We’re pleased to share videos from the First-Year Experience® Conference held in Washington, D.C. this past February. 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 Dinner Friday, February 21, 2020

On February 20, 2020, the Penguin Random House First-Year Reading Advisory Board convened for their annual summit the day before The First-Year Experience® Conference exhibit and sessions commenced. The Board members, representing a variety of public and private higher education institutions of varying sizes, came together to exchange ideas, and provide feedback and guidance. Our

The Annual Conference of The First-Year Experience provides an ongoing forum where higher education professionals can share experiences, concerns, and accomplishments related to supporting student learning, development, and success within their first year of college. The conference aims to promote a comprehensive and engaging community open to a diversity of ideas, in which all delegates

On the University of Oregon campus, incoming students are reading Under the Feet of Jesus as part of the Common Reading program. Written by Cornell Professor Helena María Viramontes, Under the Feet of Jesus tells the story of the men, women, and children who labor under dangerous conditions as migrant workers in California’s fields. At the center

Author Sharmila Sen discusses the process of assimilation and the significance of race in America. About Not Quite Not White: Winner of the ALA Asian/Pacific American Award for Nonfiction At the age of 12, Sharmila Sen emigrated from India to the U.S. The year was 1982, and everywhere she turned, she was asked to self-report her

 Penguin Random House Author Events at the 39th Annual First-Year Experience® Conference Washington, D.C., February 21-24, 2020 Click Here to RSVP Interested in hosting one of these authors at your school? Click their name below to learn more! Ibram X. Kendi Jennifer L. Eberhardt Nic Stone Bina Venkataraman Bren Smith

We’ve compiled a list of over 470 common reading programs and their title selections, which you can download here: First-Year Reading 2019-20. We will continue to update this listing to provide the most comprehensive record of programs available anywhere and welcome information about titles and institutions we might have overlooked.  Please feel free to contact us here with

We are delighted to present our new First-Year reading catalogs for 2020! From award-winning fiction and memoir to new books about science, technology, history and current events, the titles presented in our college reading catalogs will have students not only eagerly flipping through the pages, but also excited for the chance to discuss their reading

By the time he was twenty-seven, Kwame Onwuachi had competed on Top Chef, cooked at the White House, and opened and closed one of the most talked about restaurants in America. Despite his young age, his success wasn’t won overnight: working in Manhattan, he was forced to grapple with just how unwelcoming the world of

In July 2019, the reddit community r/books selected the acclaimed novel There There as their book of the month. Tommy Orange joined the group for an AMA (Ask Me Anything), answering an array of questions covering everything from his book to his writing process to his favorite flavors of ice cream. Read a selection of

Where the Dead Sit Talking by Brandon Hobson explores the themes of loneliness and trauma as a young Native American boy named Sequoyah experiences life in the foster care system. This 2018 National Book Award Finalist is about a broken teenager’s search for his identity and the hardships of being displaced. Sequoyah lives his life always keeping his feelings buried, until he is placed with the Troutt family. There he meets Rosemary, a friend and confidant who, like him, is a Native American child living in the foster care system.

Kindred by Octavia Butler has been chosen by the University of Iowa’s General Education Literature program to be their feature title for a second year. The program focuses on helping students become comfortable reading different kinds of texts with historical, social, political and cultural contexts. It is geared towards non English majors to improve their reading and writing skills as well as generate interest in an English major. The overall goal is to create a perpetual habit of reading for students.