Penguin Random House's 14th annual two-day holiday transit program for independent bookstores begins tomorrow, October 15, and will run through January 26, 2026.
The program, which supports independent bookstores during and beyond the holiday season, will continue to feature the "no minimums" requirement first introduced during the Covid pandemic. Booksellers can submit orders in any quantity, on their schedule, without having to build up to a minimum-retail-value threshold.
Penguin Random House will expedite the shipping of indie bookstore orders from its Westminster, Md., Crawfordsville, Ind., and Reno, Nev., distribution and fulfillment centers to ensure delivery "from our dock to the bookseller's door" to arrive within two days, weather and transport conditions permitting. The company's distribution centers will continue to operate weekend shifts with the goal of processing orders placed Friday and Saturday for shipment on Monday.
The expedited-shipping program encompasses all frontlist and backlist physical-format titles from the imprints of Crown, Knopf Doubleday, Penguin Publishing Groups, Random House, Random House Children's Books, Penguin Young Readers, Penguin Random House Audio, and DK Publishing divisions, as well as all the clients of Penguin Random House Publisher Services.
"There are always happy surprises in the fourth quarter--best-of lists, viral social-media moments, prize season, and unexpected word-of-mouth favorites," said Jaci Updike, chief revenue officer, Penguin Random House U.S. "Indie bookstores tell us it has become increasingly important for their buyers to respond to the marketplace at lightning speed, and that the Penguin Random House two-day transit program is a key ingredient of their holiday success."