Penguin Random House Limited[3] is a British-American multinationalpublishingconglomerate, created on July 1, 2013, through the merger of Penguin Books and Random House.[4][5] Along with Simon & Schuster, Hachette, HarperCollins and Macmillan Publishers, Penguin Random House is considered one of the "Big Five" English-language publishers.
In 2020, Bertelsmann became the sole owner of Penguin Random House after a 2019 purchase.The integration of its own German-language publishing group, Verlagsgruppe Random House, added 45 imprints to the company, for a total of 365 imprints.[6]
10,000
num employees year
as of July 1, 2013
parent
Bertelsmann
footnotes
‡R2R‡
As of 2021, Penguin Random House employed about 10,000 people globally and published 15,000 titles annually in all genres and formats.
Penguin Random House comprises Penguin and Random House in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, and India; Penguin in Brazil, Asia and South Africa;
On November 25, 2020, The New York Times reported that Penguin Random House was planning to purchase Simon & Schuster from ViacomCBS (later known as Paramount Global) for $2.175 billion.[10] However, on November 2, 2021, the U.S. Department of Justice sued to stop the deal on antitrust grounds, a suit that eventually succeeded on October 31, 2022.[11][12] The deal formally collapsed on November 22, 2022.[13]
History
Penguin Random House was formed on July 1, 2013, by Markus Dohle upon the completion of a £2.4 billion transaction between Bertelsmann and Pearson to merge their respective trade publishing companies, Random House and Penguin Group.Bertelsmann and Pearson, the parent companies, initially owned 53% and 47%, respectively.[14] Jane Ciabattari of Library Journal has referred to this merger as the publishing industry's response to the increasing dominance of Amazon.com in the book market.[15] Dohle was named CEO of the new company, which had more than 10,000 employees worldwide with more than 250 imprints and publishing houses and a publishing list of more than 15,000 new titles a year.[7][9] Penguin Random House relaunched Book Country, Penguin's online writing community, on July 29, 2013.On September 24, 2014, Random House Studio signed a first-look production deal with Universal Pictures, under which Random House would be the producer of films based on Penguin Random House books.The Universal subsidiary Focus Features has frequently collaborated with Random House Films.[16] Having previously created Puffin Rock animation, Richard Haines was chosen to head Penguin Random House Children's TV development strategy with the assistance of licensing, publishing, and TV development executive Emily Campan.[17]
In November 2015, Pearson announced it would rebrand to focus on its education division.[18] On July 11, 2017, Pearson sold 22% of its stake in the business to Bertelsmann, thereby retaining a 25% holding.[19][20] On December 18, 2019, Bertelsmann agreed to acquire Pearson's 25% stake in Penguin Random House,[21] making it a wholly owned subsidiary of Bertelsmann.The sale was completed on April 2, 2020.[6] In June 2020, Penguin Random House became part of a group of publishers who sued the Internet Archive, arguing that its collection of e-books was denying authors and publishers revenue and accusing the library of "willful mass copyright infringement".[22][23]
On November 25, 2020, Penguin Random House agreed to purchase American publisher Simon & Schuster from ViacomCBS for $2.175 billion, with a formal regulatory approval process to follow the purchase agreement.[24] On November 2, 2021, the US Justice Department filed a civil antitrust lawsuit to block Penguin Random House's proposed acquisition of Simon & Schuster, alleging that the acquisition would create a publisher with too much influence over books and author payments.[25] In October 2022, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in favor of the Justice Department.[26] On November 21, 2022, Penguin Random House officially scrapped the deal.As a result, it was to pay a $200 million termination fee to the recently rebranded Paramount Global.[27] Simon & Schuster would instead be sold to Kohlberg Kravis Roberts on October 30, 2023.[28]
In July 2024, it was announced that Penguin Random House would acquire comic book publisher Boom! Studios.[29]
Divisions and imprints
DK
DK (Dorling Kindersley) was founded in London in 1974.
