Penguin Random House LLC is an Anglo-American multinational conglomerate publishing company formed on July 1, 2013, from the merger of

Penguin Group Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initi ...

and Random House. On April 2, 2020, Bertelsmann announced the completion of its purchase of Penguin Random House, which had been announced in December 2019, by buying Pearson plc's 25% ownership of the company. With that purchase, Bertelsmann became the sole owner of Penguin Random House. Bertelsmann's German-language publishing group

Verlagsgruppe Random House Bertelsmann SE & Co. KGaA () is a German private multinational conglomerate corporation based in Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is one of the world's largest media conglomerates, and is also active in the service sector and e ...

will be completely integrated into Penguin Random House, adding 45 imprints to the company, for a total of 365 imprints. Penguin Random House Tower New York 2005

Penguin Random House Tower New York 2005

As of 2021, Penguin Random House employed about 10,000 people globally and published 15,000 titles annually under its 250 divisions and imprints. These titles include fiction and nonfiction for adults and children in both print and digital. Penguin Random House comprises Penguin and Random House in the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Portugal, and India; Penguin in Brazil, Asia and South Africa; Dorling Kindersley worldwide; and Random House's companies in Spain, Hispanic America, and Germany. On November 25, 2020, ''The New York Times'' reported that Penguin Random House was planning to purchase

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest pu ...

from Paramount Global for $2.175 billion. 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. The deal formally collapsed on November 22, 2022.

History

Penguin Random House was founded 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

. Bertelsmann and Pearson, the parent companies, initially owned 53% and 47%, respectively. Jane Ciabattari of Library Journal has referred to this merger as the publishing industry's response to the increasing dominance of

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential econo ...

in the book market. Markus Dohle was named CEO of the new company, which had more than 10,000 employees worldwide with 250 imprints and publishing houses and a publishing list of more than 15,000 new titles a year. Penguin Random House relaunched Book Country, Penguin's online writing community, on July 29, 2013. On September 24, 2014,

Random House Studio Random House Studio is a production company responsible for adapting books published by Penguin Random House to film and TV. The company, originally owned by Penguin Random House, was transferred to Bertelsmann sister company Fremantle North Ame ...

signed a first-look production deal with

Universal Pictures Universal Pictures (legally Universal City Studios LLC, also known as Universal Studios, or simply Universal; common metonym: Uni, and formerly named Universal Film Manufacturing Company and Universal-International Pictures Inc.) is an Ameri ...

, 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. Having previously created

Puffin Rock ''Puffin Rock'' is an Irish children's television series. Based on Puffin Island, situated off the Irish coast, the series follows a young puffin named Oona and her little brother Baba as they explore their world. The program is narrated by Ch ...

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. In November 2015, Pearson announced it would rebrand to focus on its education division. On July 11, 2017, Pearson sold a 22% stake in the business to Bertelsmann, thereby retaining a 25% holding. On December 18, 2019, Bertelsmann agreed to acquire Pearson's 25% stake in Penguin Random House, making it a wholly owned subsidiary of Bertelsmann. The sale was completed on April 2, 2020. In June 2020, Penguin Random House was one of a group of publishers who sued the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

, arguing that its collection of e-books was denying authors and publishers revenue and accusing the library of "willful mass copyright infringement". On November 25, 2020, Penguin Random House agreed to purchase American publisher

from

ViacomCBS Paramount Global (doing business as Paramount) is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate owned and operated by National Amusements (79.4%) and headquartered at One Astor Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York. It ...

for $2.175 billion. A formal regulatory approval process will follow the purchase agreement. On November 2, 2021, the

US Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

filed a civil antitrust lawsuit to block Penguin Random House's proposed acquisition of Simon & Schuster. The lawsuit alleges that the acquisition would create a publisher with too much influence over books and author payments. On November 21, 2022, Penguin Random House decided to scrap the whole deal. As a result, it will have to pay a $200m termination fee to Paramount, a mother company of Simon & Schuster.

