading cultural institution, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, to celebrate Black History Month; our new one-volume translation of China’s

We celebrate THE FRIEND by Sigrid Nunez, published by Riverhead, chosen by the panel of five judges from 368 submissions, as the recipient of the 2018 National Book Award for Fiction, announced Wednesday evening, November 14, at the annual National Book Foundation dinner in downtown Manhattan. Sigrid Nunez’s previous literary honors include a Whiting Writer’s Award, and

Presenting the five finalists for the 2018 National Book Awards published by Penguin Random House     Fiction: FLORIDA by Lauren Groff (Riverhead Books, Penguin Audio) THE GREAT BELIEVERS by Rebecca Makkai (Viking Books, Penguin Audio) THE FRIEND by Sigrid Nunez (Riverhead Books, Penguin Audio) Poetry: AMERICAN SONNETS FOR MY PAST AND FUTURE ASSASSIN by Terrance Hayes (Penguin Books) Translated Literature: FLIGHTS by Olga Tokarczuk,

In 2014, investigative journalist Shane Bauer took an entry-level, $9/hour job as a guard at Winn Correctional Facility, a private prison in rural Louisiana. For the next four months, he reported for work outfitted with a hidden recording device, ready to capture the reality of life in private prisons for guards and inmates alike. For

  Congratulations to our Penguin Random House authors and their publishing teams who have been chosen by the respective category judges as “longlisted” semi-finalists–including five of the ten Fiction titles–for the 2018 National Book Awards.     Wednesday, October 10: The “shortlist” of five finalists per category will be announced. Wednesday, November 14: The five winners