Values

175 Years of Bertelsmann | The Management | The Group Divisions | Spirit | Financial Information 43
“The Lost Symbol”: a Random House record breaker
Few current novels have been as eagerly awaited and quickly
purchased as the page-turner “Th e Lost Symbol,” by “Th e Da
Vinci Code” author Dan Brown. In just three and a half months,
the Robert Langdon adventure sold almost eight million
copies in its hardcover, audio and electronic book Englishlanguage
editions for Random House North America and the
Random House Group UK, making it the world’s biggest-selling
2009 fi ction title. Th e book, which set single-day and singleweek
Random House sales records, is expected to remain high
on the bestseller lists in 2010.
Random House wins multiple Pulitzer Prizes
Th e Pulitzer Prize is the most prestigious U.S. literary award.
In the eleven years since Random House became part of
Bertelsmann, its books have won Pulitzers eighteen times –
a feat unmatched by any other trade-book publishing company.
In 2009, its Pulitzer winners were “Olive Kitteridge” by Elizabeth
Strout, for Fiction; “American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the
White House” by Jon Meacham, for Biography; and “Slavery
by Another Name” by Douglas A. Blackmon, for Nonfi ction.
Canada’s most coveted fi ction award, the Scotiabank Giller,
went to Random House Canada’s “Th e Bishop’s Man” by
Linden MacIntyre in 2009.
Bertelsmann Annual Report 2009
RTL Group
Random House
Gruner + Jahr
Arvato
Direct Group
Highlights 2009
Random House’s triple-digit increases in e-book sales
Th e fast-growing market for electronic books contained major
new revenue opportunities for most of Random House’s English-
and German-language imprints in 2009. In the U.S., Canada,
the U.K. and Germany, the company’s overall e-book sales grew
by triple-digit percentages relative to the previous year. Th e
publishing group’s strategy includes a strong commitment to
digital initiatives and expanding its e-book publishing programs.
Random House is well positioned to benefi t from the growing
popularity of electronic reading devices and increased digital
reading by consumers.
Random House Children’s Books presents movie
and TV entertainment
In 2009, Random House Children’s Books in the U.S. and U.K.
formed new fi lm and television companies. Random House
Children’s Entertainment in the U.S. will expand the reach of
its print content to include a variety of new and traditional
platforms. Its fi rst venture, an animated Dr. Seuss preschool
television series, will be broadcast in 2010. In the U.K., the
Random House Children’s Screen Entertainment co-venture
will develop content for theatrical fi lms, the Internet and
digital channels, as well as producing video games based
on the publisher’s books and characters.