Random House, Inc.

File:Random House Corporate Logo 2011.jpg
Type	Division of Bertelsmann
Industry	Books, Publishing
Founded	1925
Founder(s)	Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer
Headquarters	Random House Tower, New York City, NY, USA
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Markus Dohle (Chairman & CEO, Random House Worldwide/Random House, Inc.) Núria Cabutí (CEO, Random House Mondadori) Anne Davis (Executive Vice President & CFO, Random House Worldwide) Brad Martin (President & CEO, Random House of Canada) Dr. Frank Sambeth (Chairman & CEO, Verlagsgruppe Random House) Gail Rebuck (Chairman & CEO, The Random House Group) Frank Steinert (Executive Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer, Random House Worldwide)
Products	Books
Revenue	€1.828 billion Euros (2010)
Owner(s)	Bertelsmann
Employees	5,262 (as of December 31, 2010)
Website	www.randomhouse.com

Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films, of which the most recent release was One Day. The company is also currently developing a division responsible for creating story content for media including video games, social networks on the web, mobile platforms, in print and on film.^[1] Random House is considered one of the "Big Six" publishing companies, along with Hachette, Macmillan, Penguin, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster^[2].

Random House, U.S.A.[link]

Random House Tower headquarters, New York City

Random House was founded in 1927 by Americans Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer, two years after they acquired the Modern Library imprint. Cerf is quoted as saying, "We just said we were going to publish a few books on the side at random," which suggested the name Random House.^[3]

Its American divisions currently include the Crown Publishing Group, the Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, the Random House Publishing Group, and Random House Children's Books.

Random House entered reference publishing in 1947 with the American College Dictionary, which was followed in 1966 by its first unabridged dictionary. Today it publishes the Random House Dictionary of the English Language and Random House Webster's College dictionaries, probably the main competitors for Merriam-Webster reference titles.

The American publishers Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. and Pantheon Books were acquired by Random House in 1960 and 1961, respectively; works continue to be published under these imprints with editorial independence, such as Everyman's Library, a series of classical literature reprints. Random House has been the distributor for Shambhala Publications since 1974. They also currently distribute Rizzoli Books, National Geographic Books, Steerforth Press, Wizards of the Coast, Vertical Inc., Welcome Books, New York Review of Books, Titan Books, Other Press, Kodansha Manga, Hatherleigh Press, North Atlantic Books, Monacelli Press Books, and DC Comics. In 1998, Bertelsmann AG bought Random House and it soon went global.^[4]

The publisher's main U.S. office is located at 1745 Broadway in Manhattan, in the 684-foot Random House Tower, completed in 2003 and spanning the entire west side of the block between West 55th Street and west 56th. Its lobby showcases floor-to-ceiling glassed-in bookcases filled with books published by the company's many imprints. Earlier addresses were 457 Madison Ave., New York 22, N.Y.; 20 East 57th St., New York 22, N.Y.; and 201 East 50th St, New York, NY 10022.

International Branches[link]

Random House, Inc. maintains several independently managed subsidiaries around the world.

The Random House Group is one of the largest general book publishing companies in the UK and is based in London. The Group comprises five publishing companies: Cornerstone Publishing, Vintage Publishing, Ebury Publishing, Random House Children's Books and Transworld Publishers, boasting more than 40 diverse and highly respected imprints. Its distribution business services its own imprints as well as 60 other UK publishers. The Random House archive and library is located in Rushden in Northamptonshire.

The Random House Group also operates branches in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa (as a joint venture under the name Random House Struik), and India as part of its overseas structure. In Australia offices are in Sydney and Melbourne.^[5] In New Zealand it is based in Glenfield, Auckland, while Random House's Indian headquarters are located in New Delhi.

Verlagsgruppe Random House was established after Bertelsmann's 1998 acquisition of Random House, grouping its German imprints (until then operating as Verlagsgruppe Bertelsmann) under the new name. It is the second largest book publisher in Germany with more than 40 imprints, including historic publishing houses Goldmann and Heyne, as well as C. Bertelsmann, the publishing house from which today's Bertelsmann AG would eventually evolve. Verlagsgruppe Random House is headquartered in Munich (with additional locations in Gütersloh, Cologne, and Aßlar), employs about 850 people, and publishes roughly 2.500 titles per year.

