Sharon McMahon, author portrait

Sharon McMahon

Sharon McMahon is the author of the NYT bestselling The Small and The Mighty, and an award-winning educator, founder, and philanthropist best known as America’s Government Teacher on her Instagram account, Sharon Says So. She is the host of award-winning podcast Here’s Where It Gets Interesting, and the founder of the newsletter The Preamble. She has led her community in various philanthropic initiatives that have raised millions for disaster recovery, medical debt relief, international crises, classroom grants, and more. In all that she does, McMahon encourages with a message of hope: that we can create powerful change with our small, consistent actions.
The Small and the Mighty

Books

The Small and the Mighty

What Students Will Be Reading: Campus Common Reading Roundup, 2025-26

With the fall semester in full swing, colleges and universities around the country have announced their Common Reading books for the upcoming 2025-26 academic year. We’ve compiled a list of over 286 programs and their title selections from publicly available sources, which you can download here: First-Year Reading 2025-26. We will continue to update this

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Register for the 2026 Penguin Random House First-Year Experience® Conference Author Events!

Penguin Random House Author Events at the 45th Annual First-Year Experience® Conference February 15-18, 2026 Seattle, Washington Hyatt Regency Seattle Click Here to RSVP A complimentary meal and a limited number of books will be available to attendees. Each event will also be followed by an author signing. Interested in hosting one of these authors at

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2026 Catalog for First-Year & Common Reading

We are delighted to present our new First-Year & Common Reading Catalog for 2026! From award-winning fiction, poetry, memoir, and biography to new books about the environment, current events, history, public health, science, social justice, student success, and technology, the titles presented in our common reading catalog will have students not only eagerly flipping through

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Videos from the 2025 First-Year Experience® Conference are now available

We’re pleased to share videos from the 2025 First-Year Experience® Conference. Whether you weren’t able to join us at the conference or would simply like to hear the talks again, please take a moment to view the clips below.   Penguin Random House Author Breakfast Monday, February 17th, 7:15 – 8:45 am PST This event

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