Penguin Random House celebrates Nobel Prize in Literature

Penguin Random House is delighted to welcome another Nobel Prize winner in literature to its ranks. Yesterday, the Swedish Academy in Stockholm announced that it would award South Korean writer Han Kang the 2024 Nobel Prize in Literature, the world's most prestigious literary honor. Her books are published in the US and Canada by Hogarth, in Spanish-speaking countries by Grupo Editorial Penguin Random House, Literatura Random House, and La Magrana, and in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand by Hamish Hamilton. Penguin Random House also publishes her audiobooks in many countries and languages. Han Kang is the first author from South Korea to receive this award. For some, she had been a secret favorite for years, while for others the decision came as a surprise.

In any case, it was met with great joy at the Penguin Random House publishing group. In a letter to all employees, CEO Nihar Malaviya stated: "Han Kang is now the latest of our more than 80 authors to be awarded a Nobel Prize. This is cause for celebration—for Han Kang, for the teams at Hamish Hamilton, Hogarth, Literatura Random House, La Magrana, and PRH Audio, but also for everyone else at Penguin Random House. I sincerely congratulate everyone who has contributed to bringing Han Kang's brilliance to readers around the world. This is a testament to our unique ability to publish such a powerful cultural voice. It is an honor to be the publisher of the first writer from South Korea to win this prestigious literary prize. I know I speak for everyone when I say that we are very proud."

Han Kang won the International Booker Prize in 2016 for "The Vegetarian," the book that marked her international breakthrough. At the beginning of the year, The New York Times named The Vegetarian one of the best books of the 21st century. Her new book, We Do Not Part, will be published by Penguin Random House in many countries around the world next year.