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.

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

Tuesday, September 29

• Rebecca Makkai speaks with fellow author Emily Gray Tedrowe at Women & Children First (8:00PM EST)

Wednesday, September 30

• Karen Russell celebrates the paperback release of SLEEP DONATION at Powerhouse as part of the Brooklyn Book Festival (7:00PM EST)

Thursday, October 1 

• Jane Fonda speaks with Temple Emanu-El to discuss the dire state of the planet and how to save it (6:30PM EST)
• Brit Bennett discusses THE VANISHING HALF at Get Lit with All of It(8:00PM EST)
• Yaa Gyasi joins Ann Patchett in conversation at the Southern Festival of Books (8:30PM EST)
• Nic Stone will be on Facebook Live with Left Bank Books to discuss her latest book (8:30PM EST)

Friday, October 2

• Danzy Senna speaks with fellow author Sarah Shun-Lien Bynum at Harvard Book Store (7:00PM)

Sunday, October 4

• Sigrid Nunez explores the tragedy of losing family members and friends at the Brooklyn Book Festival (12:00PM EST)
• Brit Bennett speaks with fellow authors at the Southern Festival of Books (3:00PM EST)
• David Nasaw joins Politics and Prose to discuss his latest book, THE LAST MILLION (5:00PM 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.

• ‘Track the Problem.’ Ibram X. Kendi on Using Data to Dismantle Structural Racism | Time: Dr. Ibram X. Kendi shares the importance of keeping the focus on his work and the steps he has laid out to dismantle structural racism.
• Isabel Wilkerson’s New Book Reveals America’s Caste System | WBEZ: Isabel Wilkerson describes the artificial hierarchy that determines everything from respect to resources, who gets the benefit of the doubt, and who is considered beautiful in her new book.
• Confronting Implicit Biases | WHYY: Dr. Jennifer L. Eberhardt talks about the ways implicit biases have affected her own life, and how she tries to educate people about them in her work.
• Black poets share their writing struggles, and the Festival of Books returns | Los Angeles Times: Robin Coste Lewis joins Los Angeles Times Book Club’s first poetry meetup for a conversation about her work and this moment.
• Nic Stone Discusses Her New Children’s Novel, Dear Justyce | WNYC: Nic Stone tells a powerful, raw story through the lens of a Black boy ensnared by our broken criminal justice system.
• Life without parole: A call from the president | BBC: Brittany K. Barnett talks about America’s devastating war on drugs and its harms to the Black communities.

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

• Yaa Gyasi’s Transcendent Kingdom Is A Story Of Science, Suffering And Salvation | KMUW: In Yaa Gyasi’s new novel, a Stanford Ph.D. candidate studies reward-seeking behavior in mice and the mysterious synapses that can lead to addiction or depression.
• Colson Whitehead says he felt ‘very defeated’ after Nickel Boys, talks self-care | USA Today: Colson Whitehead shares that writing those two books back to back took a toll on him.
• Read an excerpt from Memorial by Bryan Washington, a love story for our time | Entertainment Weekly: Bryan Washington returns with one of the season’s most anticipated novels.
• ‘The great African novel of the 21st century’: Namwali Serpell wins Arthur C Clarke award | The Guardian: Namwali Serpell wins prestigious science fiction award.
• Writers’ League of Texas names 2020 Book Award honorees | Sightlines Magazine: Lara Prescott is the 2020 Book Award winner for fiction.

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

• Novavax Enters Final Stage of Coronavirus Vaccine Trials | The New York Times: Carl Zimmer reports the Maryland company has started its Phase 3 trial in the United Kingdom, with plans to begin in the United States in October.
• Heart Disease Bankrupted Him Once. Now He Faces Another $10,000 Medical Bill | WNYC: Elisabeth Rosenthal talks about  someone facing a life-changing medical debt even though he has insurance.
• 3 Ways to Go From Burnout State to Flow State | Medium: Laura Vanderkam shares how to achieve the flow state.
• “There’s No Going Back to Normal. There Was Never Any Normal to Return To.” | Esquire: Karen Russell talks about the frightening prescience of her pandemic novella, the challenge of writing while living through history, and the radical hope she feels about the way forward
• Writer Anand Giridharadas on tech’s billionaires: “Are they even on the same team as us?” | TechCrunch: Anand Giridharadas shares his thoughts on America’s billionaires who, during the coronavirus pandemic, have widened their already yawning gap between the very richest and the rest of the U.S.

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

• ‘Classic Authoritarian’: How Historians Rate Trump’s Danger to Democracy | New York Magazine: Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt share their thoughts on the president.
• A Capital Engulfed by Sadness and Rage | The New York Times: Mark Leibovich writes about the significance of Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s death.
• Robert Reich on the 6 crucial races that will flip the Senate | Salon: Robert B. Reich speaks on the six key races during this election.
• Prop. 24 would strengthen consumer privacy laws in California | The San Diego Union-Tribune: Roger McNamee explains the importance of the California Computer Privacy Act.
• Trump tells white audience in Minnesota they have ‘good genes’ | Yahoo News: Steve Silberman expresses his concerns on his incident.