The pandemic has been a boon to retail alcohol sales of all kinds, according to the New York Times. Alcohol consumption overall has increased during the pandemic, with heavy drinking by women up 41%. Beveragedaily.com says that the biggest gain for wine sales came from casual, at-home, non-food occasions, such as drinking during the day outside mealtimes or catching up with friends via phone with a glass of wine. And now that people are cautiously returning to socializing, wine with dinner is likely to see the trend continue.

With more people vaccinated and public places reopening, Covid-isolated readers are likely to be out and about in the summer of ’21. They’ll be looking for relaxation and fun, and PRH titles will be perfect companions, whether at the beach or relaxing on the back porch.

For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world, providing readers with a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Here are titles on the Penguin Classics lists by African-American writers.

Turn the tassels and toss your caps in the air—graduation season is approaching! Celebrate the achievements of hard-working students everywhere with this collection of PRH and distributed client titles perfectly suited for graduation gifts.

Spring is one of the best times of year for bird-watching, with birds migrating in large groups. Two major new bird books go on sale at the end of March, THE BEDSIDE BOOK OF BIRDS and A MOST REMARKABLE CREATURE. These are two of the best reasons to take a look at the bird sections at your accounts.

As soon as the pandemic and stay at home orders began in March of last year, sales of cookbooks jumped, including in the Baking category. Sales of Baking titles ended the year up 60% over prior year. Bread, cake, cookies and more – PRH and our distributed clients have the top-selling titles.

“GameStop, AMC Entertainment, BlackBerry, Dogecoin and silver – all have been subject to epic rallies and falls in recent days, spurred by droves of retail investors driving up prices and then selling.” (CNBC) With so much unusual activity around the stock market, now may be a great time for accounts to feature books that explain the basics of the market and remind private investors how it can work for them.

March is Women’s History Month, which celebrates the vital role of women in American history. Remarkable female entrepreneurs, scientists, politicians, athletes, artists, and spies, among others, abound historically and today. Our first female Vice-President has been elected. A woman heads the European Central Bank for the first time ever. The first female president of the New York Stock Exchange has been appointed.

Although many think of St. Patrick’s Day (March 17) as a day of parading and imbibing, St Patrick’s Day is a global celebration of Irish culture. It particularly remembers St Patrick, one of Ireland’s patron saints, who ministered Christianity in Ireland during the fifth century. To commemorate this holiday, bookstores and libraries may choose to focus on the wealth of exceptional writing by Irish writers, or books set in the country. 

In many regions of the U.S., we’re coming up on gardening season in the spring. Prep work begins even sooner. The PRH and distributed client title lists are chock full of titles for gardeners, both beginners and more advanced green thumbs. 

With Covid keeping most readers at home and dreaming of travel, the favorite category of “armchair travel” has become even more compelling. Or for those that in general are unable to travel widely, books that take you there without ever leaving home are a delightful alternative.

Over five decades after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s death, American society is still working towards the dream that he envisioned. These ten essential books shed light on these decades after Dr. King’s life, the Civil Rights movement, and show how his legacy has shaped the past half-century. These titles share the experiences of activists, lawyers, and journalists about the ongoing and necessary work towards racial equality. (Courtesy PRH.com)