Divisions and imprints

DK

DK (Dorling Kindersley) was founded in London in 1974 and is a reference publisher focusing on non-fiction for adults and children. * Alpha, publishes ''

Complete Idiot's Guides The ''Complete Idiot's Guides'' is a product line of how-to and other reference books published by Dorling Kindersley (DK). The books in this series provide a basic understanding of a complex and popular topics. The term "idiot" is used as hyperb ...

'' As of 2015, DK also has official publishing relationships with ''

Angry Birds ''Angry Birds'' is a Finnish action-based media franchise created by Rovio Entertainment. The game series focuses on the eponymous flock of angry birds who try to save their eggs from green-colored pigs. Inspired by the game ''Crush the Castl ...

'', Lego,

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics * ...

, '' Star Wars'', and Disney.

Crown Publishing Group

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. In 2018, Crown was combined with the main Random House Publishing Group. * 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 * Crown Business, publishes business-related content * Crown Forum, publishes political discourse *

Harmony Books Harmony Books is an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, itself part of publisher Penguin Random House. It was founded by Bruce Harris, a Crown executive, in 1972. The imprint has been used for such books as: * Jill Freedman, ''Circus Days'' ...

, publishes self-help 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 The Crown Publishing Group is a subsidiary of Penguin Random House that publishes across several fiction and non-fiction categories. Originally founded in 1933 as a remaindered books wholesaler called Outlet Book Company, the firm expanded int ...

* Ten Speed Press, joined Crown in 2009 as a West Coast publisher of nonfiction and gift titles * Tim Duggan Books, founded in 2014 *

Watson-Guptill Watson-Guptill is an American publisher of instructional books in the arts. The company was founded in 1937 by Ernest Watson, Ralph Reinhold, and Arthur L. Guptill. They also published the magazine ''American Artist''. Their headquarters are at 17 ...

, publishes illustrated art books as part of Ten Speed Press

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 Award The National Book Awards are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. The Nat ...

s. * 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 Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was purchased by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random ...

, 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 * Nan A. Talese, literary imprint formed in 1990 to house authors published by editor Nan A. Talese *

Everyman's Library Everyman's Library is a series of reprints of classic literature, primarily from the Western canon. It is currently published in hardback by Random House. It was originally an imprint of J. M. Dent (itself later a division of Weidenfeld & N ...

, a series of reprinted classic literature currently published in hardback

Penguin Publishing Group

* Avery, publisher of nonfiction and lifestyle books founded in 1974 *

Berkley Publishing Group Berkley Books is an imprint of the Penguin Group. History Berkley Books began as an independent company in 1955. It was founded as "Chic News Company" by Charles Byrne and Frederick Klein, who had worked for Avon; they quickly renamed it Berkl ...

New American Library The New American Library (also known as NAL) is an American publisher based in New York, founded in 1948. Its initial focus was affordable paperback reprints of classics and scholarly works as well as popular and pulp fiction, but it now publish ...

, contain several imprints including

Jove Jupiter ( la, Iūpiter or , from Proto-Italic "day, sky" + "father", thus " sky father" Greek: Δίας or Ζεύς), also known as Jove ( gen. ''Iovis'' ), is the god of the sky and thunder, and king of the gods in ancient Roman religio ...

, Signet,

Ace An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the c ...

, 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 ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...

publishing *

Portfolio Portfolio may refer to: Objects * Portfolio (briefcase), a type of briefcase Collections * Portfolio (finance), a collection of assets held by an institution or a private individual * Artist's portfolio, a sample of an artist's work or a c ...

, founded in 2001 as a business imprint * Riverhead, publisher of literary fiction and non-fiction founded in 1994 * Sentinel, founded in 2003 as a conservative imprint *

Tarcher TarcherPerigee is a book publisher and imprint of Penguin Group focused primarily on mind, body and spiritualism titles, founded in 1973 by Jeremy P. Tarcher in Los Angeles. (Tarcher was notably married to ventriloquist Shari Lewis, and his sis ...

