Company articles
Getting published
How to write a romance novel
Vikki Moynes, commissioning editor at Viking, which is an imprint of Penguin General, works on commercial and upmarket fiction – from laugh-out-loud romcoms like Emily Henry’s Book Lovers to intoxicating, compulsive tales of deadly secrets like Heather Darwent’s The Things We Do To Our Friends.Here, she shares what she looks for in a romance novel, […]
How to write crime and thriller
Crime and thriller novels are some of the most exciting and multi-faceted books in publishing. Here, three editors from across Penguin break down the crime and thriller genre and give their top tips for writers looking to publish their novels. How can you tell if a book is crime or thriller? “The crime and thriller […]
Careers in publishing
What type of jobs are there in publishing?
It’s Work in Publishing Week, where we celebrate our colleagues and share all the brilliant and unexpected things that happen behind the book. Have you ever thought about the people who keep everything running at a publisher? They’re the ones who speak to retailers so you can buy your new favourite book in Waterstones, who oversee […]
Job roles in editorial
Want to be a key part of the publishing process, but unsure of the career journey? Or are you an aspiring author trying to get your head around the author-editor working relationship? Here, our editorial teams answer all your questions, with insights on their day-to-day work, responsibilities, and what skills they think are needed. Editorial […]
Job roles in audiobooks
Are you an audiobook lover keen to get into the publishing industry? Or an aspiring author figuring out where audiobooks fit into the publishing process? Here, our audio teams answer all your questions, with insights on their day-to-day work, responsibilities, and what skills they think are needed. Editorial The editorial team work alongside the studio […]
About us
‘WriteNow allowed my voice to be heard’: Our writers talk about what the programme has changed for them
Since WriteNow launched in 2016, over 450 writers have taken part in free workshops across the country to learn about the publishing process and receive one-on-one feedback from an editor. Of these, 30 writers have been selected to take part in a year-long editorial programme to work with a Penguin editor on their manuscript and get it ready for publication. We spoke to some of the writers on the programme about their experiences and what it had changed for them.
Penguin Random House UK donates its audiobook library to print disability charity Calibre Audio
Today Penguin Random House UK has launched a new charitable partnership with Calibre Audio, ensuring our entire audio back catalogue – around 6,000 titles – and future releases are freely available to Calibre’s members. Calibre Audio is the only national charity in the UK to provide a completely free for life audiobook service to anyone […]
Behind the scenes
How a book is turned into an audiobook
Technology has offered publishers many different ways to tell stories, present ideas and capture imaginations. While many readers love the feel (and even the smell!) of a physical book, others prefer the convenience of carrying a whole library on their Kindle or smartphone. And an increasing number of people are listening to audiobooks, which offer […]
How Neil Gower designed nearly every Bill Bryson book
Graphic artist Neil Gower was a guest judge for the Adult Non-Fiction category at the 2020 Student Design Awards. Having worked on designing the whole of Bill Bryson‘s backlist, Neil knows the relationship between the text and the visuals inside out. We spoke to him about how he created covers for nearly every Bill Bryson book. […]
Behind the book: Working on the marketing campaign for The Secret Commonwealth
The people who bring some of the biggest books of the year to life talk about what it’s like to work behind the scenes on getting them published and into the hands of readers. We hear from two of the team who worked on the launch of The Secret Commonwealth, the second volume in the Book of Dust series by Philip Pullman.