Penguin Random House

Jokes circulated online when, in 2013, Penguin and Random House merged: would the new mega-publisher, which became the world's biggest trade publishing group, be known as Random Penguin? Penguin House?  Read more

The Authors Guild, along with five other writers' groups and the nonprofit Open Markets Institute, has sent a letter to the Department of Justice asking the government to block Penguin Random House's pending acquisition of Simon & Schuster.  Read more

Penguin Random House parent company Bertelsmann has confirmed that it is interested in acquiring Simon & Schuster once ViacomCBS begins to again actively shop the country's third largest trade publishing house after the pandemic fades Shortly after Viacom and CBS merged, the newly-formed company placed S&S on the sales block.

Experienced authors tend to chastise vanity press victims for not doing sufficient research, but the murky web of vanity partnerships - and the uncritical coverage which invariably accompanies same - makes it difficult for newer writers to chart a safe path.  Read more

Al-Khalili's book is one of three Ladybird Expert titles published so far this year. It joins Evolution, by geneticist Steve Jones, and Climate Change, by Prince Charles, Tony Juniper and Emily Shuckburgh, in the newest iteration of one of the most lucrative publishing wheezes of the decade - to recreate the children's books for adults.  Read more