Perigee, publisher of mind, body, and spiritualism titles * Viking Press, founded in 1925 and publishes both fiction and non-fiction titles

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 Peter Rabbit is a fictional animal character in various children's stories by English author Beatrix Potter. A mischievous, adventurous young rabbit who wears a blue jacket, he first appeared in ''The Tale of Peter Rabbit'' in 1902, and subs ...

* 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 Mad Libs is a phrasal template word game created by Leonard Stern and Roger Price. It consists of one player prompting others for a list of words to substitute for blanks in a story before reading aloud. The game is frequently played as a par ...

books in the 1960s, expanded to publish additional children's, novelty, and humor titles *

Puffin Books Puffin Books is a longstanding children's imprint of the British publishers Penguin Books. Since the 1960s, it has been among the largest publishers of children's books in the UK and much of the English-speaking world. The imprint now belongs t ...

, publishes books for young readers in various formats * Razorbill, publishes middle grade and young adult books * Speak, launched in 2002 to publish classic and new young adult fiction *

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

, publishes books for young readers

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 *

Delacorte Press Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and so ...

, 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 Del Rey Books is a branch of Ballantine Books, which is owned by Random House and, in turn, by Penguin Random House. It is a separate imprint established in 1977 under the editorship of author Lester del Rey and his wife Judy-Lynn del Rey. It ...

, branch of Ballantine Books that focuses on science fiction and fantasy titles * The Dial Press, literary publisher * Modern Library, publisher of American and international classics founded by

Boni & Liveright Boni & Liveright (pronounced "BONE-eye" and "LIV-right") is an American trade book publisher established in 1917 in New York City by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright. Over the next sixteen years the firm, which changed its name to Horace Live ...

* Random House, originally founded in 1927 by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer, and publishes fiction * Heyne Publishing, a German fiction Publisher for mass-market * Spiegel & Grau * Sugar23 Books, fiction and non-fiction * Alibi, Flirt, Hydra, and Loveswept, publish e-originals in genre fiction

Random House Children's Books

* Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, publisher of

board book Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, a ...

s, 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 *

Golden Books *Western Publishing (1907−2001) — , magazines, and {{C, Children's book publishers, children's books publisher, formerly based in Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Racine County, Wisconsin, United States. It is ...

, picture book, novelty, and activity book publisher launched in 1900 * Laurel-Leaf, publishes young adult literature in a mass-market format * Little Tiger Press, British publisher * The Princeton Review, publishes print and digital test prep materials * Random House Books for Young Readers, publisher of

Dr. Seuss Theodor Seuss Geisel (;"Seuss"
'' Babar, Magic Tree House series, Junie B. Jones, and Step into Reading * Random House Graphic, launched in 2018, publishes graphic novels * Schwartz and Wade, launched in 2005 and directed by Anne Schwartz and Lee Wade *

Sylvan Learning Sylvan Learning, Inc. (formerly Sylvan Learning Corporation) consists of franchised and corporate supplemental learning centers which provide personalized instruction in reading, writing, mathematics, study skills, homework support, and test pre ...

, publishes workbooks and study aids. * Yearling Books, publishes middle grade paperbacks * Wendy Lamb Books, publisher of middle-grade and young adult fiction launched in 2002

Penguin Random House Digital Publishing Group

* Random House Puzzles & Games *

Sasquatch Books Sasquatch Books is an American book publishing company based in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1986 by David Brewster of the '' Seattle Weekly'' and primarily publishes nonfiction books about the western United States and Canada and cover ...

* Audiobooks ** Books on Tape ** Listening Library ** Penguin Audio ** Random House Audio * Reference ** Random House Reference

Penguin Random House International

Companhia das Letras Companhia das Letras is the largest publishing house in São Paulo, Brazil. It was founded by Luiz Schwarcz and his wife Lilia Moritz Schwarcz in 1986. Companhia das Letras began as a literary publishing house and gradually grew into 17 independen ...

