NEW YORK, USA — Internationally renowned book publisher Penguin Random House has collaborated with independent branding and marketing agency Posture Media for “Find Your Light”, a year-end campaign that launches today and celebrates how books have shaped 2021, highlighting key trends that have emerged throughout the year.
This year has been a historic time for books, reading, and literary culture with US sales of books up 12% through August compared to the same period in 2020, and up 20% from 2019, according to market research company NPD Group. Reading was more popular than ever before, and Penguin Random House’s authors have emerged as cultural leaders against the backdrop of another challenging and tumultuous year.
Taking inspiration from Amanda Gorman’s Inauguration poem and subsequent book The Hill We Climb, “Find Your Light” acknowledges the challenges and uncertainties of 2021, while casting a hopeful light on the future. The campaign positions itself as a call to action for readers to discover what brings them joy and purpose and celebrates the power of books to shape us as individuals and as a culture, while telling universal stories that create a sense of community.
The campaign centers on a video narrated by Phoebe Robinson, bestselling author and founder of Tiny Reparations Books, and highlights books that went viral, genres that were popular, and readers’ interactions with Penguin Random House’s featured books and authors, revealing what our reading habits can tell us about the collective experience of 2021.
The visual language of the campaign is rich and colorful. Each genre is represented by a gradated background and accompanies specially commissioned illustrations by illustrator and graphic designer Lynn Baik who utilizes her playful style and masterful knowledge of color. These are combined with kinetic typography to highlight readership statistics and trends alongside author imagery and user generated content.
Starting today, the campaign is live across OOH in 10 major cities across the United States, video, digital and social media. This includes a billboard in Times Square, ads in New York City subway cars and digital screens in Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Dallas, San Francisco, DC, Houston, Boston, and Atlanta.
What books told us about 2021
The Inauguration inspired us: The day after the inauguration, 14,820 people pre-ordered the print edition of 22-year-old poet Amanda Gorman’s The Hill We Climb. It went on to sell 200,000 copies in its first week of publication in March and shone a light on the works of other contemporary poets.
We escaped through fiction: The desire to escape through genre fiction was stronger than ever in 2021. Romance and Sci-Fi/Fantasy were two of the fastest-growing categories this year, up 50% and 46% respectively. Meanwhile, comics and graphic novels were up 113% and over 20 million copies of Manga titles have been sold so far this year, more than double any other previous year on record. These categories, beloved by #booktok, are particularly diverse and progressive, featuring protagonists from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, religions, body types, gender expressions, and sexual preferences.
We felt our feelings: A new generation of readers reveled in emotionally devastating books. The books that thrived on #booktok in 2021 were overwhelmingly books that make you cry, demonstrating that sharing our collective grief makes us feel less alone. Hanya Yanagihara’s 2015 novel, A Little Life, has been rediscovered through the social media platform, with 58.3 million views for the tag #alittlelife. TikTok users also responded to Burn After Writing, with 89.6 million views for #burnafterwriting videos.
We celebrated Black excellence: From The 1619 Project and Born on the Water by Nikole Hannah-Jones to Four Hundred Souls, edited by Ibram X. Kendi and Keisha N. Blain, there was no shortage of cultural masterworks this year. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson and Born A Crime by The Daily Show host Trevor Noah were mainstays on the New York Times bestseller list, while Barack Obama’s author-narrated audiobook A Promised Land was listened to for more than 4,255 years in 2021. Tiya Miles’ All That She Carried won the National Book Award for Nonfiction, and Jason Mott’s novel Hell of a Book won the National Book Award for Fiction. Readers also continued to turn to the greats, with a 22% spike in James Baldwin readership over 2019.
Finally, Penguin Random House launched @allwaysblack, a community of Black readers and creators curated by literary content creator Cree Myles. Cree hosted events and conversations with Black authors throughout the year, including a literary conversation about Passing in conjunction with Netflix’s @strongblacklead, a Toni Morrison read-a-thon, the first-annual All Ways Black Awards, and more.
We talked to kids in meaningful ways: We continued to see children’s literature evolve to address topics that are never too early to better understand. These included acclaimed picture books My Monster and Me by Nadiya Hussain addressing anxiety, Cori Doerrfeld’s New York Times bestseller exploring grief, The Rabbit Listened, Areli Is a Dreamer by DACA Dreamer Areli Morales which tells her immigration story, and My Rainbow by mother-daughter transgender advocates Trinity and DeShanna Neal. Picture Books were up 17% from 2020, with Middle Grade up 10% and YA up 15%.
We rallied to stop Asian hate: Books in 2021 uplifted Asian American voices. Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner debuted at #2 on the New York Times bestseller list and stayed on the list for over 20 weeks, and Build Your House Around My Body by Violet Kupersmith, was a finalist for The Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize and named one of the New York Times’ Most Notable Books of 2021. Minor Feelings author Cathy Park Hong wrote about Stop Asian Hate for the TIME 100 and became a TIME 100 cover star.
And so much more: To dive deeper into even more trends from the year, check out Penguin Random House’s website here, featuring commentary from authors Emma Straub, Jasmine Mans, Ali Hazelwood, Martha Beck, Eric Nguyen, Namina Forna, Katherine May, Robert Jones, Jr., Vallery Lomas, Violet Kupersmith, Senator Sarah McBride, Steven Pinker and Megan Abbott.
Sanyu Dillon, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Penguin Random House commented: “Books remained the connective tissue of cultural movements and community-building throughout 202,1 and this campaign serves as an invitation for more individuals to join in on this incredible passion for reading. Working with Posture Media, we have been able to visually bring to life the cultural relevance of books in a new and creative way that makes reading approachable, fun and exciting. We hope this campaign raises awareness of books, inspires discovery and helps readers to find their next great read.”
Winter Mendelson, Founder and Executive Creative Director at Posture Media commented: “This campaign takes the viewer on a reflective journey of the year by highlighting books that went viral and helped build community — particularly on TikTok with the increasing popularity of #BookTok. Whether it’s watching a creator learn new recipes or crying over this year’s saddest book — it’s fun to see how someone chooses to recommend their favorite reads. This sharing creates a domino effect of encouraging others to read the same book and open up about their experiences. It’s beautiful and wholesome to witness.”
