The PRH Speakers Bureau is proud to represent speakers who keep us connected and make powerful progress toward change. As we continue to have conversations about challenging the status quo, actively fighting for justice in BIPOC communities, and grappling with COVID-19, we’ve compiled these recent articles, media, and essays from our speakers about the changing personal, political, and cultural landscapes.

We are also happy to include a roundup for you here of virtual events that are open to the public from our speakers for the upcoming week.

Virtual Events with Our Speakers

Tune in to these virtual Penguin Random House speakers’ book events, author Q&A’s and more that are happening this week.

Tuesday, September 22

• David Nasaw joins Carnegie Council to speak about THE LAST MILLION (12:00PM EST)
• Craig Johnson launches NEXT TO LAST STAND at Fearrington Village (7:00PM EST)
• Brit Bennett speaks with Jodi Picoult at Random House (8:00PM EST)

Wednesday, September 23

• Craig Johnson is back to Reads & Company to celebrate the release of the sixteenth book in his bestselling Walt Longmire Series (7:00PM EST)
• Craig Johnson will be in conversation with Lou Diamond Phillips at Tattered Cover Bookstore (9:00PM EST)

Thursday, September 24 

• Craig Johnson joins Mechanicsburg Mystery Bookshop to talk about his latest book (6:30PM EST)
• Craig Johnson talks about Wyoming Sheriff Walt Longmire’s latest adventure at St. Louis County Library (8:00PM EST)
• Robin Coste Lewis joins Los Angeles Times to read her poetry and share her experiences in verse (10:00PM EST)

Friday, September 25

• Craig Johnson will be on Facebook Live with Murder by the Book to discuss NEXT TO LAST STAND (7:00PM EST)
• Craig Johnson appears at Book Carnival (9:00PM EST)

Saturday, September 26

• Craig Johnson celebrates the release of NEXT TO LAST STAND with Sunriver Books & Music (7:00PM EST)
• Edwidge Danticat joins the Sister Cities Essex Haiti to discuss the healing power of storytelling in and about Haiti (7:00PM EST)

Check out #BooksConnectUsLive for more live virtual events.

News and Media from PRHSB Speakers

Black Lives Matter Movement
Below are some recent dialogues from our speakers on systemic racism and the Black Lives Matter movement.

• Fighting racism, how to be antiracist | KING 5:  Dr. Ibram X. Kendi talks about how Americans can strive to be antiracist and why he stays hopeful in a time of racial unrest.
• Caste, not race, is the ‘bones’ of inequality in the US | WUNC: Isabel Wilkerson speaks on why Americans should think of racial inequality in terms of caste — and how accepting that is a starting point to heal from centuries’ worth of oppression.
• Rachel Cargle Opens An Online Bookstore For Marginalized Voices | Cleveland Magazine: With plans to open a brick-and-mortar bookstore, Rachel Cargle is getting a headstart with a curated online collection for sale.
• Implicit Bias Education for Police | Hacking Your Mind | PBS: Dr. Jennifer L. Eberhardt works with the Oakland Police Department and the State of California on how non-conscious, autopilot decisions can be shaped by implicit bias.
• A conversation with Yaa Gyasi, author of Homegoing and Transcendent Kingdom | St. Louis Magazine: Yaa Gyasi’s second novel’s protagonist comes from a Ghanaian family living in Alabama that has been cut in half, causing her to shift her focus from religion to science in her quest to make sense of her world.

Books Connect Us 
With their imaginative, impactful pieces of literature, our speakers provide incredibly valuable perspectives to be read by all.

• National Book Awards Names 2020 Nominees | The New York Times: Fiction contenders include Brit Bennett, Megha Majumdar, and Charles Yu, and Isabel Wilkerson is nominated for nonfiction.
• George Takei, Ocean Vuong win American Book Awards | ABC News: Ocean Vuong and Kali Fajardo-Anstine are among the winners of the 41st annual American Book Awards.
• The biggest and best books to read this fall | Entertainment Weekly: Nic Stone’s DEAR JUSTYCE will be dropping this fall.
• Chang-rae Lee’s next novel My Year Abroad is the travel story we need | Entertainment Weekly: Chang-rae Lee’s next novel follows a young American who takes up with a Chinese American businessman in a mentorship made for these times.
• Why Gillian Flynn Gets Her Best Writing Done After Midnight | Wall Street Journal: Amid lockdown in Chicago, Gillian Flynn is showrunning a new TV series called Utopia, finishing a long-awaited novel, and counting her Lucky Charms.

COVID-19 
These articles from our speakers highlight practical advice and news about the current pandemic.

• AstraZeneca Partly Resumes Coronavirus Vaccine Trial After Halting It for Safety | The New York Times: Carl Zimmer reports the pharmaceutical company had resumed its coronavirus vaccine trial in Britain.
• Is the U.S. government paying twice for coronavirus vaccine? | PBS: Elisabeth Rosenthal discusses what will the government pay for the coronavirus vaccine, and how much could drug companies profit.
• COVID-19 comes with silver linings for the beef industry | Lincoln Journal Star: Jayson Lusk speaks on the cattle and beef supply chain over the three-month period of rapid growth and decline.
• The power of dads in childhood development–during a pandemic and beyond | Brookings: Dr. Dana Suskind talks about child development, and a father’s role in it, especially in the time of COVID-19.
• The 3 Breaks You Need to Take Every Day | Medium: Laura Vanderkam provides an easy strategy for being happier and more productive at work.

Our speakers provide clarity and shrewd analysis of today’s issues to help make sense of our current and future political landscape.

• Sarah McBride Is Set to Be the Nation’s Highest-Ranking Transgender Official | The New York Times: Sarah McBride, who would be the first openly transgender person to serve in any state’s senate, has won the Democratic primary for the seat in Delaware.
• Rushing to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg, McConnell shows power trumps principle | The Guardian: Robert B. Reich gives his opinion on the Senate leader’s rush to replace the justice who died on Friday night.
• What to Do with a Confederate Monument? | The New Yorker: Casey Cep talks about the statue known as the “Talbot Boys.”
• 5 ways the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg will transform U.S. politics | CBC: Joseph J. Ellis is worried what’s at stake.