Last Updated on: November 8, 2025

Penguin Random House LLC (“PRH”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) respects your concerns about privacy and values the relationship we have with you. This Privacy Policy describes our privacy practices with respect to information collected through the Author Portal website (the “Site”). This Privacy Policy does not apply to information collected from you offline or through other websites or online services operated by PRH or its affiliates. If you use or link to any of those websites or services from this Site, please take a moment to review their privacy policies.

Please carefully review this Privacy Policy below before using the Site. By using the Site, you are accepting the practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not use the Site. We reserve the right to modify or amend the terms of our Privacy Policy from time to time without notice. Your continued use of the Site following the posting of changes to these terms will mean you accept those changes.

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What Personal Information We Collect About You

“Personal Information” is information that identifies you as an individual or relates to an identifiable individual. Several different types of Personal Information can be gathered when you interact with the Site. Collection of Personal Information is necessary to provide the Site to you or to enhance your experience. The Personal Information we collect depends on how you interact with the Site and the choices you make. You provide personal and non-personal information directly to us in several situations, including when you register for an Author Portal account, subscribe to services or features on the Site (e.g., webinar sign-up), or contact us through the Site. Such information includes, but is not limited to, your name, email address, and account password.

If you disclose any Personal Information relating to other people to us through the Site, you represent that you have the authority to do so and to permit us to use the information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

We collect information about you from different sources and in various ways when you use the Site, including information you provide directly, information collected automatically, third-party data sources, and data we infer or generate from other data.

We plan to collect and have collected in the previous twelve (12) months, the following categories of Personal Information:

  • Identifiers (Contact Information) such as a real name, alias, postal address, unique personal identifier, online identifier, Internet Protocol address, email address, account name, Social Security number, or other similar identifiers;
  • Content and files. If you send us email messages or other communications, we collect and retain those communications including any photos, documents, or files that are attached;
  • Characteristics of protected classifications under California or federal law; · Geolocation data;
  • Demographic data;
  • Professional or employment-related information;

Sensitive Personal Information

Our collection of Sensitive Personal Information is extremely limited, we collect it directly from you, the author, and we utilize detailed consent outlining what we use it for at the time we collect it. We also, often, aggregate this information. We have collected the following categories of Sensitive Personal Information from authors in the last 12 months:

  • Government ID. Government identification such as Social Security numbers.
  • Account access information. Information such as account log-in in combination with any required security or access code, password, or credentials allowing access to an account.
  • Sensitive demographic data. Information such as racial or ethnic origin, religious or philosophical beliefs, or union membership.

How We Collect Your Personal Information

Through the Site

  • Newsletter subscriptions. When you subscribe to our newsletters, we collect Identifiers such as your email address.
  • Registration for programs and events. When you register for our programs, events or conferences, we collect Identifiers such as your name and email address.
  • Research. When you provide information through voluntary surveys or feedback conducted through the Site, including the Author Questionnaire, we collect Identifiers, Sensitive Demographic Information, Professional or employment-related information, Internet Activity Information from you.
  • Contact with our Customer Service. We collect Identifiers and Personal Information from you in both online and offline contexts, including, for example, when you contact customer service.

Information We Collect Automatically

When you use our Site, we collect some information automatically. For example:

  • Identifiers and device information. When you visit the Site, our web servers automatically log your Internet Protocol (IP) address and information about your device, including device identifiers (such as MAC address); device type; and your device’s operating system, browser, and other software including type, version, language, settings, and configuration. As further described in the Cookies, Mobile IDs, and Similar Technologies section below, the Site stores and retrieves cookie identifiers, mobile IDs, and other data.
  • Geolocation data. Depending on your device and app settings, we collect geolocation data when you use the Site.
  • Internet and network activity data. We automatically log your activity on our websites, apps and connected products, including the URL of the website from which you came to our sites, pages you viewed, how long you spent on a page, access times, and other details about your use of and actions on our website.
  • Information we create, infer, or generate. We may create Inferences from other data we collect, including using automated means to generate information. For example, we infer your general geographic location (such as city, state, and country) based on your IP address.

