In his annual year-end letter to staff, Penguin Random House CEO Markus Dohle cited the success of Michele Obama’s Becoming, a long list of literary awards, and best book citations and the continued global growth of audiobook sales has 2018 highlights.
Even given the successes, Dohle wrote that "2018 was not easy year in his address to PRH employees around the world. “But it was your unwavering commitment and dedication to our publishing; our collective, abiding belief in the power of words, stories, and ideas; and our responsibility as corporate citizens that resulted in continued success for Penguin Random House.
Calling Becoming “powerful and inspiring,” Dohle praised the work of the Crown publishing team in the book’s worldwide success: Becoming has more than 5 million copies in print since it was released in early November.
The letter goes on to cite Sigrid Nunez’s The Friend, which won the National Book Award for fiction, and Michael Ondaatje’s The English Patient, winner of the Golden Man Booker Prize, in addition to host of critical acclaim for PRH titles.
“Worldwide, our books are being selected in abundance for the critics’ ‘year’s best’ lists,” Dohle writes, pointing to 40 books named notable titles in 2018. Dohle also noted “significant growth in our audio programs; increased revenues globally; [and we] welcomed several publishing houses into our family of imprints in the U.S., India, Brazil, and Germany.”
