Penguin Random House UKPenguin and Random House came together in 2013 to form the world’s

first truly global book publishing company.

“Our purpose is to capture the attention of the world for the stories, ideas and writing that matter.”

Random House UK History

1855Chatto & Windus is founded by bookseller-publisher John Camden Hotten. On Hotten’s death, Andrew Chatto, who had worked there since he was 15, acquires the business with a sleeping partner, W.E. Windus.

1887Hutchinson and The Bodley Head are founded.

1890William Heinemann is founded and publishes its first book - The Bondman by Hall Caine.

1917Hogarth Press is founded by Virginia and Leonard Woolf, and moves under the Chatto umbrella in 1945.1921Jonathan Cape founded.

1945Animal Farm first published by Secker & Warburg.

1960To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee first published in the UK by William Heinemann.

1969Chatto & Windus joins forces with Jonathan Cape then adds The Bodley Head and later Virago Press to the group.

1981Century Publishing is co-founded by Baroness Gail Rebuck, who is now Chair of Penguin Random House UK.

1989Random House Inc. acquires Century Hutchinson Ltd.

1990 Launch of Vintage, initially created to publish paperback editions.

1991Random House UK formed.

Penguin UK History 1915 The first Ladybird children's books published. Their low price and distinctive design are key selling points.

1935Allen Lane publishes the first Penguin books, realising his vision to make quality books available to all at low prices. The books cost sixpence and are colour-coded: orange for fiction, blue for biography and green for crime.The first batch includes books by Ernest Hemingway and Agatha Christie.

1936By March 1936 - 10 months after the company’s launch on 30 July 1935 - 1 million Penguin books have been printed.

1937Allen Lane launches a non-fiction imprint after overhearing someone at a King’s Cross station bookstall mistakenly ask for “one of those Pelican books”. The first Pelican book is George Bernard Shaw’s The Intelligent Woman’s Guide to Socialism, Capitalism, Sovietism and Fascism.

1940The first four Puffin Picture Books are published with the aim of helping evacuated city children adjust to life in the country. Titles such as War on Land are such a success that they are quickly followed by fiction. One title is Worzel Gummidge, which, like many of Puffin’s books, go on to become a popular TV programme.

1942Penguin sets up the Armed Forces Book Club, to bring entertainment and comfort to soldiers cut off from friends and family.1946 Launch of Penguin Classics with Homer’s The Odyssey, translated by E.V. Rieu, who becomes the first editor of the Penguin Classics list.

1964Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is published.

1995Penguin launches its first website (www.penguin.co.uk) and brings out Penguin 60s to celebrate the company’s 60th anniversary.

2008Penguin publishes its first-ever ebooks.

We seek out and champion diverse author voices and bring their stories to readers everywhere.

Our job is to lead the field, creating formats that bring ideas and stories to life in compelling and contemporary ways. From traditional printed books, ebooks and audio books to interactive apps, blockbuster films, TV shows, radio, theatre productions, live events and social media, the list is as vast as our imagination. Our books shape the broader cultural life of our society.

Penguin Random House is the place where people who love books, ideas and writing can do the best work of their lives.

Creativity drives everything we do. Whether it’s through the stories we publish or the way we do business; it

is at our heart.

“Our mission: to help close the creativity gap”

Creativity matters to society. Creative people invent, imagine, and solve problems, big and

small. It has the power to change the world.

We all need to be more and more creative to tackle the challenges posed by today’s

economy and society - at work, at school, at home and in our communities.

We don’t all have an equal opportunity to meet our creative potential. This is called the

creativity gap. The creativity gap exists because of inequality in the UK.

Our mission is to help close this gap.

Location “You’ll find publishing colleagues from Cornerstone Publishing, Ebury Publishing, and Vintage Publishing at our Vauxhall Bridge Road office.

In the 15th century, this area was called the Manor of Ebury, inspiring the publisher’s name. Today it’s a largely residential area with quiet leafy squares, independent cafes and Tate Britain just around the corner.”

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“We want to reflect everyone in our society, and to publish the stories which aren’t often told.”

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