Here is a brief description of the departments within Penguin Random House.
Art & Design
Designing books is a collaborative effort. The Design staff reviews the book and meets with the Editor and Marketing department to create a visual package that will both represent the book's essence and attract the target audience.
Audio
Penguin Random House Audio works alongside dedicated Editorial, Operations, Marketing and Publicity teams to produce audiobooks across the company and beyond. Our GRAMMY® Award-winning production team works with authors to cast narrators and record 2,000 projects annually.
Learn about the process of creating an audiobook.
Contracts
The Contracts department manages the process of drafting author and illustrator contracts, which covers all products for which the company acquires rights. They negotiate the fine points with the author and/or agent, and communicate with various internal departments about the details of the contract that may affect their business or authors.
Digital Production
Our Digital Production team develops all eBook formats, including those with fixed layouts and those with multimedia enhancements. They collaborate with vendors, convert titles into different formats, and make corrections to existing eBook files.
Editorial
Once a book is acquired, an Editor works with the author to turn the manuscript into a finished book. They negotiate contracts, edit the books for content and structure, and collaborate with internal departments on how to package, market, and publicize the book.
Hear from an Editorial Assistant.
Finance
Finance is involved with everything that has a financial impact on the company, including sales forecasting, cost of goods, production, inventory, and the balance sheet for a book, imprint, or division. Finance liaises with every other department regarding corporate perspective, policies, and systems.
Human Resources
Human Resources partners with all divisions and departments to ensure the health and well-being of their employees through benefits administration, rewards and recognition, the facilitation of company-wide events, the recruitment of new hires, and the career development of current employees. They also act as a liaison between the employee and the employer.
Information Technology (IT)
Penguin Random House depends on technology for virtually every aspect of the company. Our IT professionals build and support the applications, infrastructure, and networks that empower the business. We value talent who work in an agile environment and are invested in supporting a culture of entrepreneurship.
Managing Editorial & Production Editorial
These departments are responsible for the in-house editorial process of turning manuscripts into bound books after acquisition. This process includes maintaining and modifying the production schedules, hiring and overseeing the work of freelancers (typesetters, copy editors, proofreaders), and proofreading, and routing jackets and manuscripts.
Marketing
Marketing touches all aspects of publishing and bookselling. The Marketing department develops and implements creative campaigns, including advertising, social media, and bookstore displays. Marketers work closely with Sales to learn about the market to promote books and writers.
Hear from the Director of Multicultural Marketing.
Production
The Production department oversees the pre-press and manufacturing process from manuscript to bound book. The team works with outside printers, book manufacturers, and other vendors to produce our books within the desired timeframe and budget.
Publicity
Publicity professionals generate exposure and “buzz” for new books. Publicists pitch to newspapers, television, radio stations, websites, and bloggers to review our titles and feature stories about forthcoming books and authors. Publicists also help create social media outreach, author tours, author signings, readings, and other events.
Publishing Operations
The groups within Publishing Operations secure raw materials for printing traditional books, manage relationships with key vendors to ensure that our books are high quality and produced on schedule, and forecast inventory levels to determine when books need reprinting.
Sales
The Sales team works with booksellers, teachers, and librarians so that our books are available to readers in brick and mortar shops, online retailers, schools, and libraries. Sales teams also ensure that our books are well displayed, merchandised, and promoted.
Acquire career insights from our SVP, Sales Development.
Subsidiary Rights
The Subsidiary Rights departments for each of our publishing divisions handle the licensing of any rights of the original book in both domestic and foreign markets. Translations, magazine excerpts, audio editions, and book club inclusions are some examples of subrights. Their primary responsibility is to negotiate contracts with licensees to maximize revenue and publishing opportunities for the author and the company.
Warehouse
Penguin Random House is the premier provider of distribution services in the publishing industry. Our state-of-the-art national fulfillment centers are located in Crawfordsville (Indiana), Reno (Nevada), and Hampstead, Eldersburg, and Westminster (Maryland). These fulfillment centers receive, store, pick, pack, and ship out on average more than 1.8 million books daily to customers worldwide.