Random House of Canada^[6] was established in 1944 as the Canadian distributor of Random House Books. In 1986 the company established its own indigenous Canadian publishing program that has become one of the most successful in Canadian history. Until January 2012 it used to hold a 25% stake in McClelland & Stewart, with the remaining 75% being controlled by the University of Toronto. It is now the sole owner of McClelland & Stewart.

Random House Mondadori is Random House's Spanish-language joint venture with Italian publisher Mondadori, targeting markets in South and Central America and Spain. It is headquartered in Barcelona with locations in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

In late 2009 and early 2010, respectively, Random House discontinued their Japanese joint venture Random House Kodansha, which had been established in 2003, and also divested their four-year ownership of Random House Korea. The company has since named Random House Australia managing director Margie Seale responsible for exploring and evaluating potential future business opportunities in Asia.^[7]

Divisions and imprints[link]

[edit] Random House, U.S.A.^[8]

[edit] Random House International^[8]

Fenn/M&S^{[clarification needed]}

Fenn/Tundra^{[clarification needed]}

See also[link]

Children's literature portal

• List of English language book publishers
• List of largest UK book publishers
• Media of New York City
• Publishing

References[link]

External links[link]

• Random House official website
• The Random House Group official website
• Verlagsgruppe Random House official website
• Random House of Canada official website
• Random House Australia official website
• Random House New Zealand official website
• Random House India official website
• Random House Mondadori official website in Spain
• Random House Mondadori official website in Mexico
• Random House Struik official website
• Random House Publishing Group official website

This article may be unbalanced towards certain viewpoints. Please improve the article by adding information on neglected viewpoints, or discuss the issue on the talk page. (April 2012)

Susan Cain
Born	Early 1968[1]
Occupation	Writer, former lawyer and negotiations consultant[2]
Language	English
Nationality	U.S.
Education	J.D. (Juris Doctor)[3]
Alma mater	Princeton University,[4] Harvard Law School[5]
Genres	Success, Management, Education, Psychology, Self-Help, Interpersonal Relations
Notable work(s)	Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking (January 24, 2012)
www.thepowerofintroverts.com

Susan Cain is an American writer and lecturer.

Cain is author of the 2012 non-fiction book Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, which argues that modern Western culture undervalues the traits and capabilities of introverted people.

Early careers[link]

Cain attended Princeton University^[4] and Harvard Law School.^[5] She worked first as an attorney, and then as a negotiations consultant.^[2] Cain's interest in writing about introversion reportedly stemmed from her own difficulties with public speaking, which made Harvard Law School "a trial."^[6]

Cain left her careers in corporate law and consulting, for a quieter life of writing at home with her family.^[6] She wrote that she looks back on her years as a Wall Street lawyer "as time spent in a foreign country."^[7]

[edit] Motivation for Quiet

When asked what she would be doing if she were not a writer, Cain explained that she would be a research psychologist, saying she is insatiably curious about human nature.^[8]

Cain explained that in writing Quiet, she was fueled by the passion and indignation that she imagined fueled the 1963 feminist book, The Feminine Mystique.^[8] Cain likened Introverts today to women at that time--second-class citizens with gigantic amounts of untapped talent.^[8] Saying that most introverts aren’t aware of how they are constantly spending their time in ways that they would prefer not to be and have been doing so all their lives, Cain explained that she was trying to give people entitlement in their own minds to be who they are.^[9]

Cain added that for her, Quiet was not just a book but a mission.^[8] Specifically, she said she was interested in working with parents and teachers of introverted kids and to re-shape workplace culture and design, and in particular replace what she terms "The New Groupthink" with an environment more conducive to deep thought and solo reflection.^[8]

An introvert's "Year of Speaking Dangerously"[link]

