Sunday, July 25, 2010

PENGUIN TURNS 75

Penguin 75 ann logo

Penguin's founder Allen Lane started the paperback revolution with that little flippant
but dignified Penguin (his secretary came up with the name and he sent another colleague off
to the zoo to make sketches).   One year later, 3 million Penguin paperbacks had been sold.  Today, the
Penguin imprint alone has over 4000 books in print.  To learn more about its history, see http://www.penguinbooks75.com/original10.html  here and ://www.penguinbooks75.com/timeline.html here.
Penguin’s is hands down the publishing logo most recognized internationally---including the story
of Terry Waite, the Anglican clergyman who was held hostage in Beirut.  Six months into his
captivity, Waite made friends with his jailer, and although they spoke different languages he
managed to tell the jailer he wanted a book.  He drew an oval, and he drew a penguin, and he
said, "find me a book that looks like that, and it will be a good book."
A bright-orange
http://www.penguinbooks75.com/blog_tour.html Penguin Mobile (an adorable mini-cooper with the Penguin logo) is driving to bookstores all over the US parties in their hometowns, increase awareness
of The Nature Conservancy, and promote literacy.  At each event, a set of 75 Penguin
Books is donated to a local library or literacy group. Each author is signing the Penguin-mobile
as it makes its way across the United States, and the summer's events will culminate with a
party at the New York Public Library in September where Penguin will auction the car
with the proceeds going to the New York Public Library.

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