We and our service providers collect Personal Information in a variety of ways, including:

From Other Sources

  • Internal tools, systems, and databases (e.g. royalty information)

How We Use Your Personal Information

We and our providers use Personal Information we collect for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy or otherwise disclosed to you. For example, we use Personal Information for the following purposes:

Purposes of UseCategories of Personal Information
Product and service delivery. To provide the Site’s functionality such as arranging access to your registered account, and delivering our services, including troubleshooting, improving, and personalizing those services.Contact information, demographic data, content and files, identifiers and device information, geolocation data, usage data, and inferences. Sensitive Information: account access information, and sensitive demographic data
Business operations. To fulfill our contractual and other business responsibilities to you, including providing access to royalties information, marketing your book(s), verifying your information, improving our internal operations, securing our systems and taking other quality and safety assurance measures, detecting fraudulent or illegal activity and meeting our legal, regulatory, and contractual obligations.Contact information, demographic data, commercial and payment information, content and files, identifiers and device information, geolocation data, usage data, and inferences Sensitive Information: government ID, account access information, sensitive demographic data
Product improvement, development, and research. To conduct research and other data analysis and measurement via surveys, panels, public forms, and other means to maintain, improve, repair, modify, and enhance existing services, develop new products, services and features, identify usage trends, and determine the strategy and effectiveness of book campaigns.Contact information, demographic data, commercial and payment information, content and files, identifiers and device information, geolocation data, usage data, and inferences. Sensitive Information: sensitive demographic data
Personalization. To understand you, your interests, and your preferences to deliver relevant and tailored content via our services and other interactions with you. To enhance your experience and enjoyment using our services.Contact information, demographic data, commercial and payment information, content and files, identifiers and device information, geolocation data, usage data, and inferences Sensitive Information: account access information and sensitive demographic data
Customer support. To provide customer support and respond to your inquiries, when you contact us via one of our online contact forms or otherwise, for example, when you send us questions, suggestions, compliments, or complaints, or when you request a quote for or other information about our services.Contact information, demographic data, commercial and payment information, content and files, identifiers and device information, geolocation data, usage data, and inferences Sensitive Information: account access information
Communications. To send you information, including newsletters, confirmations, technical notices, updates, security alerts, support messages, and administrative messages such as changes to our terms, conditions, and policies.Contact information, demographic data, content and files, identifiers and device information, geolocation data, usage data, and inference

Aggregating and/or Anonymizing Personal Information

We may aggregate and/or anonymize Personal Information so that it will no longer be considered Personal Information. We do so to generate other data for our use, which we may use and disclose for any purpose, as it no longer identifies you or any other individual.

Our Disclosure of Personal Information

By using the Site, you may elect to disclose Personal Information. We disclose Personal Information:

  • To our parent company and among our affiliates for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy. You can learn more about our parent company and consult the list and location of our affiliates here.
  • To our service providers and third parties, to facilitate services they provide to us. These can include providers of services such as website design and hosting, data analysis, information technology and related infrastructure provision, customer service, email delivery, research survey/interview/focus group management and analysis, marketing of author’s title(s) to consumers, auditing, and other services.
  • In connection with a sale or business transaction. We have a legitimate interest in disclosing or transferring your Personal Information to a third party in the event of any reorganization, merger, sale, joint venture, assignment, transfer, or other disposition of all or any portion of our business, assets, or stock (including in connection with any bankruptcy or similar proceedings).
  • To Third Party Analytics Providers. Analytics companies also collect Personal Information through our website including identifiers and device information (such as cookie IDs, device IDs, and IP address), geolocation data, usage data, and inferences based on and associated with that data, as described in the “Cookies” section of this statement. Please note that some of our services include integrations, references, or links to services provided by other companies whose privacy practices differ from ours. If you provide Personal Information to any of those companies, or allow us to share Personal Information with them, that data is governed by their privacy statements.

Security, Safety, and Protecting Rights

We will disclose Personal Information if we believe it is necessary to protect our authors and others, for example to prevent spam or attempts to commit fraud, or to help prevent the loss of life or serious injury of anyone, operate and maintain the security of our Site and services, including to prevent or stop an attack on our computer systems or networks, or protect the rights or property of ourselves or others, including enforcing our agreements, terms, and policies.

We may also disclose your Personal Information for the other uses described above (e.g., to comply with applicable laws, respond to valid legal process, including from law enforcement or other government agency, and in connection with corporate transactions, including a merger, acquisition, dissolution, bankruptcy, or a transfer, divestiture or sale of all or a portion of our business or assets or other business transaction).

Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies, and similar technologies to operate our websites and online services and to help collect data, including usage data, identifiers and device information.

What are cookies and similar technologies?

Cookies are small text files placed by a website and stored by your browser on your device. A cookie can later be read when your browser connects to a web server in the same domain that placed the cookie. The text in a cookie contains a string of numbers and letters that may uniquely identify your device and can contain other information as well. This allows the web server to recognize your browser over time, each time it connects to that web server. Cookies allow us to collect information such as browser type, time spent on the Services, pages visited, language preferences, and other traffic data.

How do we and our partners use cookies and similar technologies?

We, and our analytics partners, use these technologies in our Site and online services to collect Personal Information (such as the pages you visit, the links you click on and similar usage information, as well as identifiers and device information) when you use the Site.

This information is used to enable you to sign-in, analyze how our Site performs, develop inferences, combat fraud, and fulfill other legitimate purposes. Additionally, the information is used for security purposes, to facilitate navigation and to display information more effectively. We also gather statistical information about use of the Site to continually improve its design and functionality, understand how it is used, and assist us with resolving questions regarding it. If you do not want information collected through the use of cookies, most browsers allow you to automatically decline cookies or be given the choice of declining or accepting a particular cookie (or cookies) from a particular website (including using the options described below in the section titled “What Controls are Available”). You may also wish to refer to http://www.allaboutcookies.org/manage-cookies/index.html. If, however, you do not accept cookies, you may experience some inconvenience in your use of the Site.

Analytics

We use analytics providers including but not limited to WordPress and Adobe Analytics, which use cookies and similar technologies to collect and analyze information about use of the Site and report on activities and trends. These analytics services may also collect information regarding the use of other websites, apps and online resources. To opt out of Adobe Analytics, you can implement the opt-out cookies at https://scode.randomhouse.com/optout.html.

Physical Location

We may collect the physical location of your device by, for example, using satellite, cell phone tower or Wi-Fi signals. We may use your device’s physical location to authenticate your account.

What controls are available?

  • These choices are specific to the browser you are using. If you access our online services from other devices or browsers, take these actions from those systems to ensure your choices apply to the data collected when you use those systems.
  • Browser cookie controls. Most web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can go to your browser settings to learn how to delete or reject cookies. If you choose to delete or reject cookies, this could affect certain features or services of our website. If you choose to delete cookies, settings and preferences controlled by those cookies may be deleted and may need to be recreated.
  • Email web beacons. Most email clients have settings which allow you to prevent the automatic downloading of images — including web beacons — which prevents the automatic connection to the web servers that host those images.
  • Do Not Track. Some browsers have incorporated “Do Not Track” (DNT) features that can send a signal to the websites you visit indicating you do not wish to be tracked. Because there is not a common understanding of how to interpret the DNT signal our websites do not currently respond to browser DNT signals. Instead, you can use the range of other tools to control data collection and use, including the cookie controls and advertising controls described above.

Choice and Control of Personal Information

Your Choices Regarding Our Use and Disclosure of Your Personal Information.

Communication Preferences. We give you choices regarding our use and disclosure of your Personal Information for non-administrative communications. You may opt out from:

  • Email newsletters. If you no longer want to receive emails containing marketings tips, industry news, and other publishing-related information going forward, you may opt out by clicking the email footer link to unsubscribe or emailing portaladmin@penguinrandomhouse.com. We will comply with your request as soon as reasonably practicable. Please note that if you opt out of receiving these communications, we may still send you administrative messages pertaining to your account or the Site.

How You Can Access, Change, or Delete Your Personal Information Consistent with State and other Relevant Laws

If you would like to request to access, correct, update, suppress, restrict, or delete, object to or opt out of the sale, sharing, or processing of Personal Information, or if you would like to request to receive a copy of your Personal Information for purposes of transmitting it to another company (to the extent these rights are provided to you by applicable law), you may contact us. We will respond to your request consistent with applicable law. If you are a California resident, please refer to the “Additional Information Regarding California” section at the end of this Policy for more information about the requests you may make under applicable law.

In your request, please make clear what Personal Information you would like to have changed or whether you would like to have your Personal Information suppressed from our database. For your protection, we may only implement requests with respect to the Personal Information associated with the particular email address that you use to send us your request, and we may need to verify your identity before implementing your request. We will try to comply with your request as soon as reasonably practicable.