Cain speaking at the TED2012 conference ("not my natural milieu") with a prop suitcase,^[10][11] which was said to be a metaphor for the treasures, memories, activities and thoughts that make you you.^[12] Cain's own suitcase contained books.^[10][11]

The Chicago Tribune noted^[7] that Cain, a self-described introvert,^[13] grappled with her own introversion as a Wall Street attorney before writing Quiet.^[7] In contrast, Cain described the time of creating Quiet to be seven years of reading, researching, thinking—"total bliss."^[10][11]

Seven years in the making,^[2] Cain's book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, was published January 24, 2012.^[14]

Cain's research was published in articles in the year leading up to the book's publication and in the ensuing months.^[15][16] In her talk^[11] at the February 2012 TED Conference, Cain confirmed her April 2011 prediction that ensuing year would be her Year of Speaking Dangerously--for which the self-described introvert declared she would be training, "as if preparing for a marathon," to be the best and bravest speaker she could be.^[16]

Cain later wrote that her year of preparation had unfolded in "three stages of accelerating dread."^[17] Cain joined Toastmasters, and as her TED talk approached she scheduled a two-hour crash course with TED’s speaking coach.^[17] But saying her butterflies had turned into "gut-wrenching knots," Cain worked for six full days with an acting coach immediately before the talk.^[17] Three months after the talk, Cain wrote that she had metamorphosed into what she termed an "impossibly oxymoronic creature: the Public Introvert."^[17]

The publication of Quiet was accompanied by publication of Cain's related writings. Psychology Today published her blog series from March through December 2011.^[15] Eleven days before the book's January 24, 2012 publication, The New York Times published her opinion piece "The Rise of the New Groupthink,"^[18] two days after the book's publication date Time published her article "Don’t Call Introverted Children ‘Shy,’"^[19] and O: The Oprah Magazine's February issue included Cain's self-improvement-oriented article "Secrets of a Super Successful Introvert: How to (Quietly) Get Your Way."^[20] In March, Cain's work was featured in The Guardian ("Why the world needs introverts")^[21] on CNN ("Introverts run the world -- quietly"),^[22] and in The Daily Mail ("Revenge of the Introverts").^[23] In April, The New York Times published her essay, "An Introvert Steps Out," a retrospective on her Year of Speaking Dangerously.^[17]

Within one week of its publication, Forbes' Jenna Goudreau noted that Quiet was featured by several major media outlets and was shared extensively across the Web, Goudreau observing that readers said they felt validated and seen for the first time.^[24] Days before Quiet reached #4 on The New York Times' Bestseller List,^[25] InformationWeek's Debra Donston-Miller had noted that the idea of introversion and extroversion is being widely discussed right now due in large part to a new book whose author "is making the media rounds."^[26]

Selected work[link]

• Cain, Susan, "The Rise of the New Groupthink" (WebCite archive), Opinion section of The New York Times, January 13, 2012; appearing in print January 15, 2012.

• Cain, Susan, "Don’t Call Introverted Children ‘Shy’ " (WebCite archive), Time Psychology section, January 26, 2012.

• Cain, Susan, "Quiet: The Power of Introverts / How to thrive in a world that can't stop talking" Psychology Today, (WebCite archives for first, second, and third pages of list having links to 73-entry blog series, dated from March 7 through December 23, 2011).

• Cain, Susan, "Introverts run the world -- quietly" (WebCite archive), CNN.com, March 18, 2012.

• Cain, Susan, "Revenge of the introverts: It's often assumed extroverts do best in life, but a new book reveals quite the opposite..." (WebCite archive), The Daily Mail, March 25, 2012.

• Cain, Susan, Essay: "An Introvert Steps Out" (WebCite archives of pages 1 and 2), "Sunday Book Review" section of The New York Times, published online April 27, 2012. Version appeared in print on page BR27 of the "Sunday Book Review" on April 29, 2012.

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Susan Cain

• ThePowerOfIntroverts website (WebCite archive)

• Cain's 'author' page on facebook