FAQs

Q. Where can I find contact information for Penguin Random House Offices?

A. Contact details for each of our UK sites can be found here.

Contact information for Penguin Random House Offices around the world can be found on the Penguin Random House global website.

Q. Are you the same as Penguin Random House in New York?

A. We are Penguin Random House UK and, like our sister company in New York, we are a Penguin Random House Company.

We are independent companies which come together on many projects but also have our own unique publishing lists. We do not necessarily publish the same books as Penguin Random House LLC.

For a list of all Penguin Random House companies click here.

Q. How do I contact Customer Services?

General customers email: customersupport@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk

Trade enquiries email: uktrademgmt@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk

Promotional and incentive enquiries email: salesenquiries@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk

International sales and export enquiries email: penguinexport@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk

Q. There is an error in my book or ebook; who can I contact?

A. For physical books it is best if you return the book to the original bookshop from which it was purchased; they should be happy to exchange it for a perfect copy. If you have any difficulty with this then please return the cover and title page of the book to us. NB: If the value of the book is over £20, you will need to return the whole book. Please email customersupport@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk for details, or mswinge@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk if your mailing address is outside the UK.

For our ebooks, please email customersupport@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk with details of the issue — please be sure to also include your device (Kindle, iPad, Mac, Windows, for example) and reading app, as well as any other pertinent details.

Q. How do I find author readings, signings, or speaking events?

A. See here.

Q. How can I contact an author?

A. We cannot give out personal mail or email addresses for our authors. However, all author mail is forwarded directly to our authors via our publicity departments.

For Penguin General, Penguin Press, Ebury or Cornerstone authors:

[Insert Author's Name] c/o [Insert Imprint or Publisher Name] Publicity Department

20 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, SW1V 2SA

For Penguin Random House Children’s, Transworld, Michael Joseph or Vintage authors:

[Insert Author's Name] c/o [Insert Imprint or Publisher Name] Publicity

One Embassy Gardens, 8 Viaduct Gardens, London, SW11 7BW

Q. How can I find a book that is no longer in print?

If you are looking for a title which is now out-of-print, try an out-of-print finding service such as Abe Books, Book Finder or Zardoz.

If you wish to purchase bulk quantities of books currently out of print, please contact penguinorders@tbs-ltd.co.uk.

Q. I am a publisher and would like to speak to you about your distribution services

A. If you wish to contact us about our third-party services please email businessdevelopment@tbs-ltd.co.uk or call us on 01206 255600.

Q. I am an independent bookshop and would like to contact the Regional Sales Team

We work with independent bookshops across the UK through our Regional Sales Team. Find out more on our Sales & Distribution page or contact Elspeth Dougall, Head of Sales Independents and Wholesalers: Edougall@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk.

Q. I am an existing trade customer publisher and would like to check on the status of my order

A. Trade customers can query their order status and title availability with TBS and Grantham through PubEasy.

Q. Where can I get read your latest catalogues?

A. All of our latest catalogues are available to download on our catalogues page.

Q. How can I find out about acquiring rights and permissions?

A. See our rights and permissions page.

Q How can I get published?

A. Almost everything that we publish is acquired through recognised literary agents so we strongly suggest that you seek representation.  The best starting point is the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook which contains addresses of all the UK literary agents.

The submission requirement for agents varies greatly, so we strongly recommend that you check the criteria on their website and adhere to the terms. If you are submitting texts, an agent will often only ask for a sample of your writing in the first instance, but if they like it they will call in the complete manuscript, so we recommend that you don’t start this process until your book is finished and you believe the whole work is ready for professional consideration. Most agents will ask you to submit your manuscript digitally.

You may also find The Literary Consultancy or The Writers’ Workshop useful for advice and manuscript assessment.

The Book Trust have details of courses and competitions as well as tips for submitting your manuscript and getting published.

For more information on being published by Penguin Random House UK visit our Authors pages.

Q. Do you have any advice for writers of Children's Books?

A. Almost everything that we publish is acquired through recognised literary or illustration agents, so we strongly suggest that you seek representation The best starting point is the Children's Writers' and Artists' Yearbook, which is available in libraries and bookshops.