Some privacy laws provide a right to opt-out from profiling — including targeted advertising and appeal a decision regarding a request to exercise your rights. We process Personal Information by sharing your information with third parties who serve targeted advertising. To opt-out from such processing, please review our Cookies Mobile IDs and Similar Technologies Section.

Please note that we may need to retain certain information for recordkeeping purposes and/or to complete any transactions that you began prior to requesting a change or deletion as further described in the Retention of Personal Information section below.

Sensitive Information

Unless we request it, we ask that you not send us, and you not disclose, any sensitive Personal Information (e.g., Social Security numbers, political opinions, religion or other beliefs, health, biometrics or genetic characteristics or criminal background) on or through the Site or otherwise to us.

Retention of Personal Information

We retain Personal Information for as long as needed or permitted in accordance with the purpose(s) for which it was obtained and consistent with applicable law. The criteria used to determine our retention periods include:

  • The length of time we have an ongoing relationship with you and provide the Site to you (for example, for as long as you have an account with us or keep using the Site);
  • Whether we are subject to a legal obligation (for example, certain laws that require us to keep records of your transactions for a certain period of time before we can delete them); or
  • Whether retention is advisable in light of our legal position (such as in regard to applicable statutes of limitations, litigation or regulatory investigations).

Security

We seek to use reasonable organizational, technical and administrative measures to protect Personal Information within our organization. Unfortunately, no data transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure, please immediately notify us in accordance with the “Contacting Us” section below.

Third Party Services

This Privacy Policy does not address, and we are not responsible for, the privacy, information, or other practices of any third parties, including any third party operating any website or service to which the Site links. The inclusion of a link on the Site does not imply endorsement of the linked site or service by us or by our affiliates.

In addition, we are not responsible for the information collection, use, disclosure, or security policies or practices of other organizations, such as LinkedIn, Facebook, Google, or any other social media platform provider.

Jurisdiction and Cross-Border Transfer

This Site is published in the United States. We attempt to protect the Personal Information of all users of our Site and we attempt to comply with local data protection and consumer rights laws to the extent they may apply to PRH’s services, but our Site is located and targeted to United States citizens and our policies are directed at compliance with those laws. If you are uncertain whether this Privacy Policy conflicts with the applicable local privacy laws where you are located, you should not submit your Personal Information to PRH.

If you are located outside the United States, you should be aware that your Personal Information may be transferred to and processed in the United States, the laws of which may have different levels of privacy protection from your country. By using our Site, you thereby consent to the general use of your information as provided in this Privacy Policy and to the transfer of that information to, and processing and storage of that information in, the United States. In certain circumstances, courts, law enforcement agencies, regulatory agencies or security authorities in the United States may be entitled to access your Personal Information.

Additional Information Regarding California

If you are a resident of California, we have certain obligations, and you have certain rights with respect to your Personal Information.

Pursuant to the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018, as amended, including by the California Privacy Rights Act of 2023 (“CCPA”), we are providing the following additional details regarding the categories of Personal Information about California residents that we collect, use, disclose or sell. We are providing this Privacy Policy in addition to the information contained in our general Privacy Policy.

Disclosure, Sale, and Sharing of Personal Information

We disclose, sell or share Personal Information with the following categories of service providers and third parties:

  1. “Affiliates.” We share with our affiliates for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.
  2. “Service Providers.” We share with our trusted third-party service providers, to facilitate services they provide to us, such as internet services, website hosting, data analytics, payment processing, order fulfillment, information technology and related infrastructure provision, customer service, email delivery, marketing, auditing, background checks, and other services.
  3. “Business Partners.” We share with our trusted business partners.
  4. “Legal Authorities.” We share with public and government authorities, including regulators and law enforcement, to respond to requests, as well as to protect and defend legal rights.
  5. “Other Parties in Litigation” We share information in the context of litigation discovery and in response to subpoenas and court orders.

We do not knowingly “sell” or “share” the Personal Information of minors under sixteen (16) years of age.

