Penguin Random House CEO Nihar Malaviya Named Publishers Weekly’s 2025 Person of the Year

We are proud to share that Penguin Random House CEO Nihar Malaviya has been named Publishers Weekly’s Person of the Year, recognized for his leadership in the nationwide fight to protect the freedom to read. This honor is a testament to Nihar’s leadership and our Intellectual Freedom Taskforce‘s commitment to getting books back on shelves and into the hands of readers who want and need them most.

As coordinated censorship campaigns intensified across the country a few years ago, Nihar decided to take action. PRH had already engaged in individual attempts to fight book banning. And in 2023, Nihar backed the formation of the Intellectual Freedom Taskforce, now a 20-person, cross-departmental group, including Rosie Stewart, Senior Manager, Public Policy, and led by Skip Dye, SVP and Director, Sales Operations and Library Sales. The group takes action against book banning through author and illustrator support, communications and messaging, resources, and legal action.

“We know this is a long-term battle,” Nihar said. “We know this won’t be resolved right now, and we are in it for the long term.”

PRH has long supported broader industry efforts through partnering with organizations such as PEN America, the Association of American Publishers, the American Library Association, and the National Association Against Censorship.

Specifically, Nihar is concerned with how this censorship affects children and sees the current fight as part of our ongoing responsibility to ensure that “everyone has access to the books they need.”

Under his leadership, we have expanded our legal and legislative efforts, joining major lawsuits in multiple states, challenging unconstitutional restrictions, and filing amicus briefs. In 2025 alone, freedom-to-read legislation was introduced in 25 states, with PRH directly involved in 12 efforts and scoring passage in seven. So far, PRH and our partners also helped defeat eight bills aimed at limiting access to books in schools and libraries.

 “There is a lot more work to be done, but I think we are making meaningful progress,” Nihar said.

Thank you, Nihar, for helping to ensure everyone has access to the books they need. And thank you to our employees, authors, educators, librarians, and partners who make this work possible every day!

Read the full article on Publishers Weekly here