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© 2026 Authors Daily. Founded 2017.

Directory standings are editorial opinion formed against the evidence disclosed on each profile. Reviews are the words of the authors who wrote them.

Publisher Directory

Traditional · United States · founded 1927

Penguin Random House

Also trades, or has traded, as PRH, Random House, Penguin Group.

Company website

Directory standing

Recommended

Verified track record, transparent terms, consistently positive author reports.

Largest traditional trade book publisher in the world. Operates on a standard advance-plus-royalties traditional model with zero author fees and robust global trade distribution.

Set by Ruth Kelleher · 19 January 2025

Why this standing? 1 documented item+

Published terms20 Dec 2024
Penguin Random House Author Guidelines & Submissions
States full traditional publishing model with zero author fees at any stage.
SourceAdded by Ruth Kelleher

Penguin Random House has not responded+

We publish any response we receive, in full and unedited. Claim this profile to submit one.

Standing history (1)+

19 Jan 2025
ListedRecommended
Largest traditional trade book publisher in the world. Operates on a standard advance-plus-royalties traditional model with zero author fees and robust global trade distribution.
Ruth Kelleher

A standing is an editorial opinion formed by a named editor against the evidence disclosed on this page. It is not a statement of fact about the company and it is not derived from review scores. How standings are decided.

At a glance

Model: Traditional
Typical author cost: No author fees
Services: Editorial, Design, Worldwide Distribution, Publicity, Marketing
Royalty terms: Standard industry scale (10–15% hardcover, 7.5% paperback, 25% ebook)
Rights taken: World English, subrights optioned
Contract length: Life of copyright with standard out-of-print reversion clause
Exclusivity: Exclusive in licensed formats and territories
Genre focus: Fiction, Non-fiction, Biography, Children, YA

Recommended

1 documented item · 4 reviews

Why this standing?

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Author reviews

4.5

★★★★★4.5

4 reviews

2 verified

Distribution

52
42
30
20
10

4 recommend · 0 with reservations · 0 do not

By category

Communication: 4.0
Contract clarity: 4.5
Value for money: 4.0
Editing quality: 4.0
Design quality: 4.5
Distribution & reach: 3.5
Payment timeliness: 4.5

These scores are what authors reported. They are not the directory’s assessment and nothing here sets the standing above — how standings are decided.

SortMost recent Most helpful Highest Lowest

FilterVerified only Contracted Paid for services Submitted only Worked for them

4.0VerifiedContractedPaid No author fees
Solid distribution and design quality. They were transparent about costs and timelines upfront, which made working with them seamless. In my experience with Penguin Random House, they handled communication professionally and contract clarity was excellent.
Communication
4/5
Contract clarity
4/5
Value for money
3/5
Editing quality
3/5
Design quality
4/5
Distribution & reach
3/5
Payment timeliness
4/5
Anonymous author12 May 2025Worked with them Oct 2024 – Apr 2025Recommends: Yes0 found this helpful

★★★★★5.0VerifiedContractedPaid No author fees

Submitting to this press was a straightforward experience. The terms were published on their site, the contract matched what was promised, and royalty reports arrive quarterly as scheduled. In my experience with Penguin Random House, they handled communication professionally and contract clarity was excellent.

Communication: 5/5
Contract clarity: 5/5
Value for money: 5/5
Editing quality: 4/5
Design quality: 5/5
Distribution & reach: 4/5
Payment timeliness: 5/5

Aria Brooks08 Apr 2025Worked with them Sept 2024 – Mar 2025Recommends: Yes0 found this helpful