Your CCPA Rights:

If you are a California resident, you may request that we:

(1) Disclose to you the following information covering the 12 months preceding your request (“Request to Know”):

  • The categories of Personal Information we collected about you and the categories of sources from which we collected such Personal Information;
  • The specific pieces of Personal Information we collected about you;
  • The business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling (if applicable) Personal Information about you;
  • The categories of Personal Information about you that we sold and, for each, the categories of third parties to whom we sold such Personal Information (if applicable); and
  • The categories of Personal Information about you that we otherwise shared or disclosed, and, for each, the categories of third parties with whom we shared or to whom we disclosed such Personal Information (if applicable).

To make a request for the disclosures, please email privacy@penguinrandomhouse.com with the subject line Author Privacy.

(2) Delete Personal Information we collected from you. (“Request to Delete”) To make a request for deletion, please email privacy@penguinrandomhouse.com with the subject line Author Privacy.

(3) Opt you out of any future “sale” of Personal Information about you by emailing privacy@penguinrandomhouse.com with the subject line Author Privacy. (“Request to Opt-out”)

(4) Right to Correct Inaccurate Personal Information we collected from you (“Request to Correct”). To make a Request to Correct please email privacy@penguinrandomhouse.com with the subject line Author Privacy.

(5) Right to Limit Use of Sensitive Personal Information. Under the CCPA California Residents have the right to request that we limit the use and disclosure of their Sensitive Information for any purposes other than to provide the services you request or as otherwise permitted by law. Note that we do not use sensitive personal information for any such additional purposes.

(6) Right to Designate an Authorized Agent. You may designate, in writing or through a power of attorney, an authorized agent to make requests on your behalf to exercise your rights under the CCPA. Before accepting such a request from an agent, we will require the agent to provide proof you have authorized it to act on your behalf, and we may need you to verify your identity directly with us (as further described below in the section titled “Responding to Individual Rights Requests”).

(7) Right to Non-Discrimination. You have the right to be free from unlawful discrimination for exercising your rights under the CCPA.

(8) Right to Notice of Privacy Practices. You have a right to receive notice of our practices at or before collection of Personal Information.

You may also make the requests described above by contacting us in accordance with the “How to Contact Us” section below.

Responding to Individual Rights Requests

We will verify and respond to requests from authors to exercise their privacy rights consistent with applicable laws, taking into account the type and sensitivity of the Personal Information subject to the request. If you maintain a password-protected account with us, we may verify your identity through our existing authentication practices for your account and require you to re-authenticate yourself before disclosing, correcting or deleting your Personal Information. Alternatively, we may send our response to your request to the contact point in our records that is associated with the Personal Information that is requested. If you make a Request to Delete, we may ask you to confirm your request before we delete your Personal Information.

If you are the authorized agent of an author, making a Request to Know (or access), Correct, Port, or a Delete on behalf of the author, we will ask you for:

  1. Proof of your registration with the relevant Secretary of State to conduct business in the relevant State.
  2. Proof that the author has authorized you to make a request to Know (or access), correct, port, or delete on the author’s behalf. This must be an authorization signed by the author. “Signed” means that the permission has either been physically signed or provided electronically in accordance with the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, Civil Code 1633.7 et seq.

If an authorized agent has not provided us with a power of attorney from the author pursuant to Probate Code sections 4000-4465, we may also:

  1. Require the author to provide you with a written authorization signed by the author to make the request on the author’s behalf.
  2. Verify the identity of the author as we would if the author were making the request personally.
  3. Obtain verification from the author that they provided the authorized agent authorization to make the request.

If you are the authorized agent of an author, making a Request to Opt-Out on behalf of the author, we may ask you for:

  1. Proof of your registration with the relevant Secretary of State to conduct business in the relevant State.
  2. Proof that the author has authorized you to make a Request to Opt-Out on the author’s behalf. This must be a permission signed by the author. “Signed” means that the permission has either been physically signed or provided electronically in accordance with the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, Civil Code 1633.7 et seq.

Updates to This Privacy Policy

The “Last Updated” legend at the top of this Privacy Policy indicates when this Privacy Policy was last revised. Any changes will become effective when we post the revised Privacy Policy on the Site.

Contacting Us

Penguin Random House LLC, located at 1745 Broadway, New York, NY, is the company responsible for collection, use, and disclosure of your Personal Information under this Privacy Policy.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us as follows: By email: privacy@penguinrandomhouse.com (with the subject line “Author Portal”)

By phone: (800) 793-2665

By mail:

Online Privacy
Attn: Customer Service
Penguin Random House
1745 Broadway
New York, NY 10019