As of 2015, DK also has official publishing relationships with Angry Birds, Lego, Marvel, Star Wars, and Disney.[30]
Crown Publishing was founded in 1933 as the Outlet Book Company, a remainder house, and is now a publisher of fiction and narrative non-fiction.[31] In 2018, Crown was combined with the main Random House Publishing Group.[32]
Amphoto Books, publishes photography books
Broadway Books, founded in 1996 as part of Bantam Doubleday Dell and is now the paperback imprint of Crown
Clarkson Potter, produces cookbooks, illustrated gift books, and journals
Crown Archetype, hardcover publisher of pop-culture titles
Hogarth Press, partnership between Crown in the US and Windus in the UK
Convergent, Image Catholic Books (Doubleday Religion), Waterbrook & Multnomah publish Christian non-fiction and fiction titles
Pam Krauss Books, founded in 1915 and publishes culinary, food, and lifestyle related titles
Rodale Books
Ten Speed Press, joined Crown in 2009 as a West Coast publisher of nonfiction and gift titles
Tim Duggan Books, founded in 2014
Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Alfred A. Knopf, publisher of hardcover fiction and nonfiction, founded in 1915 by Alfred A. Knopf, and Blanche Knopf. Titles under Alfred A. Knopf have won 58 Pulitzers as well as Nobel and National Book Awards.[34]
Doubleday, publisher of commercial, literary, and serious nonfiction founded in 1897
Pantheon, founded in 1942 by Kurt Wolff
Schocken, publisher of Judaica, became a part of Random House in 1945
Vintage Books, trade paperback publisher founded by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954
Anchor Books, publisher of history, science, women's studies, sociology and fiction
Vintage Español, Spanish-language publisher in the United States, founded in 1994 by Alfred A. Knopf
Black Lizard, also known as Vintage Crime, publisher of crime fiction, acquired by Random House in 1990
Penguin Publishing Group
Avery, publisher of nonfiction and lifestyle books founded in 1974
Berkley Publishing Group/New American Library, contain several imprints including Jove, Signet, Ace, Roc, Sensation, and Caliber
DAW, publisher of science fiction and fantasy
Dutton, small boutique fiction and non-fiction publisher of about 40 books per year
Putnam, publisher founded in 1838
Pamela Dorman Books/Viking, established in 2010 as a boutique publisher of VP Pamela Dorman
Penguin, established in 1935 in the UK as a publisher of mass market paperbacks; houses Penguin Books, Penguin Classics, and most recently Penguin Press
Perigee, originally the trade paperback imprint for G.P. Putnam's Sons; publishes prescriptive non-fiction, self-help and how-to books
Plume, trade paperback imprint with a focus on multi-cultural and LGBT publishing
Penguin Young Readers Group
Penguin Young Readers Group is a division devoted to books for young readers and young adults.
Dial Books for Young Readers, publishes about 70 hardcover children's books per year
Firebird, publishes young adult science fiction and fantasy
Frederick Warne, publisher founded in 1865 that develops brands based on classic children's literature such as Peter Rabbit
G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers, publisher of picture books
Grosset & Dunlap, publisher of paperback series, leveled readers, nonfiction, brands, and licenses for ages 0–12
Kathy Dawson Books, launched in 2014 by publisher Kathy Dawson to publish hardcover middle-grade and YA fiction
Ladybird Books, publishes books for toddlers
Nancy Paulsen Books, launched in 2011 by publisher Nancy Paulsen to publish picture books
Philomel Books
Price Stern Sloan (PSS!), founded to publish the Mad Libs books in the 1960s, expanded to publish additional children's, novelty, and humor titles
Random House Publishing Group
Ballantine Books, founded in 1952 to publish fiction and nonfiction hardcover and paperback titles
Bantam Books, originally a publisher of mass-market reprints; currently publishes fiction and nonfiction in all formats
Boom! Studios, founded in 2005 and acquired in 2024 as a publisher of comic books and graphic novels
Delacorte Press, founded in 1921 as a publisher of pulp magazines, detective stories, and movie articles, has expanded to publish original fiction in all formats
Del Rey Books, branch of Ballantine Books that focuses on science fiction and fantasy titles
The Dial Press, literary publisher
Inklore, founded in 2023 to publish manga, manhwa, manhua, webcomics adaptations, and light novels[38]
Modern Library, publisher of American and international classics founded by
Random House Children's Books
Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, publisher of board books, picture books, novels and non-fiction
Bluefire, fantasy imprint for middle grade and young adult readers
Crown Books for Young Readers
Dragonfly, publishes paperback picture books
Ember, publishes young adult and middle grade trade paperbacks, such as titles by Judy Blume and Dana Reinhardt
Frederick Warne & Co., publishes children's books, such as titles by Beatrix Potter
Golden Books, picture book, novelty, and activity book publisher launched in 1900
Laurel-Leaf, publishes young adult literature in a mass-market format
Handling distribution and marketing for Shambhala Publications, Disney Publishing Worldwide (including National Geographic Books), Wizards of the Coast, Kodansha USA (including Vertical Inc.), New York Review Books, Titan Books, Other Press, North Atlantic Books, Blue Star Press, DC Comics, Seven Seas Entertainment, and Dark Horse Comics among others.
It also handles direct market distribution for Marvel Comics starting October 1, 2021,[55] direct market distribution for IDW Publishing starting June 1, 2022,[56] and direct market distribution for Dark Horse Comics starting June 1, 2023.[57]
Book Country was a subsidiary online writing and publishing community.[58] Book Country was launched in April 2011 with a focus on romance, mystery, science fiction, fantasy.On July 29, 2013, Book Country relaunched with online writing workshops in more than 60 literary categories, including literary fiction, memoir, and women's fiction.[59] As of September 2013, the site had more than 10,000 members.[60] As of May 2025, new members cannot register an account, and it appears that previously registered members can only access limited features.[61]
23.{{caselaw source | case = Hachette Book Group, Inc. v. Internet Archive | courtlistener = https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17211300/hachette-book-group-inc-v-internet-archive/ }}^