(70% Brazil) ** Alfaguara ** Objetiva ** Suma de Letras ** Zahar * Penguin Random House Australia * Penguin Random House Group (UK) * Penguin Random House Grupo Editorial (Spain/Portugal/Latin America) ** Alfaguara **

Ediciones B Ediciones B is a Spanish publisher, which currently operates as a division of Penguin Random House. Ediciones B is headquartered in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain; with branches throughout Latin America. It was established in 1986, but has its origin ...

Editorial Bruguera Ediciones B is a Spanish publisher, which currently operates as a division of Penguin Random House. Ediciones B is headquartered in Madrid and Barcelona, Spain; with branches throughout Latin America. It was established in 1986, but has its origin ...

** Plaza & Janés ** Santillana Ediciones Generales * Penguin Random House India ** Duckbill Books * Penguin Random House New Zealand * Penguin Random House Canada * Penguin Random House Struik (South Africa) * Transworld Ireland * Verlagsgruppe Penguin Random House (Germany)

Penguin Random House Publisher Services

Handling distribution and marketing for

Shambhala Publications Shambhala Publications is an independent publishing company based in Boulder, Colorado. According to the company, it specializes in "books that present creative and conscious ways of transforming the individual, the society, and the planet". Man ...

, National Geographic Books,

Wizards of the Coast Wizards of the Coast LLC (often referred to as WotC or simply Wizards) is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games. It is currently a subsidia ...

Kodansha USA Kodansha USA Publishing, LLC is a publishing company based in New York, USA, and a subsidiary of Japan's largest publishing company Kodansha. Established in July 2008, Kodansha USA publishes books relating to Japan, Japanese culture, and manga, ...

(including Vertical Inc.),

New York Review Books New York Review Books (NYRB) is the publishing division of ''The New York Review of Books''. Its imprints are New York Review Books Classics, New York Review Books Collections, The New York Review Children's Collection, New York Review Comics, Ne ...

, Titan Books,

Other Press Other Press is an independent publisher of literary fiction and nonfiction, based in New York City. Founded in 1998 to publish academic and psychoanalytic titles, Other Press has since expanded to publish novels, short stories, nonfiction, poetr ...

North Atlantic Books North Atlantic Books is a non-profit, independent publisher based in Berkeley, California, United States. Distributed by Penguin Random House Publisher Services, North Atlantic Books is a mission-driven social justice-oriented publisher. Founded ...

, Blue Star Press,

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

, and Dark Horse Comics among others. It also handles direct market distribution for

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

starting October 1, 2021 and direct market distributution for IDW Publishing starting June 1, 2022.

Ebury Publishing

BBC Books BBC Books (also formerly known as BBC Publishing) is an imprint majority-owned and managed by Penguin Random House through its Ebury Publishing division. The minority shareholder is BBC Studios, the commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasti ...

* Ebury Press * Rider * Time Out * Virgin Books * Vermilion

Subsidiaries

Book Country

Book Country was a subsidiary online writing and publishing community. 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 over sixty literary categories, including

literary fiction Literary fiction, mainstream fiction, non-genre fiction or serious fiction is a label that, in the book trade, refers to market novels that do not fit neatly into an established genre (see genre fiction); or, otherwise, refers to novels that are ch ...

, memoir, and

women's fiction Women's fiction is an umbrella term for women centered books that focus on women's life experience that are marketed to female readers, and includes many mainstream novels or women's rights books. It is distinct from women's writing, which refers ...

. As of September 2013, the site had over 10,000 members. As of November 2020 the site is no longer operational.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Book publishing company imprints Book publishing companies based in New York (state) Publishing companies based in New York City Publishing companies established in 2013 2013 establishments in New York City Bertelsmann subsidiaries American subsidiaries of foreign companies