Brendan Slocumb discusses his novel The Violin Conspiracy

Fresh off his appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America as the February Book Club selection, Brendan Slocumb recently returned to his childhood home of rural North Carolina to discuss his debut novel The Violin Conspiracy, which tells the story of Ray McMillian, who is determined to become a world-class professional violinist. When his great-great-grandfather’s priceless

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In Memoriam: Dr. Paul Farmer, Subject of Tracy Kidder’s Mountains Beyond Mountains (1959–2022)

Dr. Paul Farmer, medical anthropologist, physician, and professor at Harvard Medical School, passed away on February 21, 2022, in Butaro, Rwanda. Dr. Farmer was the subject of Tracy Kidder’s 2003 book Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World. The book is an account of the difference

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Tara Westover’s Special Message to Students (Educated, Now Available in Paperback)

Educated, now available in paperback, is an unforgettable memoir about a young woman who, kept out of school, leaves her survivalist family and goes on to earn a PhD from Cambridge University. One of the most acclaimed books of our time, it has been taught in classrooms across the country and been selected for common

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Salt in My Soul: Watch the Documentary Based on the Book, Available to Stream January 25

Salt in My Soul is Mallory Smith’s posthumously published memoir, the collected diaries of a remarkable young woman who was determined to live a meaningful and happy life despite her struggle with cystic fibrosis and a rare superbug—from age 15 to her death at the age of 25. Mallory’s story of resilience has resonated in classrooms across

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How DK’s English for Everyone Has Led ELLs to Proficiency

English for Everyone is a smart, simple, and highly visual language course designed to help anyone of any starting level to learn English. Though originally created for learners self-studying at home, ESL teacher Katherine Fedor of Virginia Beach City Public Schools has seen great success in using the series as a classroom resource for children

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The New York Public Library’s Best Books of 2021

The New York Public Library has announced their Best Books of 2021. This is their annual recommendations for kids, teens, and adults, all curated by expert librarians. The titles that made the lists encompass fiction, nonfiction, graphic novels, poetry, kids’ books in Spanish, and much more. All of these books are available in the Library’s

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Now on Netflix: The Film Adaptation of Jennifer Clement’s Prayers for the Stolen

Inspired by Jennifer Clement’s novel of the same name, Prayers for the Stolen is a new film available on Netflix and is Mexico’s official submission for International Feature Film at the 94th Academy Awards. Watch the official trailer:   An illuminating and affecting portrait of women in rural Mexico, and a stunning exploration of the

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NOW AVAILABLE: Books from The 1619 Project

The 1619 Project is The New York Times Magazine’s award-winning reframing of American history that placed slavery and its continuing legacy at the center of our national narrative. The project, which was initially launched in August of 2019, offered a revealing new origin story for the United States, one that helped explain not only the persistence of

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Penguin Random House Education Announces #DisruptTexts and Penguin Classics Partnership

(November 2, 2021)—In honor of their 75th anniversary, Penguin Classics has partnered with #DisruptTexts, a renowned education organization that works to create a more inclusive, representative and equitable language arts curriculum for K-12 students. Facilitated by Penguin Random House (PRH) Education, this partnership includes a number of new initiatives focused on connecting with, and supporting,

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Reading A DROP OF PATIENCE Through a Blind-Culture Lens

Written by By M. Leona Godin, author of There Plant Eyes: A Personal and Cultural History of Blindness   In William Melvin Kelley’s A Drop of Patience, we follow the life of a young Black musician named Ludlow Washington, who is placed in a school for the blind when he is five and remains there until he is

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PRH Partners with Amanda Gorman to Launch The Amanda Gorman Award for Poetry

Penguin Random House has partnered with Amanda Gorman, the youngest inaugural poet in U.S. history, to launch The Amanda Gorman Award for Poetry, a new creative writing award for poetry for public high school students. The award will recognize a student for an original literary composition in English for poetry with a first-place prize of

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