The submission requirement for agents varies greatly, so we strongly recommend that you check the criteria on their website and adhere to the terms. If you are submitting texts, an agent will often only ask for a sample of your writing in the first instance, but if they like it they will call in the complete manuscript, so we recommend that you don’t start this process until your book is finished and you believe the whole work is ready for professional consideration. Most agents will ask you to submit your manuscript digitally. If you are submitting artwork, illustration agencies usually ask for a selection of low-res jpeg samples, but again do check company websites for more specific details.

Another useful source of information is the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.

For young aspiring writers, www.youngwriters.co.uk is a good starting point for tips and competitions.

For more information on being published by Penguin Random House UK visit our Authors pages.

Q. I would like to submit my poetry for consideration. How do I do this?

A.  Our poetry lists (Jonathan Cape and Penguin Press) are small - publishing 4-5 books a year per list - and can currently only consider English-language collections. Prior to submission, it is crucial that writers make themselves familiar with the kind of work published by Cape, and that they then follow the guidelines laid down in The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook. All submitted work should be typed and must be accompanied by a covering letter and sufficient return postage. Reading time is 4-12 weeks however, in some circumstances it can take up to  16 weeks.

Q. I have a media enquiry about a book or want to request a review copy, who do I contact?

A.  If you are a journalist and require some specific information please contact appropriate publisher’s publicity department which can be found here. Make sure to search for the book first to find out the correct publicity department to contact. To do this, check the imprint on the book page and make sure you're contacting the right publishing department by reading the descriptions - e.g. for a book published by Arrow, contact Cornerstone publicity contacts.

Q. Where can I get read your latest catalogues?

A. All of our latest catalogues are available to download on our catalogues page.

Q. How can I find out about acquiring permissions for an image?

A. See our rights and permissions page.

Q. How do I get added to your mailing list?

A. Contact our publicity departments to be added to their mailing lists.

Q. How do I apply for a job with Penguin Random House UK?

A. To see all of our current vacancies within the UK and how to apply, please visit: http://www.penguinrandomhousecareers.co.uk

Speculative enquiries won’t help you get a position with us, so please only apply for a specific vacancy.

Q. How do I apply for an internship with Penguin Random House UK?

A. We run a series of paid summer internships each year across the business. This programme gives our interns a meaningful experience when they are here, working on a specific project in one of our business areas, which will vary year to year. Find out more on our careers site.

Q. How do I apply for work experience with Penguin Random House UK?

A. We run a paid year-round work experience programme that offers placements up to a maximum period of 2 weeks, across the business, primarily in our sites based in Pimlico, and Embassy Gardens, Vauxhall. For more information, see our careers site.

Q. How do I find out about classroom resources, competitions and news about books from Penguin Random House UK Children’s?

A. Penguin Schools is a dedicated channel for teachers and librarians. Penguin Schools shares the latest news on books by much loved children’s authors, exciting competitions for schools and libraries and free classroom resources.  This includes Puffin Virtually Live, a series of online shows for schools starring the world’s biggest children’s authors and illustrators.

Download free classroom resources at http://bit.ly/PenguinResources

Register for Puffin Virtually Live and watch previous shows on demand at http://www.puffinvirtuallylive.co.uk/

Follow Penguin Schools on Twitter @PenguinSchools

Like Penguin Schools on Facebook at www.facebook.com/PenguinSchools

Join the Penguin Schools newsletter mailing list by sending your details to penguinschools@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk

Q. How can I arrange an author visit?

A. A number of our authors are available to appear at festivals and events. To discuss details further please contact the relevant Publicity department.

For children's authors to visit your school please write to your preferred author/illustrator at the following address:

Name of author/illustrator

c/o  Publicity Department

Penguin Random House Children’s

One Embassy Gardens 

8 Viaduct Gardens

London

SW11 7BW

You may also be interested in Puffin Virtually Live - a series of free interactive webcasts from Puffin's bestselling authors. Find details of forthcoming webcasts and watch previous webcasts on-demand.

Although we will forward your letter we cannot supply authors' addresses for privacy reasons. Similarly we are unable to act as booking agents for events; any arrangements for school/library events are made entirely between yourselves and the author/illustrator concerned.

Q. How do I request reproduction rights for a portion of a Penguin Random House book for classroom use?

A. Most books can be copied for use in a UK school, college or university under the Copyright Licensing Agency (CLA) Licence.

For more information visit www.cla.co.uk 

Q. How do I request an academic inspection copy?

A. For answers to any academic questions, please contact academic@penguinrandomhouse.co.uk